Good Climbing Literature

I have recently read the book: Post Cards From the Ledge, by Greg Child.

I was totally engulfed in the book and found it to be one of the best pieces of climbing literature I have ever read.

I was totally mezmorized by the parts of the book about Tomo Cesen, Cesare Maestri, Lydia Bradey and their questionable ascents. I dont believe Maestri did Cerro Torre, Tomo Cesen's Alpine trilogy and Lhotse climb seem sketchy at best. But, Lydia Bradey has me convinced that she was the first woman to climb Everest without oxygen without a doubt.

Does anyone know of any good books in general, or more specifically about Lydia Bradey. I would like to read more about her as she seems pretty Bad ASS

Thanks

A great book I read recently " No picnic on Mt. Kenya " by Felice Benuzzi. A true life story about a WWII prison camp escape to Mt. Kenya. Awesome read! Steph Davis recomended this book.

The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev I thought was an excellent book about climbing everest and the 1996 incident without all of the Jon Krakauer ramblings.

Stonyman61 wrote: Steph Davis recomended this book.

Steph's book High Infatuation is a good read also.

Jim Wickwire
Addicted to Danger: A Memoir about Affirming Life in the Face of Death

Reinhold Messner
The Naked Mountain

Mark Twight
Kiss or Kill

Adrian and Alan Burgess
The Burgess Book of Lies

"Eiger Dreams" -Jon Krakauer
"Kiss or Kill" -Mark Twight
"Tao of Jeet Kune Do" -Bruce Lee (possibly the best book ever on
facing your fears)

Must read of all time..."On the Heights" by Walter Bonatti.

Not really about climbing per se, but I'm in the middle of "The Snow Leopard" by Peter Matthiessen...pretty good travelogue set in the mountains of Nepal. A good read!

EDIT: Does "Freedom of the Hills" or "Climbing Anchors" count as literature? :-)

i like the writings of Eric Shipton a lot. take your pick, he wrote tons. also the books by H.W. Tilman are pretty good. those guys were just so badass.
touching the void and this game of ghosts by Joe Simpson are both great reads.
Annapurna by Maurice Herzog is also a classic must read. the stuff those guys went through to climb that mountain is incredible.

I've always enjoyed David Roberts' writings such as The Mountain of My Fear and his recent memoir, The Ridge Between Life and Death.

A Book of Five Rings- Miyamoto Musashi(1974, hardback original)

Not climbing specific- however- a very good book in the art of strategy based by the way of the warrior. This book helped me open up new vision that helped both my climbing and life in general. A must read.

amazon.com/Book-Five-Rings-…

Mountains of my Life - Bonatti
Starlight and Storm - Gaston Rebuffat
Conquistadors of the Useless - Lionel Terray
The Diemberger Omnibus - Kurt Deimberger
The White Spider - Heinrich Harrer

I like This Game of Ghosts by Joe Simpson, along with nearly everything else posted so far.

John Long and John Krakauer. They both just crush. Read John Krakauers book,"Into Thin Air" followed by Anatoli Boukreevs book "The Climb" back to back. Make sure you have beer and valiums.

Michael Schneiter wrote:I've always enjoyed David Roberts' writings such as The Mountain of My Fear and his recent memoir, The Ridge Between Life and Death.

I will second this one!!!

Check out Long on Adventure by John Long. All of Long's best stories in one book. $5 on sale at Chessler Books.

Eli

I'll second "Mountains of My Life" by Bonatti - great read.

Eiger Dreams- John Krakauer
Enduring Patagonia- Greg Couch
Postcards for the Ledge/ Mixed Emotions- Greg Child
Mark Twight-Kiss or Kill
Touching the Void-Joe Simpson
On the Admiration of Mountains-Conrad Gesner
Seven Years in Tibet-Heinrich Harrer
Annapurna-Maurice Herzog
Beyond the Summit-Todd Skinner
Let My People Go Surfing-Yvon Choinard

What is it with all this "warrior" stuff in relation to climbing? It's not MMA fer chrissakes.

Not all us are meant to be "warriors", for some people the day they decide they need to be the bad-ass "warrior" is the day their ass will be dead or mentally and physically crippled. For some people, their most effective role may be "in the rear with the gear." (to quote from Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket")

And for all people (no exceptions), trying to be a "warrior" in all aspects of your life is a dumb-ass idea. When you have children, will you be a "warrior" against them?

I'm sure you can make a great case that life is all one big competition, but a huge determinant of how well you do in that competition is how well you cooperate with others.

As if our former, 2-digit IQ, childishly insecure President didn't get us into enough trouble with this "warrior" BS.

High Exposure by David Breashears!

It is largely responsible for getting me into climbing. The first half deals with his early days rock climbing and the rest is the big mountain stuff.

Christian wrote:What is it with all this "warrior" stuff in relation to climbing? It's not MMA fer chrissakes. Not all us are meant to be "warriors", for some people the day they decide they need to be the bad-ass "warrior" is the day their ass will be dead or mentally and physically crippled. For some people, their most effective role may be "in the rear with the gear." (to quote from Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket") And for all people (no exceptions), trying to be a "warrior" in all aspects of your life is a dumb-ass idea. When you have children, will you be a "warrior" against them? I'm sure you can make a great case that life is all one big competition, but a huge determinant of how well you do in that competition is how well you cooperate with others. As if our former, 2-digit IQ, childishly insecure President didn't get us into enough trouble with this "warrior" BS.

Wow dude....breeeeathe- its just a climbing forum.... Sorry Bush pissed ya off! Anyhow- I climb, have children and live an adventurous life- and, I am not a "warrior". lol. You might try READING a book before you comment on it. It does seem you could use some STRATEGY guidance in your life. Nice rampage tho', for sure!

BTW- if you climb alot on the weekends- you ARE a "weekend warrior". :)