Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

couldn't put this down!!, 29 Apr 2008
like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn, 31 Aug 2007
Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.



Response to Shotoff, 18 Jul 2007
Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read, 24 Apr 2007
I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.


An amazing story, 30 Jan 2007
I notice that a few of the reviewers have criticised the author / book for bad grammar. [...]

This is a truly inspiring story and is a fantastic example of how anything can be acheived if you've the will and determination to see it through.

Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

couldn't put this down!!, 29 Apr 2008
like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn, 31 Aug 2007
Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.



Response to Shotoff, 18 Jul 2007
Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read, 24 Apr 2007
I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.


An amazing story, 30 Jan 2007
I notice that a few of the reviewers have criticised the author / book for bad grammar. [...]

This is a truly inspiring story and is a fantastic example of how anything can be acheived if you've the will and determination to see it through.

Rock Climbing, 13 Sep 2008
If ever there was a book that could be classed as the industry standard climbing book, then this is it. The official handbook of the mountaineering instructor and single pitch award schemes this book has pretty much everything you'd need to get started on climbing, and more besides. It covers such areas as environment and history, warming up and injury prevention, movement skills, training, climbing basics (looking at terms and equipment), various types of climbing (bouldering, single pitch, indoor, lead, sport, multi pitch), descending, scrambling, sea level traversing and gorge scrambling and sections covering the law around climbing. As you can see, and this was only a basic list, this book is pretty comprehensive! The text is clear to read and the illustration and photos are both attractive and clarify any confusing points perfectly. As other reviewers have suggested, this book really is the ideal first port of call when learning about climbing and to cover your first forays on the rock or in the climbing gym. Coupled with qualified instruction this book will see you develop in leaps and bounds and it is perfect to return to so you can brush up on rusty knowledge or even just for a bit of inspiration. A great book and highly recommended. If you want more a specific book about training for climbing check out 'Training For Climbing' by Eric J Horst, another clear and inspirational read.

Evocative, 09 Sep 2008
An excellent 'How To' guide and also very useful for those wanting to improve. The greatest recommendation is that it makes you want to go out and climb - just like my favourite cult classic free climbing book from the 30s - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith. It's worth comparing the two - the spirit and urge to abandon regular society's rules and soar above the crowd is the same - and contagious. But back to this one - Get it and Get Out.

Excellent for both beginners and experienced, 18 Mar 2008
I don't write reviews often but felt compelled to do so with this. It's an excellent book, well written and with beautifully designed diagrams which demonstrate the concepts extremely well. I'm an experienced climber with 20 years under my belt and this has still taught me some new things and reinforced others ("Am I supposed to do it this way just because I always have? Oh yes!"). It doesn't patronise, nor does it take the elitist approach. Just sensible and very readable. I've been reading it cover to cover and enjoyed doing so.

Whether you are new to the sport, training as an instructor, or just looking to bolster your knowledge, this is probably the best climbing book available.

Essential!, 03 Aug 2006
This book is a must have for anyone wanting to start out in climbing or improve their skills. The book also runs alongside the BMC's Single Pitch Award and is an invaluable source of information and instruction.

AWESOME, 28 Mar 2006
words can't describe this book well enough - its amazing. I am very fond of it and if i was religious, this book would be my bible:) Book details anchors, useful knots, various scenarios likely to be faced on real rock amongst a host of other things -well worth the read before doing any sort of fee paying course - i'm going to work through this book before i splash out on a trad course at plas y brenin.

Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

couldn't put this down!!, 29 Apr 2008
like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn, 31 Aug 2007
Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.



Response to Shotoff, 18 Jul 2007
Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read, 24 Apr 2007
I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.


An amazing story, 30 Jan 2007
I notice that a few of the reviewers have criticised the author / book for bad grammar. [...]

This is a truly inspiring story and is a fantastic example of how anything can be acheived if you've the will and determination to see it through.

Rock Climbing, 13 Sep 2008
If ever there was a book that could be classed as the industry standard climbing book, then this is it. The official handbook of the mountaineering instructor and single pitch award schemes this book has pretty much everything you'd need to get started on climbing, and more besides. It covers such areas as environment and history, warming up and injury prevention, movement skills, training, climbing basics (looking at terms and equipment), various types of climbing (bouldering, single pitch, indoor, lead, sport, multi pitch), descending, scrambling, sea level traversing and gorge scrambling and sections covering the law around climbing. As you can see, and this was only a basic list, this book is pretty comprehensive! The text is clear to read and the illustration and photos are both attractive and clarify any confusing points perfectly. As other reviewers have suggested, this book really is the ideal first port of call when learning about climbing and to cover your first forays on the rock or in the climbing gym. Coupled with qualified instruction this book will see you develop in leaps and bounds and it is perfect to return to so you can brush up on rusty knowledge or even just for a bit of inspiration. A great book and highly recommended. If you want more a specific book about training for climbing check out 'Training For Climbing' by Eric J Horst, another clear and inspirational read.

Evocative, 09 Sep 2008
An excellent 'How To' guide and also very useful for those wanting to improve. The greatest recommendation is that it makes you want to go out and climb - just like my favourite cult classic free climbing book from the 30s - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith. It's worth comparing the two - the spirit and urge to abandon regular society's rules and soar above the crowd is the same - and contagious. But back to this one - Get it and Get Out.

Excellent for both beginners and experienced, 18 Mar 2008
I don't write reviews often but felt compelled to do so with this. It's an excellent book, well written and with beautifully designed diagrams which demonstrate the concepts extremely well. I'm an experienced climber with 20 years under my belt and this has still taught me some new things and reinforced others ("Am I supposed to do it this way just because I always have? Oh yes!"). It doesn't patronise, nor does it take the elitist approach. Just sensible and very readable. I've been reading it cover to cover and enjoyed doing so.

Whether you are new to the sport, training as an instructor, or just looking to bolster your knowledge, this is probably the best climbing book available.

Essential!, 03 Aug 2006
This book is a must have for anyone wanting to start out in climbing or improve their skills. The book also runs alongside the BMC's Single Pitch Award and is an invaluable source of information and instruction.

AWESOME, 28 Mar 2006
words can't describe this book well enough - its amazing. I am very fond of it and if i was religious, this book would be my bible:) Book details anchors, useful knots, various scenarios likely to be faced on real rock amongst a host of other things -well worth the read before doing any sort of fee paying course - i'm going to work through this book before i splash out on a trad course at plas y brenin.

This excellent book is called MASTERING mountain bike skills!, 21 Jul 2008
I rarely write reviews, but this one deserves a good review and also deserves the record to be set straight with respect to a couple of previous reviews. Specifically, buying a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills (the clue is in the title) and complaining that it is not suitable for beginners is akin to buying a book on vegetarian cookery and complaining that it does not have enough meat dishes in it.
This book is by far the best skills book for anyone who has mastered the basics. It has a mass of detail in it. There are hundreds of hints and tips and the book pays dividends when read a few times over simply because there is so much info in it. I'm kind of gobsmacked at some of the bizarre criticisms I've read here. It's a shame these critics haven't named the books they have found superior. In over 10 years of riding I haven't seen another book/magazine/website/DVD that comes anywhere near providing the wealth of useful info that this book does. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve their existing mountain biking skills. Here's another clue/tip: - If you don't know what an endo is, don't buy a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills, buy a BEGINNERS guide to mountain biking.


Dialing the wrong number, 05 May 2008
There are countless thousands of people with mountain bikes looking for a book to help them ride trails more skilfully. Sadly, this is not it.

At the outset the authors declare they want to write a step-by-step guide to mountain biking. They not only fail to do that, they do so in language which excludes newcomers while making asides which are only likely to put off inexperienced riders altogether.

There are a few good tips - drop offs, bunny hops and "manuals"/wheelies are all well and coherently covered. But there's no real sense of progress, and the authors give the impression they would rather be talking to fellow racers than taking time with beginners or recreational riders looking to add a few skills to their repertoire.

It is all written in irritating mountain bike magazine jargon which serves only to irritate and obscure rather than illuminate. Everything is "dialed". Of course. The overall tone is that of a 13-year-old boy pulling wheelies in front of his house.

One can only guess at the authors' motivation for going into details about death, paralysis and broken limbs on the trail or racecourse. Bravado has its place, but not in a training manual. Then again, the main theme of the book does seem to be "whatever you do, don't use the brakes".


Great guidance for all styles of riding, 29 Feb 2008
If you only ever buy one mountain bike tuition book make sure that this is it. Ive only been riding just over a year and ive found every part of this book really useful. It covers loads of subjects, including everything from basic riding techniques to more complicated trials, jumping and racing topics. Its all very well laid out with lots of pictures and despite the opinion of some that it may be hard for beginners to understand due to jargon terms, I still class myself as a novice and had no problem understanding it. Besides, if there are any terms you are unsure of, there is always that wonderful invention, the internet, which is always willing and able to explain things to you....... ENJOY YOUR RIDING!

Buy it, you'll learn something., 22 Jan 2008
I've only been riding mountain bikes since this spring and a mate got me this for Christmas. I enjoy doing some off road stuff but most of what the book shows is well beyond what I'm likely to get into so I initially read it without expecting to get much out of it. Boy did I get a surprise. Within a week I'd managed to incorporate much of what is in the early chapters into my riding and I'm finding I've got a lot more confidence and am attacking the trail far more than I did before. As far as the later chapters go (jumping, dropping and such like) maybe one day it'll be something I want to look at but it's definitely fun to read about in the meantime.

As for the language, some of it is a bit Southern Californian but I managed to work my way round it. I'm still laughing about him suggesting that I might want to learn to "pump the backside".

MTB Masterclass, 12 Nov 2007
Just got this book from Amazon and it is a truly fantastic guide to MTB (and more) techniques! Thoroughly recommend it to anyone, it takes you through just about every aspect of the sport you could think of, and my riding capabilities and confidence have grown dramatically already! If you are into mountain biking, be it XC, dirt, 4X, DH and you know you need help with your technique but don't want to spend a fortune on courses, get this. Its great.

Robert Macfarlane's Mountains of the Mind is the most interesting of the crop of books published to mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest. Macfarlane is both a mountaineer and a scholar. Consequently we get more than just a chronicle of climbs. He interweaves accounts of his own adventurous ascents with those of pioneers such as George Mallory, and in with an erudite discussion of how mountains became such a preoccupation for the modern western imagination.

The book is organised around a series of features of mountaineering--glaciers, summits, unknown ranges--and each chapter explores the scientific, artistic and cultural discoveries and fashions that accompanied exploration. The contributions of assorted geologists, romantic poets, landscape artists, entrepreneurs, gallant amateurs and military cartographers are described with perceptive clarity. The book climaxes with an account of Mallory's fateful ascent on Everest in 1924, one of the most famous instances of an obsessive pursuit. Macfarlane is well-placed to describe it since it is one he shares.

MacFarlane's own stories of perilous treks and assaults in the Alps, the Cairngorms and the Tian Shan mountains between China and Kazakhstan are compelling. Readers who enjoyed Francis Spufford's masterly I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination will enjoy Mountains of the Mind. This is a slighter volume than Spufford's and it loses in depth what it gains in range, but for an insight into the moody, male world of mountaineering past and present it is invaluable. --Miles Taylor

Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

couldn't put this down!!, 29 Apr 2008
like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn, 31 Aug 2007
Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.



Response to Shotoff, 18 Jul 2007
Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read, 24 Apr 2007
I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.


An amazing story, 30 Jan 2007
I notice that a few of the reviewers have criticised the author / book for bad grammar. [...]

This is a truly inspiring story and is a fantastic example of how anything can be acheived if you've the will and determination to see it through.

Rock Climbing, 13 Sep 2008
If ever there was a book that could be classed as the industry standard climbing book, then this is it. The official handbook of the mountaineering instructor and single pitch award schemes this book has pretty much everything you'd need to get started on climbing, and more besides. It covers such areas as environment and history, warming up and injury prevention, movement skills, training, climbing basics (looking at terms and equipment), various types of climbing (bouldering, single pitch, indoor, lead, sport, multi pitch), descending, scrambling, sea level traversing and gorge scrambling and sections covering the law around climbing. As you can see, and this was only a basic list, this book is pretty comprehensive! The text is clear to read and the illustration and photos are both attractive and clarify any confusing points perfectly. As other reviewers have suggested, this book really is the ideal first port of call when learning about climbing and to cover your first forays on the rock or in the climbing gym. Coupled with qualified instruction this book will see you develop in leaps and bounds and it is perfect to return to so you can brush up on rusty knowledge or even just for a bit of inspiration. A great book and highly recommended. If you want more a specific book about training for climbing check out 'Training For Climbing' by Eric J Horst, another clear and inspirational read.

Evocative, 09 Sep 2008
An excellent 'How To' guide and also very useful for those wanting to improve. The greatest recommendation is that it makes you want to go out and climb - just like my favourite cult classic free climbing book from the 30s - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith. It's worth comparing the two - the spirit and urge to abandon regular society's rules and soar above the crowd is the same - and contagious. But back to this one - Get it and Get Out.

Excellent for both beginners and experienced, 18 Mar 2008
I don't write reviews often but felt compelled to do so with this. It's an excellent book, well written and with beautifully designed diagrams which demonstrate the concepts extremely well. I'm an experienced climber with 20 years under my belt and this has still taught me some new things and reinforced others ("Am I supposed to do it this way just because I always have? Oh yes!"). It doesn't patronise, nor does it take the elitist approach. Just sensible and very readable. I've been reading it cover to cover and enjoyed doing so.

Whether you are new to the sport, training as an instructor, or just looking to bolster your knowledge, this is probably the best climbing book available.

Essential!, 03 Aug 2006
This book is a must have for anyone wanting to start out in climbing or improve their skills. The book also runs alongside the BMC's Single Pitch Award and is an invaluable source of information and instruction.

AWESOME, 28 Mar 2006
words can't describe this book well enough - its amazing. I am very fond of it and if i was religious, this book would be my bible:) Book details anchors, useful knots, various scenarios likely to be faced on real rock amongst a host of other things -well worth the read before doing any sort of fee paying course - i'm going to work through this book before i splash out on a trad course at plas y brenin.

This excellent book is called MASTERING mountain bike skills!, 21 Jul 2008
I rarely write reviews, but this one deserves a good review and also deserves the record to be set straight with respect to a couple of previous reviews. Specifically, buying a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills (the clue is in the title) and complaining that it is not suitable for beginners is akin to buying a book on vegetarian cookery and complaining that it does not have enough meat dishes in it.
This book is by far the best skills book for anyone who has mastered the basics. It has a mass of detail in it. There are hundreds of hints and tips and the book pays dividends when read a few times over simply because there is so much info in it. I'm kind of gobsmacked at some of the bizarre criticisms I've read here. It's a shame these critics haven't named the books they have found superior. In over 10 years of riding I haven't seen another book/magazine/website/DVD that comes anywhere near providing the wealth of useful info that this book does. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve their existing mountain biking skills. Here's another clue/tip: - If you don't know what an endo is, don't buy a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills, buy a BEGINNERS guide to mountain biking.


Dialing the wrong number, 05 May 2008
There are countless thousands of people with mountain bikes looking for a book to help them ride trails more skilfully. Sadly, this is not it.

At the outset the authors declare they want to write a step-by-step guide to mountain biking. They not only fail to do that, they do so in language which excludes newcomers while making asides which are only likely to put off inexperienced riders altogether.

There are a few good tips - drop offs, bunny hops and "manuals"/wheelies are all well and coherently covered. But there's no real sense of progress, and the authors give the impression they would rather be talking to fellow racers than taking time with beginners or recreational riders looking to add a few skills to their repertoire.

It is all written in irritating mountain bike magazine jargon which serves only to irritate and obscure rather than illuminate. Everything is "dialed". Of course. The overall tone is that of a 13-year-old boy pulling wheelies in front of his house.

One can only guess at the authors' motivation for going into details about death, paralysis and broken limbs on the trail or racecourse. Bravado has its place, but not in a training manual. Then again, the main theme of the book does seem to be "whatever you do, don't use the brakes".


Great guidance for all styles of riding, 29 Feb 2008
If you only ever buy one mountain bike tuition book make sure that this is it. Ive only been riding just over a year and ive found every part of this book really useful. It covers loads of subjects, including everything from basic riding techniques to more complicated trials, jumping and racing topics. Its all very well laid out with lots of pictures and despite the opinion of some that it may be hard for beginners to understand due to jargon terms, I still class myself as a novice and had no problem understanding it. Besides, if there are any terms you are unsure of, there is always that wonderful invention, the internet, which is always willing and able to explain things to you....... ENJOY YOUR RIDING!

Buy it, you'll learn something., 22 Jan 2008
I've only been riding mountain bikes since this spring and a mate got me this for Christmas. I enjoy doing some off road stuff but most of what the book shows is well beyond what I'm likely to get into so I initially read it without expecting to get much out of it. Boy did I get a surprise. Within a week I'd managed to incorporate much of what is in the early chapters into my riding and I'm finding I've got a lot more confidence and am attacking the trail far more than I did before. As far as the later chapters go (jumping, dropping and such like) maybe one day it'll be something I want to look at but it's definitely fun to read about in the meantime.

As for the language, some of it is a bit Southern Californian but I managed to work my way round it. I'm still laughing about him suggesting that I might want to learn to "pump the backside".

MTB Masterclass, 12 Nov 2007
Just got this book from Amazon and it is a truly fantastic guide to MTB (and more) techniques! Thoroughly recommend it to anyone, it takes you through just about every aspect of the sport you could think of, and my riding capabilities and confidence have grown dramatically already! If you are into mountain biking, be it XC, dirt, 4X, DH and you know you need help with your technique but don't want to spend a fortune on courses, get this. Its great.

A passion shared, 18 Jun 2007
...is not a passion halved in this case. I, like MacFarlane, am a bloke slightly obsessed with mountains and he took me back to some good memories of climbs that I will probably never attempt again. It was with open-eyed exhilaration that I read this book. Splendid reading, even for those who like level terra firma.

Fantastic prose!, 13 Mar 2007
I have tended to read books of the mountains when skiing each year and this book was fantastic in its ability to explain why we take risks and why people climb mountains. It was great to read then go up into the mountains and it gave me a completely different appreciation of where I was. Bravo!

If you love mountains you must read this., 28 Aug 2005
I don't feel qualified to review this following the universally excellent comments it has justly received. However, I must say that it is one of the few books that I return to to read passages from time and time again. It is a fantastic book and for Lake District lovers, a must read.

A gentle climb, 12 Jun 2005
This book has been deservedly praised for the way it traverses a great deal of material with such elegance and elan. It retells some familiar stories in a fresh way and neatly blends cultural history with evocative descriptions of the author's mountain experiences. Although the central theme that landscapes are culturally determined is familiar and the format of these kind of cultural histories is now well established (Sprawson on swimming, Solnit on walking, Woodward on ruins etc.), the book never feels tired and the pace is maintained until the last page. MacFarlane is sure footed on writers like Shelley or Dr Johnson, stumbles a bit on art (Alexander Cozens was not a nineteenth century artist!) and is really in his element with anecdotes on Victorian climbing. 'Mountains of the Mind' centres on European attitudes in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, culminating in Mallory's ascent. This leaves a slightly disconcerting gap between the 1920s and MacFarlane's own recent experiences: it would be interesting to read how cultural attitudes have changed since Mallory's time. Although the mountains of Asia are central to the narrative, the cultural attitudes to mountains in Asia are not discussed. So for example, he doesn't discuss Hsieh Ling-Yun or Han Shan or the Western beat poets and climbers subsequently inspired by them. Then again, it's such a mountainous subject it would have been a challenge to include everything in one volume.

Travels through 'Deep Time.', 26 Jan 2005
O the mind, mind has mountains..............

Gerard Manly Hopkins. c.1880

In this unique book Robert MacFarlane presents us with mountains both as physical/ geological construct and, as the title would suggest, the mental construct of modern man.

His very persuasive standpoint being, that mountains and our attitudes towards them owe as much to mindscape as they do to landscape.

MacFarlane cleverly blends the two in a progression from 16th century 'terra incognita' and a 'There be Dragons' mentality, through the 'sublime' mountain worship of Shelley, Ruskin et al, to the scientific endeavors still linked with mountaineering at the beginning of the 20th century, arriving finally at the noble pursuit of mountain climbing and the consequent courting of danger as a laudable end in itself. And all this, running in parallel with the acknowledgement of 'Deep Time' inherent in the ongoing decoding of geological encryption.

His description of landscape and geological forces in what he calls 'The Great Stone Book' is fascinating and is achieved in such a way that it is both simple and at times poetic in its rendering of information more normally associated with the technically prosaic.

He is eclectic in his literary references with quotes ranging from Petrarch to Simpson - Joe and all points in between, sampling freely from poetry, prose, diary and letter. He also draws heavily on the artistic endeavors of many across the ages and it is in this department that the book displays what is, for this reviewer, its only weakness, poor quality photographic reproduction.

Mountains Of The Mind could be said to be truly, and indeed literally, visionary in its conception and MacFarlane has succeeded in telling a wonderful tale of the evolution of the mountain world in the consciousness of modern man.

Had to put it down .... to catch my breath, 08 Oct 2008
Since attending one of Andy's talks, which probably one of the most well paced and entertaining presentations I've been to I've eagerly awaited his book. Reading some of the pitches described on the Wall I had to put the book down from time to time and walk about the room as I could feel my own fearometer building towards overload, so well does Andy paint the picture. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the main theme was interwoven with Andy's own history and development as a climber and as a person.
Great relief to the rest of us weekend rock warriors that even the greats are never too far away from the trouser filler either :-)

Well done Andy

Psychovertical, 08 Oct 2008
Pyschovertical is a an ambitious debut for Andy K, attempting to interweave autobiography with descriptions of alpine and big-wall climbing while presenting a honest explanation of his deep seated compulsive reliance on undertaking these stupendously dangerous expeditions. The book is at its best in the terse descriptions of climbing specific pitches on his deranged solo of the Reticent wall, which form a broken narrative running throughout the book. These passages are so vividly sketched that I feel I know how it feels to leave the safety of a ledge half way up El Cap and commit to hanging your body weight from friable wafer thin flakes, expecting a sudden fatal fall to the valley thousands of feet below. This backbone is interspersed with more fully fleshed out descriptions of Andys' climbs, many solo, in the Alps, Patagonia and other Yosemite walls. Each of these chapters is raised above the genres ubiquitous plodding trip reports by laugh out loud black humour, and the clever use of split narratives. An example of the humour is found in two photo captions, the first of Andy eating gruel from a pan captioned; "Alpinists are only in it for the food and the sex"; the second, of Andy lying next to his nervous looking climbing partner; "By day 5 the food had run out". Surprisingly, given the quality of some of Andys' photos on the web, the two photomontage insets are a little disappointing. Many of the portraits convey the extremes of fatigue that Andy and his climbing partners endure, but the small image size and cluttered layout masks their impact, you want to be able to clearly see the blood shot eyes and battered bodies for the message to sink home. A better example is the back-piece illustration where the sun-blistered skin on Andy's arms as he looks down on the meadows below El Cap speaks volumes.

The book is highly readable, with the down-to earth raw prose matching the themes; a stark contrast to the wordy and overtly metaphysical writing of Joe Simpson. However I found the early autobiographical sections comparatively tough going. For example, Andy's character study of his mother revolves around her repetitive use of clichéd phrases, which seemed a bit naff compared to the detail he achieves later in the book.

It should be noted that this book partly draws on a series of previously self-web-published short stories and this origin is occasionaly apparent with places and events being repeatedly introduced in subsequent chapters without cross-reference. However, already having read this orginial web-material does not greatly detract or diminish the overall effect of the book.

In conclusion, the book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone with slightest interest in the subject matter, and for many climbers it could well be the start of a path towards big walling adventures of their own.


PSYCHOVERTICAL, 05 Oct 2008
One of the best climbing books ever written, dealing not simply with climbing but the complex emotions stirred up by risk.

May Get You Killed!, 03 Oct 2008
Up there with White Spider and Touching the Void. The only problem being that it makes you want to go solo aid climbing despite how horrific it sounds. A fantastic book due to it's outstanding structure. Don't worry if you know nothing about aid climbing, as this book slowly explains what it's all about and really opens your eyes to new possibilities in climbing.

Rich

Everything you'd expect from Andy's site, and more..., 24 Sep 2008
Since Andy Kirkpatrick's Psychovertical website has long been one of the best and most entertaining sources of information about climbing gear and techniques, my expectations of this first book were high and I'm pleased to say that it lives up to them (and even surpasses them) in every respect.

First and foremost, it's a cracking read, and difficult to put down. But it's also beautifully structured, with the alternating narratives of autobiography and Reticent Wall ascent constantly illuminating each other. To mention a couple of more detailed points (what you might call sub-structure as opposed to this main alternating framework), I found myself particularly struck by his effective use of italicised text to communicate his thoughts from the time and skillful deployment of very short sentences and lines in places to influence his readers' rhythm (perhaps most memorably in the passage describing his reaction to the birth of his daughter).

It's also obvious that he's been working with a good editor to eliminate the typos that feature (quite endearingly) in his website writings, on which note it would be remiss not to observe that the book includes a moving account of his dyslexia, its diagnosis and his subsequent quest to make it as a climbing writer.

All in all, highly recommended!

couldn't put this down!!, 29 Apr 2008
like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn, 31 Aug 2007
Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.



Response to Shotoff, 18 Jul 2007
Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read, 24 Apr 2007
I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.


An amazing story, 30 Jan 2007
I notice that a few of the reviewers have criticised the author / book for bad grammar. [...]

This is a truly inspiring story and is a fantastic example of how anything can be acheived if you've the will and determination to see it through.

Rock Climbing, 13 Sep 2008
If ever there was a book that could be classed as the industry standard climbing book, then this is it. The official handbook of the mountaineering instructor and single pitch award schemes this book has pretty much everything you'd need to get started on climbing, and more besides. It covers such areas as environment and history, warming up and injury prevention, movement skills, training, climbing basics (looking at terms and equipment), various types of climbing (bouldering, single pitch, indoor, lead, sport, multi pitch), descending, scrambling, sea level traversing and gorge scrambling and sections covering the law around climbing. As you can see, and this was only a basic list, this book is pretty comprehensive! The text is clear to read and the illustration and photos are both attractive and clarify any confusing points perfectly. As other reviewers have suggested, this book really is the ideal first port of call when learning about climbing and to cover your first forays on the rock or in the climbing gym. Coupled with qualified instruction this book will see you develop in leaps and bounds and it is perfect to return to so you can brush up on rusty knowledge or even just for a bit of inspiration. A great book and highly recommended. If you want more a specific book about training for climbing check out 'Training For Climbing' by Eric J Horst, another clear and inspirational read.

Evocative, 09 Sep 2008
An excellent 'How To' guide and also very useful for those wanting to improve. The greatest recommendation is that it makes you want to go out and climb - just like my favourite cult classic free climbing book from the 30s - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith. It's worth comparing the two - the spirit and urge to abandon regular society's rules and soar above the crowd is the same - and contagious. But back to this one - Get it and Get Out.

Excellent for both beginners and experienced, 18 Mar 2008
I don't write reviews often but felt compelled to do so with this. It's an excellent book, well written and with beautifully designed diagrams which demonstrate the concepts extremely well. I'm an experienced climber with 20 years under my belt and this has still taught me some new things and reinforced others ("Am I supposed to do it this way just because I always have? Oh yes!"). It doesn't patronise, nor does it take the elitist approach. Just sensible and very readable. I've been reading it cover to cover and enjoyed doing so.

Whether you are new to the sport, training as an instructor, or just looking to bolster your knowledge, this is probably the best climbing book available.

Essential!, 03 Aug 2006
This book is a must have for anyone wanting to start out in climbing or improve their skills. The book also runs alongside the BMC's Single Pitch Award and is an invaluable source of information and instruction.

AWESOME, 28 Mar 2006
words can't describe this book well enough - its amazing. I am very fond of it and if i was religious, this book would be my bible:) Book details anchors, useful knots, various scenarios likely to be faced on real rock amongst a host of other things -well worth the read before doing any sort of fee paying course - i'm going to work through this book before i splash out on a trad course at plas y brenin.

This excellent book is called MASTERING mountain bike skills!, 21 Jul 2008
I rarely write reviews, but this one deserves a good review and also deserves the record to be set straight with respect to a couple of previous reviews. Specifically, buying a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills (the clue is in the title) and complaining that it is not suitable for beginners is akin to buying a book on vegetarian cookery and complaining that it does not have enough meat dishes in it.
This book is by far the best skills book for anyone who has mastered the basics. It has a mass of detail in it. There are hundreds of hints and tips and the book pays dividends when read a few times over simply because there is so much info in it. I'm kind of gobsmacked at some of the bizarre criticisms I've read here. It's a shame these critics haven't named the books they have found superior. In over 10 years of riding I haven't seen another book/magazine/website/DVD that comes anywhere near providing the wealth of useful info that this book does. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve their existing mountain biking skills. Here's another clue/tip: - If you don't know what an endo is, don't buy a book called MASTERING mountain bike skills, buy a BEGINNERS guide to mountain biking.


Dialing the wrong number, 05 May 2008
There are countless thousands of people with mountain bikes looking for a book to help them ride trails more skilfully. Sadly, this is not it.

At the outset the authors declare they want to write a step-by-step guide to mountain biking. They not only fail to do that, they do so in language which excludes newcomers while making asides which are only likely to put off inexperienced riders altogether.

There are a few good tips - drop offs, bunny hops and "manuals"/wheelies are all well and coherently covered. But there's no real sense of progress, and the authors give the impression they would rather be talking to fellow racers than taking time with beginners or recreational riders looking to add a few skills to their repertoire.

It is all written in irritating mountain bike magazine jargon which serves only to irritate and obscure rather than illuminate. Everything is "dialed". Of course. The overall tone is that of a 13-year-old boy pulling wheelies in front of his house.

One can only guess at the authors' motivation for going into details about death, paralysis and broken limbs on the trail or racecourse. Bravado has its place, but not in a training manual. Then again, the main theme of the book does seem to be "whatever you do, don't use the brakes".


Great guidance for all styles of riding, 29 Feb 2008
If you only ever buy one mountain bike tuition book make sure that this is it. Ive only been riding just over a year and ive found every part of this book really useful. It covers loads of subjects, including everything from basic riding techniques to more complicated trials, jumping and racing topics. Its all very well laid out with lots of pictures and despite the opinion of some that it may be hard for beginners to understand due to jargon terms, I still class myself as a novice and had no problem understanding it. Besides, if there are any terms you are unsure of, there is always that wonderful invention, the internet, which is always willing and able to explain things to you....... ENJOY YOUR RIDING!

Buy it, you'll learn something., 22 Jan 2008
I've only been riding mountain bikes since this spring and a mate got me this for Christmas. I enjoy doing some off road stuff but most of what the book shows is well beyond what I'm likely to get into so I initially read it without expecting to get much out of it. Boy did I get a surprise. Within a week I'd managed to incorporate much of what is in the early chapters into my riding and I'm finding I've got a lot more confidence and am attacking the trail far more than I did before. As far as the later chapters go (jumping, dropping and such like) maybe one day it'll be something I want to look at but it's definitely fun to read about in the meantime.

As for the language, some of it is a bit Southern Californian but I managed to work my way round it. I'm still laughing about him suggesting that I might want to learn to "pump the backside".

MTB Masterclass, 12 Nov 2007
Just got this book from Amazon and it is a truly fantastic guide to MTB (and more) techniques! Thoroughly recommend it to anyone, it takes you through just about every aspect of the sport you could think of, and my riding capabilities and confidence have grown dramatically already! If you are into mountain biking, be it XC, dirt, 4X, DH and you know you need help with your technique but don't want to spend a fortune on courses, get this. Its great.

A passion shared, 18 Jun 2007
...is not a passion halved in this case. I, like MacFarlane, am a bloke slightly obsessed with mountains and he took me back to some good memories of climbs that I will probably never attempt again. It was with open-eyed exhilaration that I read this book. Splendid reading, even for those who like level terra firma.

Fantastic prose!, 13 Mar 2007
I have tended to read books of the mountains when skiing each year and this book was fantastic in its ability to explain why we take risks and why people climb mountains. It was great to read then go up into the mountains and it gave me a completely different appreciation of where I was. Bravo!

If you love mountains you must read this., 28 Aug 2005
I don't feel qualified to review this following the universally excellent comments it has justly received. However, I must say that it is one of the few books that I return to to read passages from time and time again. It is a fantastic book and for Lake District lovers, a must read.

A gentle climb, 12 Jun 2005
This book has been deservedly praised for the way it traverses a great deal of material with such elegance and elan. It retells some familiar stories in a fresh way and neatly blends cultural history with evocative descriptions of the author's mountain experiences. Although the central theme that landscapes are culturally determined is familiar and the format of these kind of cultural histories is now well established (Sprawson on swimming, Solnit on walking, Woodward on ruins etc.), the book never feels tired and the pace is maintained until the last page. MacFarlane is sure footed on writers like Shelley or Dr Johnson, stumbles a bit on art (Alexander Cozens was not a nineteenth century artist!) and is really in his element with anecdotes on Victorian climbing. 'Mountains of the Mind' centres on European attitudes in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, culminating in Mallory's ascent. This leaves a slightly disconcerting gap between the 1920s and MacFarlane's own recent experiences: it would be interesting to read how cultural attitudes have changed since Mallory's time. Although the mountains of Asia are central to the narrative, the cultural attitudes to mountains in Asia are not discussed. So for example, he doesn't discuss Hsieh Ling-Yun or Han Shan or the Western beat poets and climbers subsequently inspired by them. Then again, it's such a mountainous subject it would have been a challenge to include everything in one volume.

Travels through 'Deep Time.', 26 Jan 2005
O the mind, mind has mountains..............

Gerard Manly Hopkins. c.1880

In this unique book Robert MacFarlane presents us with mountains both as physical/ geological construct and, as the title would suggest, the mental construct of modern man.

His very persuasive standpoint being, that mountains and our attitudes towards them owe as much to mindscape as they do to landscape.

MacFarlane cleverly blends the two in a progression from 16th century 'terra incognita' and a 'There be Dragons' mentality, through the 'sublime' mountain worship of Shelley, Ruskin et al, to the scientific endeavors still linked with mountaineering at the beginning of the 20th century, arriving finally at the noble pursuit of mountain climbing and the consequent courting of danger as a laudable end in itself. And all this, running in parallel with the acknowledgement of 'Deep Time' inherent in the ongoing decoding of geological encryption.

His description of landscape and geological forces in what he calls 'The Great Stone Book' is fascinating and is achieved in such a way that it is both simple and at times poetic in its rendering of information more normally associated with the technically prosaic.

He is eclectic in his literary references with quotes ranging from Petrarch to Simpson - Joe and all points in between, sampling freely from poetry, prose, diary and letter. He also draws heavily on the artistic endeavors of many across the ages and it is in this department that the book displays what is, for this reviewer, its only weakness, poor quality photographic reproduction.

Mountains Of The Mind could be said to be truly, and indeed literally, visionary in its conception and MacFarlane has succeeded in telling a wonderful tale of the evolution of the mountain world in the consciousness of modern man.

Learning to breathe - FANTASTIC!, 18 Aug 2008
My mother-in-law recommended this book and I was a bit sceptical. However it is absolutely brilliant! I laughed & cried. A really honest account. I couldn't put the book down. I hope one day I'm lucky enough to meet the guy because he seems like a top chap. I climb a little bit myself although nothing like Andy Cave's level. It reassuring to see that in his early years he was just as scared on Stanage as I am today - so maybe there is hope for me.

From pits to peaks, 01 Aug 2008
As a rock-climber Andy Cave plays in the premier league, and as a mountaineer he has performed on some of the most exacting of Alpine and Himalayan routes. His book will be welcomed by those wishing to read of cutting edge exploits, but it does more than recount experiences and record achievements. He has a passion for striving higher, yet at age sixteen years it was downwards to the coal face that he followed the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Adopting a forthright approach Andy Cave provides a parallel portrayal of his early life with limited prospects, but an expanding future when he quit his job as a miner to devote himself to mountain activities and to pursue his education.

At weekends Andy Cave escaped the pit, first to nearby rock outcrops, then further afield to the greater mountain ranges. `Learning to Breathe' traces the evolution of a skinny youth, attracting the nickname `Rickets', into one of Britain's foremost climber-mountaineers, and it does so in four main sections. The first `Dust' covers from schooldays, into the mining industry, and out into the light. Along with many anecdotes the second section describes some magnificent routes including Divine Providence on Mont Blanc and Gasherbrum IV in the Himalaya, laced with comment on companions' relationships ranging from `scab' miner enemies to instructor or guide friends. A major section `Space' details his epic on Changabang in 1997. The final section `Ash' pulls together the hardships and tragedies of coal mining and mountain climbing with a single chapter headed `The Cost'.

What may be viewed as a high point on the North Face of Changabang was also a lifetime low with disaster whilst descending the South Face. Andy Cave treats the expedition with the same thoughtfulness as for sensitive family issues, and the same clear insight as for horrific features of the mining industry, and the same openness when revealing outrageous and gripping episodes in the mountains; all told with integrity whether describing disagreements with fellow miners or explaining unfair feelings towards climbing partners.

From family ties, feelings of guilt, and broken friendships in the pits there are honest comparisons with the fears he exposes in his climbing. It is this intertwining of contrasting worlds that gives `Learning to Breathe' a different if not unique twist, and the non-mountainee