Other Reviews :Southern Sandstone Topo Guide

Book Reviews Which one is best? 8% Against The Wall 2% Dark Shadows Falling 1% K2 : The Story of the Savage Mountain 7% Postcards From The Ledge 6% The Confessions of Aleister Crowley 3% The Coniston Tigers 2% The Death Zone 1% The Water People 2% The White Death 36% This Game of Ghosts 37% Touching the Void

	Touching The Void By Joe Simpson 9/10 Joe Simpson and Simon Yates attempt a new peak called Suila Grande, in south America. Joe manages to break his leg near the summit. A series of abseils ensues, and they manage to get separated. So Joe has to crawl all the way back, with only his thoughts for company. The book gives a very interesting insight into how the human mind works when stretched to the limit.
	The Water People By Joe Simpson 6/10 The first and as far as I am aware the only fictional book by Joe Simpson. It simply documents two climbers exploits in the Himalaya. For some reason I just did not find it believable, and as thus didn't enjoy it as much as his other work.
	This Game Of Ghosts By Joe Simpson 9/10 This is simply an autobiography, describing his life, from growing up in Malaysia, to getting stuck in avalanches in Chamonix. I find it to be a honest and interesting account. The beginning is a little slow, but there are some brilliantly described events. Such as being stuck on the Dru for 15 hours, hanging off a dodgy, rusty piton. I think it is Joe's best book.
	Dark Shadows Falling By Joe Simpson 7/10 This book is quite different from his others, in that it does not concentrate on his own adventures. Instead it discusses the ethics of death at altitude, in relation to several events. Including the disaster on Everest in 1996. It is a heart felt account that explores the human condition in relation to facing death.
	The Death Zone By Matt Dickinson 8/10 Quite similar to Dark Shadows Falling in a way. It describes the 1996 disaster but from a different view. He climbed the mountain shortly before the disaster, so he feels some sort of link with the events that lead to the troubles. The book is split between talking about ethics, and talking about his experience and adventure. There are lots of books that discuss the disaster, and I think that this is probably the best, he seems to be in the best position to see what went on. He was not actually in the disaster, neither was he at home sitting in a nice warm house.
	Against The Wall By Simon Yates 8/10 This is a very pure climbing book. It concentrates entirely on the task at hand, a route on the Towers of Paine in the Andes. There is no real sense of internal conflict, or emotional pressure. Instead there is just a large tower of rock that needs climbing. I think it is well written, but could be a little dull if you were expecting an adventure novel in the traditional mould. There is adventure but it is a little hard to visualise.
	K2 : The Story of the Savage Mountain By Jim Curran 9/10 A history of expeditions to K2. Starting with the first travelers through the area  like Francis Young Husband in the mid 19th century, to the disaster of 1986. At the back of the book are a number of appendices covering such things as deaths and expeditions. I feel that Jim Curran was in as good a position as any to write this book. He was at base camp during the 1986 disaster, and was therefore very emotionally attached to the events. He seems to have treated almost all involved in a fair way. The book is one of the best written about K2, and this was recognised when it received an award from the Banff mountain book festival.
	The Confessions Of Aleister Crowley By Aleister Crowley 9/10 The largest book I have ever attempted to read. It is almost 1000 pages long, which I think is still too little to document his strange life. Aleister climbed around the turn of the century, and was on K2 when Queen Victoria died. The book is not purely about climbing, as he had other interests, but climbing does feature quite highly. It starts with his strange upbringing, and the devil worshipping. Moving on to his exploits on the chalk cliffs down at Beachy head, which I would consider as some of the most dangerous climbs ever attempted. Crowley's crack was climbed in 1983 by Mick Fowler, but Aleister had climbed all but the last few meters some 90 years earlier. The book also talks about his experiences in the Alps and Himalayas, and his shunning of all forms of organisations. All in all it is a very interesting book, with insights into a very strange and bazaar person. It is possibly a bit long for some people. Also it is quite hard to get hold of, my copy was bought off the web and came from America. It took some time to track it down.
	The Coniston Tigers By A. Harry Griffin 9/10 Very simply an autobiography. The book starts with Harry Griffin as a child, discovering the mountains for the first time on a school outing. That was in the early 1930's. The book goes on to talk about the group of climbers he joined called the Coniston Tigers. He describes the climbs and adventures they had from their hut in Coniston. It seems that he wrote a lot of it by his emotions, rather than his actual memories. This makes the book very interesting. The sort of equipment they had in those days was almost Neolithic in respect to current gear, which makes their accomplishments seem all the more amazing.
	Classic Rock Climbs In Great Britain By Bill Birkett 7/10 Simply a guide to some of the best climbs in the country. There is no sort of category that all the climbs fit into. They are all fairly different. The majority of the climbs in the guide are between HS and VS, although there are harder and easier ones. The hardest is Right Wall E5 6a, Dinas Cromlech, Wales. Each climb is given a summary and then an account of an ascent. The summary is basically what you would find in a proper guide. The book is very honest and down to earth. This is illustrated by the account of Great Slab on Cloggy. The last couple of paragraphs describe Bill Peascod dieing on the climb. It says 'Here he slumped on to the rope and died' I think that the climbs have been well chosen and described very effectively. I have used the book before as a guide to certain climbs, when I have not been rich enough to buy a guide for an area. The book is not designed as a guide to carry with you, but more of a book to give you a feeling for the climbs.
	Classic Rock By Ken Wilson 8/10 The definitive classic rock book. The picture on the left is from an old edition, the new edition has a different cover. The book concentrates on climbs in the easier grades, VD and the like. But since some of the climbs were first included they have been re-graded, thus there are some slightly harder climbs also included. The pictures in the book are some of the most dramatic I have seen. Unlike the other classic rock book above, there is no route summary in here. There is a small column of details such as location and length. The bulk of the text is simply accounts of various ascents. Probably still the best book of its type.
	The White Death By McKay Jenkins 7/10 In 1969 on Mount Cleveland, in glacier national park, Montana, five men aged between 18 and 22 were killed in an avalanche. They were attempting the then unclimbed, 4000ft north face, in winter. The white death tells the stories of all the people involved with the disaster, from the guys who died and their families to everyone involved in the search and rescue efforts. It is very well written and includes a lot of technical details on how and why avalanches occur.
	Postcards From The Ledge By Greg Child 8/10 A collection of essays and various writings that featured in magazines, although they would have been slightly reworked for this book. The essays have a wide range of topics from 'the disgusting mountains', talking about spilled pee bottles and the like, to 'death and faxes', discussing the life and death of Alison Hargreaves. The ever changing nature of the essays makes the book thoroughly interesting, always keeping the readers attention.