author, mountaineering writer – books, blog, opinion
Thanks to Vertebrate and their Norwegian translator Bibbi Lee, the meagre pot of mountaineering mirth has become a little merrier with the unearthing of a little known gem of Norwegian literature.
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I don’t often accept books for review – not because I’m not interested, but because life is short and there are too many books I want to read. Sometimes, however, I make an exception, like when Robert Anderson offered me a copy of his latest book Nine Lives.
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Publishing is one of the industries that could adapt to a new world that might emerge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But traditional publishers and indie authors share a common threat that promises an uncertain future.
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Mountain literature isn’t devoid of humour, but generally speaking, comedy takes second place to heroics in mountain writing. But I know there must be some laugh-out-loud funny, two or three jokes a page mountaineering books out there. If you know of any, then I’d like to hear about them.
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A book by a writer with no publishing company to back him up, who doesn’t give any promotional talks, and whose books have never been reviewed by a single outdoor magazine, was a no.1 bestseller last week. I have you to thank.
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Two of the best mountaineering books ever written were designed to be read side by side, but I wonder if anyone has. I set myself the challenge of reading alternate chapters of The Ascent of Nanda Devi by H.W. Tilman and The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman.
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Shipton was a legendary mountain explorer who travelled through the Himalayas and Karakoram at a time when many peaks and valleys remained unmapped. His books were evocative and humorous, and provide a window into another world.
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