Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.


Psychovertical- brilliant!, 07 Nov 2008
Psychovertical
Just a quick review here, the others seem to have pretty much covered it. Very unputdownable. Great descriptions made me feel as though I was there myself.
BUY IT!!

Highly recommended, 23 Oct 2008
If you are a fan of mountaineering literature, especially writers of the class of Simpson, Krakauer or Mark Jenkins, then you will enjoy this. Kirkpatrick successfully manages to convey both the thrill and the terror of climbing, in an easily accessible style. As noted in other reviews, some parts of this have been published before, but that should not deter you from getting hold of a copy. Kirkpatrick comes across as a highly driven individual, but also one with whom you would want to share a pint or two down the local, after a long day in the hills. Highly recommended.

Gripping!, 22 Oct 2008
Psychovertical is a brilliant account of a seemingly impossible big wall climb interspersed with a humourous autobiography that attempts to explain why the author repeatedly finds himself half way up a mountain faced with near certain death. It is a fascinating account which will no doubt appeal to climbers and non climbers alike as the climbing specific language is sparse and adequately explained when used. The book has equal amounts of suspense and I found it very difficult to put down. I thoroughly recommend this book.

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.

Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.


Psychovertical- brilliant!, 07 Nov 2008
Psychovertical
Just a quick review here, the others seem to have pretty much covered it. Very unputdownable. Great descriptions made me feel as though I was there myself.
BUY IT!!

Highly recommended, 23 Oct 2008
If you are a fan of mountaineering literature, especially writers of the class of Simpson, Krakauer or Mark Jenkins, then you will enjoy this. Kirkpatrick successfully manages to convey both the thrill and the terror of climbing, in an easily accessible style. As noted in other reviews, some parts of this have been published before, but that should not deter you from getting hold of a copy. Kirkpatrick comes across as a highly driven individual, but also one with whom you would want to share a pint or two down the local, after a long day in the hills. Highly recommended.

Gripping!, 22 Oct 2008
Psychovertical is a brilliant account of a seemingly impossible big wall climb interspersed with a humourous autobiography that attempts to explain why the author repeatedly finds himself half way up a mountain faced with near certain death. It is a fascinating account which will no doubt appeal to climbers and non climbers alike as the climbing specific language is sparse and adequately explained when used. The book has equal amounts of suspense and I found it very difficult to put down. I thoroughly recommend this book.

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.


Into thin air, 09 Oct 2008
This has to be the best book I have read in a long time. I literally could not put it down ! It was gripping. The mountineering side of it is explained in laymans terms and overall it is extremely well written. Probably the kind of book I will even read twice over.

An intense read, 30 Sep 2008
There are a lot of books knocking about that cover the horrific story of the 1996 storm on Everest,this is without doubt one of the better ones.Jon Krakauer is a journalist by profession and his pedigree becomes evident right from the get go.He presents the reader with an intense honest and gripping account of his own personal battle with the malevolent forces of nature.We get a first hand account of the avarice of expedition operators,we see the poor judgement of inexperienced guides,the fury of mother nature and the sheer bad luck that befell many a climber that fateful day.This book became a no 1 best seller and the catalyst for a long running argument with other members of the climbing community. READ IT

More a novel than reality, 16 Sep 2008
Having also read (like many people) "The Climb" by Anatoli Baukreev i found Krakauers book to be filled with what appear to be speculative and unsupported comments and statements about many events that he was not privvy to.
Although its a good "novel" to read i think his book has to be seen as more fiction than fact and that should be kept in perspective when reading about his account of the late Anatoli Baukreev.

A very personal account., 20 Jun 2008
Because this is such a personal account, I would suggest that those who criticize it for being one sided are wide of the mark. Krakauer himself acknowledges the difficulty he had in remembering accurately and in comparing his memories with those of others. Much of what he is recalling happened when he and others were suffering from severe exhaustion, oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness. He also admits that writing this book was a cathartic exercise for him, which has resulted in his readers being less well served than they should have been. Yes, he criticizes others and questions their actions and motives, but he is also hard on himself, and he does recount the heroic deeds of others (such as Anatoli Boukreev) as well as their questionable ones. I suppose that for the sake of completeness it would be interesting to read Boukreev's account, but not essential. This book stands on its own.

And what a book it is! I would defy anyone, be they an experienced climber or someone with no no previous interest in mountaineering, to put it down once begun. This is the antidote to all of those coffee table books that present only the benign, picturesque face of Everest. From the squalid conditions on the walk-in and at base camp to the harrowing climax in the death zone, I was struck by the honesty of this book. The characters involved are also well drawn, though some may not like the way Krakauer paints them. There are some great climbers who are not good enough writers to do justice to their exploits. Krakauer would not count himself as a great Himalayan mountaineer, and would perhaps question whether his trip to Everest in 1996 was worth while at all. Nevertheless, his ability to write about his experiences makes this book a very worth while read.

Summit Fever on Everest, 05 Mar 2008
A gripping account of summit fever. Hopefully the days of extreme tourism and queues at the Hilary Step are long gone. But I doubt it.

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.


Psychovertical- brilliant!, 07 Nov 2008
Psychovertical
Just a quick review here, the others seem to have pretty much covered it. Very unputdownable. Great descriptions made me feel as though I was there myself.
BUY IT!!

Highly recommended, 23 Oct 2008
If you are a fan of mountaineering literature, especially writers of the class of Simpson, Krakauer or Mark Jenkins, then you will enjoy this. Kirkpatrick successfully manages to convey both the thrill and the terror of climbing, in an easily accessible style. As noted in other reviews, some parts of this have been published before, but that should not deter you from getting hold of a copy. Kirkpatrick comes across as a highly driven individual, but also one with whom you would want to share a pint or two down the local, after a long day in the hills. Highly recommended.

Gripping!, 22 Oct 2008
Psychovertical is a brilliant account of a seemingly impossible big wall climb interspersed with a humourous autobiography that attempts to explain why the author repeatedly finds himself half way up a mountain faced with near certain death. It is a fascinating account which will no doubt appeal to climbers and non climbers alike as the climbing specific language is sparse and adequately explained when used. The book has equal amounts of suspense and I found it very difficult to put down. I thoroughly recommend this book.

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.


Into thin air, 09 Oct 2008
This has to be the best book I have read in a long time. I literally could not put it down ! It was gripping. The mountineering side of it is explained in laymans terms and overall it is extremely well written. Probably the kind of book I will even read twice over.

An intense read, 30 Sep 2008
There are a lot of books knocking about that cover the horrific story of the 1996 storm on Everest,this is without doubt one of the better ones.Jon Krakauer is a journalist by profession and his pedigree becomes evident right from the get go.He presents the reader with an intense honest and gripping account of his own personal battle with the malevolent forces of nature.We get a first hand account of the avarice of expedition operators,we see the poor judgement of inexperienced guides,the fury of mother nature and the sheer bad luck that befell many a climber that fateful day.This book became a no 1 best seller and the catalyst for a long running argument with other members of the climbing community. READ IT

More a novel than reality, 16 Sep 2008
Having also read (like many people) "The Climb" by Anatoli Baukreev i found Krakauers book to be filled with what appear to be speculative and unsupported comments and statements about many events that he was not privvy to.
Although its a good "novel" to read i think his book has to be seen as more fiction than fact and that should be kept in perspective when reading about his account of the late Anatoli Baukreev.

A very personal account., 20 Jun 2008
Because this is such a personal account, I would suggest that those who criticize it for being one sided are wide of the mark. Krakauer himself acknowledges the difficulty he had in remembering accurately and in comparing his memories with those of others. Much of what he is recalling happened when he and others were suffering from severe exhaustion, oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness. He also admits that writing this book was a cathartic exercise for him, which has resulted in his readers being less well served than they should have been. Yes, he criticizes others and questions their actions and motives, but he is also hard on himself, and he does recount the heroic deeds of others (such as Anatoli Boukreev) as well as their questionable ones. I suppose that for the sake of completeness it would be interesting to read Boukreev's account, but not essential. This book stands on its own.

And what a book it is! I would defy anyone, be they an experienced climber or someone with no no previous interest in mountaineering, to put it down once begun. This is the antidote to all of those coffee table books that present only the benign, picturesque face of Everest. From the squalid conditions on the walk-in and at base camp to the harrowing climax in the death zone, I was struck by the honesty of this book. The characters involved are also well drawn, though some may not like the way Krakauer paints them. There are some great climbers who are not good enough writers to do justice to their exploits. Krakauer would not count himself as a great Himalayan mountaineer, and would perhaps question whether his trip to Everest in 1996 was worth while at all. Nevertheless, his ability to write about his experiences makes this book a very worth while read.

Summit Fever on Everest, 05 Mar 2008
A gripping account of summit fever. Hopefully the days of extreme tourism and queues at the Hilary Step are long gone. But I doubt it.

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-mountaineering element strengthens what is essentially a mountaineer's autobiography. After Changabang Andy Cave returned to his mining background to research into language variety and identity among former miners. His PhD in socio-linguistics has paid off with a keen ear for dialogue and an ability to share and reflect on delight and distress in his life, but it is obvious that Andy Cave has always been and continues as a natural raconteur. With enthusiasm and humour he pitches his tales in an attractive self-effacing style that is easy to read and completely engaging.

There is nothing dewy-eyed about `Learning to Breathe' and any fears may be dispelled with regard to fashioning of Andy Cave and mountaineering as a sentimental story like Billy Elliot and ballet. However the book encompasses a dramatic transformation, and perhaps the publisher's dust wrapper statement says it all: "From the depths of the pit to the roof of the world - an extraordinary odyssey".


An excellent book from an excellent mountaineer, 04 Dec 2007
Andy Cave has been one of Britains leading mountaineers for quite a while. I have been waiting for a book to be released on his life (and achievements). This book does not disappoint. It's well written - being easy to read and containing enough facts to keep you interested all the way through. Would recommend.

Outstanding, 25 Mar 2006
Having tried to read several mountaineering books, by experienced mountaineers, I have realised that there understanding of what makes a good read, is not the same as their undoubted mountaineering talent, there are sometimes, too many references which detract from the story.
Having read, and enjoyed all of Joe Simpsons excellent books, I spotted Andy Caves book. I was as much drawn to his background, as I live only 15 miles from where he was raised, as I was by his exploits. Andys writing talent is superb. I was unable to put the book down, and look forward in hope to reading more of his work, either fiction or non-fiction. Well recommended even if you have no interest in mountaineering or climbing.

Excellent, 31 Dec 2005
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is definitely one of the best I've read in 2005. Andy has a very keen ear for dialogue and tells his stories extremely well. I hope that this is not the last book he writes.

I am slightly surprised that the book has not had a higher profile. Perhaps there is too much coal-mining for the mountaineers and too much mountaineering for those interested in coal mining?

In The Beckoning Silence, climber Joe Simpson, author of the bestselling Touching the Void, recounts how his mountain dreams became shadowed by the deaths of friends and heroes, and hampered by the weight of probability that his own life would end in the same way. The result is a valedictory attempt on the North Face of the Eiger, a summation of his lifelong enchantment with climbing, and the parlaying of rock-solid risk with intangible rewards. It was a final adventure that would itself be touched by tragedy.

Simpson has established himself as the leading mountaineering writer of his time, and The Beckoning Silence is a bold reassertion of that status. Always strong on the personal meaning of the challenge, here he is superb on the bubbling fear that forms such a critical element of the climber's kit; the minutiae of circumstance that seemingly separate the survivors and the dead; and the crisis that envelopes a climbing partnership on the mountainside, at the instant extreme pressure disturbs the balance of shared ambition and ability.

Tat turned and looked speculatively up the corner and I felt even angrier that he might still be risking my life. What can you do if he insists? I mean, you can't pull him off. That would kill us. If he insists, then you'll have to un-rope. Jesus! Tell him that. "Tat?" I said quietly, hearing the fear in my voice.

The narrative takes Simpson to Bolivia, the Alps, Colorado and to the foot of the Eiger, where he receives a uniquely rich and moving tutorial on the history of the challenge that lies ahead. Simpson fans need know no more than that this may be his finest effort to date. For the uninitiated, there is simply no more evocative, emotionally literate author writing on this subject today.--Alex Hankin

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.


Psychovertical- brilliant!, 07 Nov 2008
Psychovertical
Just a quick review here, the others seem to have pretty much covered it. Very unputdownable. Great descriptions made me feel as though I was there myself.
BUY IT!!

Highly recommended, 23 Oct 2008
If you are a fan of mountaineering literature, especially writers of the class of Simpson, Krakauer or Mark Jenkins, then you will enjoy this. Kirkpatrick successfully manages to convey both the thrill and the terror of climbing, in an easily accessible style. As noted in other reviews, some parts of this have been published before, but that should not deter you from getting hold of a copy. Kirkpatrick comes across as a highly driven individual, but also one with whom you would want to share a pint or two down the local, after a long day in the hills. Highly recommended.

Gripping!, 22 Oct 2008
Psychovertical is a brilliant account of a seemingly impossible big wall climb interspersed with a humourous autobiography that attempts to explain why the author repeatedly finds himself half way up a mountain faced with near certain death. It is a fascinating account which will no doubt appeal to climbers and non climbers alike as the climbing specific language is sparse and adequately explained when used. The book has equal amounts of suspense and I found it very difficult to put down. I thoroughly recommend this book.

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.


Into thin air, 09 Oct 2008
This has to be the best book I have read in a long time. I literally could not put it down ! It was gripping. The mountineering side of it is explained in laymans terms and overall it is extremely well written. Probably the kind of book I will even read twice over.

An intense read, 30 Sep 2008
There are a lot of books knocking about that cover the horrific story of the 1996 storm on Everest,this is without doubt one of the better ones.Jon Krakauer is a journalist by profession and his pedigree becomes evident right from the get go.He presents the reader with an intense honest and gripping account of his own personal battle with the malevolent forces of nature.We get a first hand account of the avarice of expedition operators,we see the poor judgement of inexperienced guides,the fury of mother nature and the sheer bad luck that befell many a climber that fateful day.This book became a no 1 best seller and the catalyst for a long running argument with other members of the climbing community. READ IT

More a novel than reality, 16 Sep 2008
Having also read (like many people) "The Climb" by Anatoli Baukreev i found Krakauers book to be filled with what appear to be speculative and unsupported comments and statements about many events that he was not privvy to.
Although its a good "novel" to read i think his book has to be seen as more fiction than fact and that should be kept in perspective when reading about his account of the late Anatoli Baukreev.

A very personal account., 20 Jun 2008
Because this is such a personal account, I would suggest that those who criticize it for being one sided are wide of the mark. Krakauer himself acknowledges the difficulty he had in remembering accurately and in comparing his memories with those of others. Much of what he is recalling happened when he and others were suffering from severe exhaustion, oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness. He also admits that writing this book was a cathartic exercise for him, which has resulted in his readers being less well served than they should have been. Yes, he criticizes others and questions their actions and motives, but he is also hard on himself, and he does recount the heroic deeds of others (such as Anatoli Boukreev) as well as their questionable ones. I suppose that for the sake of completeness it would be interesting to read Boukreev's account, but not essential. This book stands on its own.

And what a book it is! I would defy anyone, be they an experienced climber or someone with no no previous interest in mountaineering, to put it down once begun. This is the antidote to all of those coffee table books that present only the benign, picturesque face of Everest. From the squalid conditions on the walk-in and at base camp to the harrowing climax in the death zone, I was struck by the honesty of this book. The characters involved are also well drawn, though some may not like the way Krakauer paints them. There are some great climbers who are not good enough writers to do justice to their exploits. Krakauer would not count himself as a great Himalayan mountaineer, and would perhaps question whether his trip to Everest in 1996 was worth while at all. Nevertheless, his ability to write about his experiences makes this book a very worth while read.

Summit Fever on Everest, 05 Mar 2008
A gripping account of summit fever. Hopefully the days of extreme tourism and queues at the Hilary Step are long gone. But I doubt it.

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-mountaineering element strengthens what is essentially a mountaineer's autobiography. After Changabang Andy Cave returned to his mining background to research into language variety and identity among former miners. His PhD in socio-linguistics has paid off with a keen ear for dialogue and an ability to share and reflect on delight and distress in his life, but it is obvious that Andy Cave has always been and continues as a natural raconteur. With enthusiasm and humour he pitches his tales in an attractive self-effacing style that is easy to read and completely engaging.

There is nothing dewy-eyed about `Learning to Breathe' and any fears may be dispelled with regard to fashioning of Andy Cave and mountaineering as a sentimental story like Billy Elliot and ballet. However the book encompasses a dramatic transformation, and perhaps the publisher's dust wrapper statement says it all: "From the depths of the pit to the roof of the world - an extraordinary odyssey".


An excellent book from an excellent mountaineer, 04 Dec 2007
Andy Cave has been one of Britains leading mountaineers for quite a while. I have been waiting for a book to be released on his life (and achievements). This book does not disappoint. It's well written - being easy to read and containing enough facts to keep you interested all the way through. Would recommend.

Outstanding, 25 Mar 2006
Having tried to read several mountaineering books, by experienced mountaineers, I have realised that there understanding of what makes a good read, is not the same as their undoubted mountaineering talent, there are sometimes, too many references which detract from the story.
Having read, and enjoyed all of Joe Simpsons excellent books, I spotted Andy Caves book. I was as much drawn to his background, as I live only 15 miles from where he was raised, as I was by his exploits. Andys writing talent is superb. I was unable to put the book down, and look forward in hope to reading more of his work, either fiction or non-fiction. Well recommended even if you have no interest in mountaineering or climbing.

Excellent, 31 Dec 2005
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is definitely one of the best I've read in 2005. Andy has a very keen ear for dialogue and tells his stories extremely well. I hope that this is not the last book he writes.

I am slightly surprised that the book has not had a higher profile. Perhaps there is too much coal-mining for the mountaineers and too much mountaineering for those interested in coal mining?

Eiger experiences, 27 May 2008
In the world of mountaineering writing Joe Simpson is without peer. There seem to be two reasons for this. First, Simpson is one of those people to whom things just keep happening. Famously, in "Touching the Void", he shatters a leg in a fall, is left to die at high altitude by his climbing partner and yet still struggles to safety. In other books, he gets swept up by avalanches, caught up in snowstorms and suffers many other close scrapes. Eventually, in this book, as he reflects on the near misses and the number of his friends who have died in various misadventures, Simpson decides to hang up his crampons for good. But before he does so, he decides to tackle the infamous north face of the Eiger, known as the "Mordwand" or Murder Face by the locals because of the large number of climbers dying in an attempt to climb it. A mile-high, sheer cliff of rock and ice, the Mordwand has been an unforgiving test of a climber's ability over the years though, according to Simpson, advances in the quality of equipment have made it much more feasible. One of the local guides points out that with advances in mountain rescue that despite the Eiger's grim reputation that it had been many years since the last death on the face. But Simpson is somebody to whom things happen and as he sets foot on the face, people start falling off.

But that's not the whole reason. There are many other climbers who have written of death-defying adventures. Simpson's second asset is that he's also a superb tailor of prose. He describes the climbs and hang-gliding flights in such vivid detail yet with such pace that you feel as if you're there with him. And this is where Simpson wins out over other mountaineering writers who simply write of their experiences -- Simpson's natural storytelling skills draw you in rather than leaving you feeling that you've read a bare, dry narrative.

One small detail had a personal appeal to me. Simpson talks of how he read Harrer's "The White Spider" (the book detailing the first ascent of the Mordwand) as a child and it convinced him that he never wanted to be a mountaineer, yet he became one. I also read it as a child and it convinced me that I *did* want to, but I never followed it up. Ironically, it's now reported that the White Spider is no longer a fiendish ice field, destroyed by global warming.

I'm not going to spoil things by saying whether Simpson is successful in his climb or not, but clearly he survives to write the book! At the end though, there's some doubt as to whether this really was the final climb. I hope that, if it wasn't, Simpson will continue to share his adventures with us.

Joe at his most thoughtful, 22 Feb 2008
I am a huge fan of mountaineering literature and I especially enjoy a pacy tale, however The Beckoning Silence moves at quite a slow pace and appropriately so. In this book Joe Simpson is feeling the effects of advancing years, losing his nerve. So many of his friends have died tragically that he comtemplates abandoning mountaineering altogether. He reflects on his early years considering that he was perhaps obsessed at that time.
A friend encourages him to have one last hurrah - to climb the mountain that inspired him to become an mountaineer in the first place - the Nordwand of the Eiger - aka the Mordwand because of the death toll of climbers who perished attempting to scale the wall.
Joe gives an interesting account of the history of the Eiger and explores his own fears and reason for them in great depth. Certain paragraphs of this book are so beautifully written I am tempted to take it up again. It is an elegy combined with mountaineering adventure.

Mid life crisis?, 07 Dec 2007
This is a stunning book from Joe Simpson; I prefer it to Touching the Void. The account of his ascent up the north face is a masterclass in storytelling.

But it's more than a book about climbing a mountain, or the history of climbing that mountain, which is covered well and sensitively. It's about the journey of life; how one changes as the years pass, and friends disappear. Anyone who has been through such life events will identify with Simpson wrestling with his conscience as he ponders why he does what he does. And you get a better answer than 'because it's there'.

When danger becomes too dangerous, 13 Aug 2007
Joe Simpson's first book, Touching the Void, is a gripping description of a climb that went (almost tragically) wrong. If you haven't read that first, I would recommend doing so - it provides much of the emotional set-up for The Beckoning Silence. Here Simpson describes many tragic trips of other climbers; treading an uneasy path between sensationalism and his urgent need to share the feelings inspired by being part of such a close-knit yet endangered community. Simpson does an excellent job of taking the layperson inside a world where life is fragile, hanging by the thin thread of a climbing rope on an all-too-precarious perch.

The possibility overshadows the book that Simpson spends so much time dwelling on the tragedies of others so that readers will not criticise him for trips where he has backed down. Fair enough - although there is a sense that he does not want his decisions to be harshly judged, this is unlikely from anyone who has first read Void. Simpson's courage could never now be called into question, and it is interesting to read his judgements on when danger becomes too dangerous. Essentially this is the crux of the book - whether we are reading about Simpson's own decisions or those of others which now haunt him, this is the central decision at every turn: when to face peril and when to retreat from it.

Beautiful, but standing on the shoulders of giants., 14 May 2007
Joe Simpson doesn't seem to be the man I'd choose to try climbing with - some major catastrophe always seems to be just over the next pitch. In 'Beckoning Silence', Joe wrestles with the deaths of some of his closest friends, and a couple more near escapes, and attempts to capture his deliberations as to whether to leave climbing altogether.

Simpson continues with his great writing style in Silence, with an ability to capture the emotion of the mountains that he is climbing. He manages to make you feel involved in each of his expeditions, even if you've never climbed before. His choice of drama gives the book a power to take your breath away, and he can make you feel like you are hanging eight feet out over a two thousand feet drop, all from the safety of your living room.

However, I don't feel this is his best book. I felt he was guilty of borrowing too heavily from other authors, particularly 'The White Spider', and the rapid changes of continent deny the reader the chance to feel part of the sustained climb that drove you forward in the other books. My greatest disappointment though was a feeling that he trivialises the deaths of other mountaineers, which is sad, as I think this is the opposite of his intent in writing the book. In attempting to set each scene, he uses descriptions of each accident, I feel, rather too sensationally. With unnerving rapidity, he moves from one macabre scene to the next, more to maintain momentum, than perhaps offer a fitting memorial to each climber. Without spoiling the latter part of the book, as he describes the deaths of some climbers on the Eiger, you feel more like a gory tourist, rather than a comrade to the souls described, and this left me very empty. I wanted time to contemplate each of these men, the lives abruptly ended, and I felt the pace of the book denied me this.

This ultimately prevented the book from reaching a conclusion, and although this may be where Simpson ended up in his personal journey, I do not feel it is a fair place to leave the reader.

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre, 01 Nov 2008
If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

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.


Psychovertical- brilliant!, 07 Nov 2008
Psychovertical
Just a quick review here, the others seem to have pretty much covered it. Very unputdownable. Great descriptions made me feel as though I was there myself.
BUY IT!!

Highly recommended, 23 Oct 2008
If you are a fan of mountaineering literature, especially writers of the class of Simpson, Krakauer or Mark Jenkins, then you will enjoy this. Kirkpatrick successfully manages to convey both the thrill and the terror of climbing, in an easily accessible style. As noted in other reviews, some parts of this have been published before, but that should not deter you from getting hold of a copy. Kirkpatrick comes across as a highly driven individual, but also one with whom you would want to share a pint or two down the local, after a long day in the hills. Highly recommended.

Gripping!, 22 Oct 2008
Psychovertical is a brilliant account of a seemingly impossible big wall climb interspersed with a humourous autobiography that attempts to explain why the author repeatedly finds himself half way up a mountain faced with near certain death. It is a fascinating account which will no doubt appeal to climbers and non climbers alike as the climbing specific language is sparse and adequately explained when used. The book has equal amounts of suspense and I found it very difficult to put down. I thoroughly recommend this book.

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.


Into thin air, 09 Oct 2008
This has to be the best book I have read in a long time. I literally could not put it down ! It was gripping. The mountineering side of it is explained in laymans terms and overall it is extremely well written. Probably the kind of book I will even read twice over.

An intense read, 30 Sep 2008
There are a lot of books knocking about that cover the horrific story of the 1996 storm on Everest,this is without doubt one of the better ones.Jon Krakauer is a journalist by profession and his pedigree becomes evident right from the get go.He presents the reader with an intense honest and gripping account of his own personal battle with the malevolent forces of nature.We get a first hand account of the avarice of expedition operators,we see the poor judgement of inexperienced guides,the fury of mother nature and the sheer bad luck that befell many a climber that fateful day.This book became a no 1 best seller and the catalyst for a long running argument with other members of the climbing community. READ IT

More a novel than reality, 16 Sep 2008
Having also read (like many people) "The Climb" by Anatoli Baukreev i found Krakauers book to be filled with what appear to be speculative and unsupported comments and statements about many events that he was not privvy to.
Although its a good "novel" to read i think his book has to be seen as more fiction than fact and that should be kept in perspective when reading about his account of the late Anatoli Baukreev.

A very personal account., 20 Jun 2008
Because this is such a personal account, I would suggest that those who criticize it for being one sided are wide of the mark. Krakauer himself acknowledges the difficulty he had in remembering accurately and in comparing his memories with those of others. Much of what he is recalling happened when he and others were suffering from severe exhaustion, oxygen deprivation and altitude sickness. He also admits that writing this book was a cathartic exercise for him, which has resulted in his readers being less well served than they should have been. Yes, he criticizes others and questions their actions and motives, but he is also hard on himself, and he does recount the heroic deeds of others (such as Anatoli Boukreev) as well as their questionable ones. I suppose that for the sake of completeness it would be interesting to read Boukreev's account, but not essential. This book stands on its own.

And what a book it is! I would defy anyone, be they an experienced climber or someone with no no previous interest in mountaineering, to put it down once begun. This is the antidote to all of those coffee table books that present only the benign, picturesque face of Everest. From the squalid conditions on the walk-in and at base camp to the harrowing climax in the death zone, I was struck by the honesty of this book. The characters involved are also well drawn, though some may not like the way Krakauer paints them. There are some great climbers who are not good enough writers to do justice to their exploits. Krakauer would not count himself as a great Himalayan mountaineer, and would perhaps question whether his trip to Everest in 1996 was worth while at all. Nevertheless, his ability to write about his experiences makes this book a very worth while read.

Summit Fever on Everest, 05 Mar 2008
A gripping account of summit fever. Hopefully the days of extreme tourism and queues at the Hilary Step are long gone. But I doubt it.

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-mountaineering element strengthens what is essentially a mountaineer's autobiography. After Changabang Andy Cave returned to his mining background to research into language variety and identity among former miners. His PhD in socio-linguistics has paid off with a keen ear for dialogue and an ability to share and reflect on delight and distress in his life, but it is obvious that Andy Cave has always been and continues as a natural raconteur. With enthusiasm and humour he pitches his tales in an attractive self-effacing style that is easy to read and completely engaging.

There is nothing dewy-eyed about `Learning to Breathe' and any fears may be dispelled with regard to fashioning of Andy Cave and mountaineering as a sentimental story like Billy Elliot and ballet. However the book encompasses a dramatic transformation, and perhaps the publisher's dust wrapper statement says it all: "From the depths of the pit to the roof of the world - an extraordinary odyssey".


An excellent book from an excellent mountaineer, 04 Dec 2007
Andy Cave has been one of Britains leading mountaineers for quite a while. I have been waiting for a book to be released on his life (and achievements). This book does not disappoint. It's well written - being easy to read and containing enough facts to keep you interested all the way through. Would recommend.

Outstanding, 25 Mar 2006
Having tried to read several mountaineering books, by experienced mountaineers, I have realised that there understanding of what makes a good read, is not the same as their undoubted mountaineering talent, there are sometimes, too many references which detract from the story.
Having read, and enjoyed all of Joe Simpsons excellent books, I spotted Andy Caves book. I was as much drawn to his background, as I live only 15 miles from where he was raised, as I was by his exploits. Andys writing talent is superb. I was unable to put the book down, and look forward in hope to reading more of his work, either fiction or non-fiction. Well recommended even if you have no interest in mountaineering or climbing.

Excellent, 31 Dec 2005
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is definitely one of the best I've read in 2005. Andy has a very keen ear for dialogue and tells his stories extremely well. I hope that this is not the last book he writes.

I am slightly surprised that the book has not had a higher profile. Perhaps there is too much coal-mining for the mountaineers and too much mountaineering for those interested in coal mining?

Eiger experiences, 27 May 2008
In the world of mountaineering writing Joe Simpson is without peer. There seem to be two reasons for this. First, Simpson is one of those people to whom things just keep happening. Famously, in "Touching the Void", he shatters a leg in a fall, is left to die at high altitude by his climbing partner and yet still struggles to safety. In other books, he gets swept up by avalanches, caught up in snowstorms and suffers many other close scrapes. Eventually, in this book, as he reflects on the near misses and the number of his friends who have died in various misadventures, Simpson decides to hang up his crampons for good. But before he does so, he decides to tackle the infamous north face of the Eiger, known as the "Mordwand" or Murder Face by the locals because of the large number of climbers dying in an attempt to climb it. A mile-high, sheer cliff of rock and ice, the Mordwand has been an unforgiving test of a climber's ability over the years though, according to Simpson, advances in the quality of equipment have made it much more feasible. One of the local guides points out that with advances in mountain rescue that despite the Eiger's grim reputation that it had been many years since the last death on the face. But Simpson is somebody to whom things happen and as he sets foot on the face, people start falling off.

But that's not the whole reason. There are many other climbers who have written of death-defying adventures. Simpson's second asset is that he's also a superb tailor of prose. He describes the climbs and hang-gliding flights in such vivid detail yet with such pace that you feel as if you're there with him. And this is where Simpson wins out over other mountaineering writers who simply write of their experiences -- Simpson's natural storytelling skills draw you in rather than leaving you feeling that you've read a bare, dry narrative.

One small detail had a personal appeal to me. Simpson talks of how he read Harrer's "The White Spider" (the book detailing the first ascent of the Mordwand) as a child and it convinced him that he never wanted to be a mountaineer, yet he became one. I also read it as a child and it convinced me that I *did* want to, but I never followed it up. Ironically, it's now reported that the White Spider is no longer a fiendish ice field, destroyed by global warming.

I'm not going to spoil things by saying whether Simpson is successful in his climb or not, but clearly he survives to write the book! At the end though, there's some doubt as to whether this really was the final climb. I hope that, if