Random Review: 6 of The Best...

... epic adventure books

For the last few months, I have been filling my impressionable mind with thoughts of adventure. I am not a big fan of fiction, I find that although the stories can enthrall me and whisk me away, I can get the same feelings of escapism, along with a large dose of 'that's pretty unbelievable' from true stories. And to satisfy the fact that I rarely get the opportunity to go climbing, I can marry these together in my current favourite type of book - epic adventure biographies from times gone by. Here are my favourites:

The White Spider - Heinrich Harrer (1959)

And why not start with the ultimate in climbing stories. I already reviewed one of my favourite books, the Heinrich Harrer book Seven Years in Tibet. And boy did this guy have some life! Before he was the first westerner allowed into Tibet and permitted audience with the Dalai Llama (after escaping a British PoW camp in India), Heinrich was one of the most celebrated of european climbers after scaling the most difficult and prestigious wall of that time - The North Face of the Eiger.

Heinrich (by his own admission in the pre-face to Seven Years in Tibet), is not the most fluent of writers, nor does he need to be - for this story of an epic journey up an uncharted climb facing down death on a number of occasions tells itself. This book is credited with being the inspiration for a great number of future climbers who have taken up the call of difficult, dangerous ascents. Only when you read this, will you understand why.

4 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer (1996)

Jon Krakauer is a journalist and expert in story-telling. He is also a fine mountaineer having climbed some difficult big-wall routes and attempted the Eiger North Face - though at the time of this Mount Everest ascent, none of this had been experience at high altitude. As a part of a guided expedition to report on the increasing traffic on Everest's slopes, Jon attempted Everest on a fateful day in 1996 when 8 climbers were killed high on the mountain.

Its not just the way which Jon writes which makes this an amazing book, its also the presence of real-life drama in the writers life. In the book Jon levels some criticisms at the guides responsible for getting their clients to the summit, with reference to their safety practices and their competition with other guided parties. This book led to a great deal of controversy within the high-altitude guiding field.

4 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

The Climb - Anatolo Boukreev (1996)

Anatoli Boukreev was the most experienced and fit guide on the disasterous Everest expedition of 1996. He summited without supplementary oxygen (an extremely difficult feat) and enacted an extremely brave rescue following the difficult summit day, of a number of clients stranded outside. He was also on the receiving end of some of the blame from Krakauers book on the safety mistakes faced by the expedition. Read in conjunction with Into Thin Air, this book is totally enthralling.

On an Everest expedition, there is supposed to be a turnaround time, at which point if you haven't reached the summit, you have to turn and go back down because the cold weather is coming in, your oxygen is most likely running out, and you have spent too long above 8000m. This turn around time was ignored (it is thought that, because of the large amounts of money clients had paid to do the climb and the intense competition, expedition leaders wanted as many to summit as possible). 

Other mistakes made include a lack of supplementary oxygen, and a lack of fitness and experience amongst the clients. Boukreev was specifically targeted for summiting without oxygen (if a client had had problems, oxygen would have enabled Boukreev to provide more support), and for going ahead of the party to get to the tents first. 

Perhaps its because Boukreev writes with a small hint of arrogance, or perhaps its because Krakauer is the superior writer - but I found it easier to sympathise with Krakauer's case and cause, but what seems to me as so obvious and simple as a reader, is not so simple to think through at over 8000m above sea level when your brains have gone to mush and your body is slowly eating itself.

3 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer (1996)

This book isn't about climbing, but is by  climber! This is a true story from an investigative journalist about Christopher McCandless, a student who abandons his comfortable middle america life - giving away all of his money and possessions including his car, and heading out on the road with a dream of getting to Alaska and to live self sufficiently, at least for a while. 

The book is expertly written (I am not so keen on the film version) as for parts of it, you are totally with McCandless, admiring of the actions he has taken, breaking free from the chains of society and just living hand to mouth however he can. It inspires you as the reader to consider your own chains in life an the potential for casting those away and setting off on your own epic journey to take you wherever. You admire his bravery.

On the other hand, there are actions which McCandless takes which are difficult to reconcile and appear selfish and hurtful at face value. The biggest for me, is the fact that he doesn't tell his family, in particular his sister that the is going and that he is safe. In his bid to change his own life, he takes away several years of those around him. The writer almost asks the reader to come up with their own judgement on McCandless actions. I don't think think is brought out in the film.

4.5 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

Annapurna - Maurice Herzog (1952)

In 1950, 3 years before Hillary and Norgay reached the summit of Everest, Herzog and Lachenal became the first mountaineers to summit a Himalayan peak of over 8,000m. The summit was Annapurna. This account tells of the massive efforts of hundreds of people which went into forming the expedition. From Nepali porters, to sherpas, to liaison officers, climbers a medical officer and photographer, the story is as much of Nepali attitudes to the climb and climb organisation as it is of an epic struggle of a group of experienced French alpine guides.

What fascinated me about this book, is that one of the first things they have to do, is locate the mountain! There is only one map of the area which is hand drawn and inaccurate, and the Nepalis rarely go up o such heights. At one point they head over the wrong pass and end up in Tibet - where the surprised residents werent even aware that Nepal was at the other side of the pass! 

The book is extremely well written and keeps you glued to its pages right to the very end when Herzog and Lachenal have to be evacuated from the mountain on stretchers complete with frostbite to hands and feet.

4.5 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

Touching the Void - Joe Simpson (1988)

This book need no introduction really. A Sheffield local, Joe Simpson ans Simon Yates experienced a terrible tragedy in 1985 on the Suila Grande in Peru. Simpson broke his leg on the decent and was lowered bu Yates rope length by rope length until he was accidentally lowered over a precipice. Yates had no choice but to cut the rope and Simpson fell into a crevasse from which he had to crawl for many miles.

The subsequent film was a success and although it is very mainstream, this is an example of a climber who is also a very good writer. Highly recommended.

4 out of 5 Rabbit Raisins

Random Review: District 9

Lacking money or imagination, we went to see District 9 at the cinema last night. I have to say that it was brilliant. I was very surprised, being a Lord of the Rings geek, I had a preconception that Peter Jacksons films were bursting with effects but lacking in story.

The only way I can sum up District 9 is:

The scare factor of 'Alien'

+

The goriness of 'Starship Troopers'

+

The humour of 'Serenity'

+

The style of 'Cloverfield'

+

The political slant of 'Hotel Rwanda' or an anti apartheid film.

All of which are fantastic movies in their own right. I highly recommend it (even Lucy likes it and she only likes Jennifer Aniston flicks).

Govindas

Time for  random review:

Last night Lucy and I made it to Govindas. A brilliant little place tucked away between the strip clubs and brothels of Kings Cross. The basic premise is that you go there and have a vegetarian buffet, then you go to the floor above and they have loads of sofa/beds and cushions everywhere and you watch a film on the big screen.

The food was really good except for the fact that both Lucy and I have the tendancy to massively overeat when faced with a buffet situation, and all through the film I had to lay in a certain position so as not to puke.

The film was 'Gone Baby Gone', which I would recommend. As much of a fan as I am of Kevin Smith fans and all that. I really think Bed Affleck should quit acting and stick to directing. Though his brother (the lead role) isn't at all bad.

Excellent twists in this one. All in all 3 and a half Rabbit Raisins for the experience (appreciated that everybody outside of Australia probably had this movie about 3 months ago).

Random Review II

I had planned to do the "Random Review" thing on a regular basis, however being as I don't have so much time on my hands anymore (in fact none) and I haven't really had the chance to read, it has been some time since my last post of this nature.

This review is related to Climate Change (as everything I write appears to be nowadays). I work in the field as an engineer and have little time to actually look back at advancing climate chance science which evolves at a rate that I just can't keep up with, so I have been trying to brush up on the issues. If you are interested - read on...

An Inconvenient Truth (the Book), Al Gore 

Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" was an exceptionally important film. This was not because of the groundbreaking science contained within or because of any new concepts relating to emissions reduction scenarios. It was because of two reasons: 

1. Al Gore is an excellent speaker

2. His film managed to explain climate change in simple terms to those who would otherwise have remained oblivious.

But this is a book review and as such relates to the accompanying tome which I first picked up in Chicago in late 2006. This gave me the opportunity to read the text before I saw the film. In many ways the book is still excellent. As with the film, the book follows Gore around the world as he presents his key-note speech on the dangers of climate change. 

I don't have a copy with me now, but 

one of the things that sticks in my mind is the photograph of mount Kilimanjaro a decade ago and the comparison with how it looks now, with vastly lessened permanent snows.

My main problems with the book

 lie with the fact that far too much of the story is focussed on Gore and his childhood, this is good in one respect as it maintains interest in his struggle to get his message across - but ... if you were to make all of your opinions based upon his explanations he would have you believe that it wa

s his university lecturers who first discovered the problem, and it was he alone carrying the torch through the 80's and 90's which is a bit of a mistruth.

I am going to give it 3 Rabbit Raisins:

The Weathermakers, Tim Flannery, 2006

The main reason why I wrote the review of Al Gores book was that I wanted to make a comparison with Tim Flannery's "The Weather Makers".

I picked up the Weathermakers back in December '07 (a little late I know seeing as it was written in 2006) based upon recommendation from a much respected former colleague in the UK ... and wow was I blown away in just a few Chapters! Tim Flannery (Australian of the year for 2006) presents information on Climate Change science in a way I have never read before - with wit, excellent writing skills, and superb honesty. It is so easy for the layman to read - from start to finish.

He, unlike Gore presents arguments and scientific consensus complete with sources and potential counter arguments in a very complete text. He is an ecologist by profession and takes us from discussions on the fate of the golden toad in Costa Rica to concepts of evolution and the 'Gaia Hypothesis'. He tells stories of struggling scientists trying to get their ideas accepted into the mainstream which helps the reader to understand why (to the general public) it appears that this climate change thing has just been sprung on us. 

Best of all, he gives possible outcomes in terms of impacts upon life. What will happen to use when energy becomes scarce and economies tighten up? And why have economists been forever arguing about the potential costs for climate change mitigation, and are they actually greater than the costs of dong nothing? 

Some of his arguments run into the philosophical, he muses that the source of our civilisation is our cities. Large concentrations of people dependent on networks that supply them with food and water. He considers that in times of scarcity it will be the specialists that suffer as happens in nature (e.g. his golden toad). Therefore it will be those in non-essential jobs that feel the pinch first.

A few of my favourite extracts:

On global population:

"In that seemingly distant age [1961] there were just 3 billion people, and they were only using half of the total resources that our global ecosystem could sustainably provide. A short 25 years later, in 1986, we had reached a watershed, for that year our population topped 5 billion, and such was our collective thirst for resources that we were using all of the earths sustainable production. In essence [since 1986] we have been running the environmental equivalent of a budget deficit, which is only sustained by plundering our capital base."

On the Economic Cost of Climate Change:

"Since the 1970s insurance losses have risen at an annual rate of around 10 per cent , reaching $100 billion by 1999. Losses at this scale threaten the very fabric of our economic system ... such a rate of increase means that by 2065 or soon thereafter, the damage bill resulting from climate change may equal the total value of everything that humanity produced in the course of a year."

On Politics

"As early as 1977 the New York Times carried the headline 'Scientists Fear Heavy Use of Coal May Bring Adverse Shift in Climate' but it was not until the late 1980 when [it became apparent] that constraints could be applied to damaging emissions and action to restrict greenhouse emissions was emerging - that industry embarked upon its propaganda war. Among the first to move were US coal producers, Fred Palmer, then head of Western Fuels ... led a campaign - informed apparently by his personal beliefs - that the earth's atmosphere 'is deficient in Carbon Dioxide'"

Quite simply - an extremely important, yet little known book.

I am going to give the Weather Makers RCWR's first ever 5 Rabbit Raisin Rating:

A New Kind of Love

This week, I went here:

(Note: Neither of these people are me, I just found the picture on the internet - though a picture of me does exist somewhere)

To the distillery in the small town of Bundaberg about 5 hours drive north of Brisbane in Northern Queensland.

... and I fell in love.

Did I find a new girlfriend I hear you ask? A better model?

No, not by any stretch of the imagination. 

This love is a deeper, stronger kind. This kind of love is the sort that comes in a bottle!

The thing is , anyone who is familiar with rum (as I am - not an expert, just familiar) and has tasted a few of the better dark rums (I am partial to a little Havana or a Mount Gay) will know that Bundaberg rum goes down a little like Windolene and leaves a taste in the mouth that lasts longer than Marmite.

However while I was in town, a guy who lived there and was a like-minded detractor of the brand introduced me to this:

"Carefully crafted to deliver a rich, smooth liqueur experience like no other". According to the bottle.

And I was smitten. It turns out that when you turn the rum into a liqueur is tastes amazing. Unfortunately they don't sell this stuff commercially and you can only get it in one shop in the whole of Australia to which people drive from far and wide. We bought 6 bottles.

Random Review

Taking what is essentially a two month holiday has allowed me a lot of time. Time to think, time to look inside myself and to re-evaluate my life. As I was unhappy with what I found, I decided that I should spend my time reading a bunch of books.

I have no real knowledge of literature (I am just starting this thing), but because I have nothing else to blog about) - I have decided to have a little review slot (also copy-catting my brothers Saturday review which I am slightly ashamed about). In typical RCWR style, I will do no research about bestsellers lists or other reviews, so I will tell you nothing you couldn't find out through a simple google search, and nothing will be up to date.

 

Like the sound of that? Read on.

7 Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer (1952)

Since my trip to China in 2005, I have had a mild interest in Chinese history (the trip was one which inspired my desire to see south east Asia). I have constantly been going on about wanting to go visit Tibet and do some trekking through the mountains (another of my new found likings). A guy I used to live with suggested I have a look at '7 Years in Tibet', a book made famous by the 1997 Brad Pitt movie of the same name. It took me some time to track down the book in bookshops (partially because I forgot the authors name), but once i did, I saved it for my Indonesia trip.

The book is hard going for the first part, the author makes the written excuse in his introduction that he is not a writer, and it tells in his writing style (it is also translated from German). It tells the story of Heinrich Harrer, a mountaineering and ski champion of some repute from Carinthia, Austria. In 1949 Heinrich is caught in India (on a mountaineering trip) at the onset of the second world war. His primary fear being captivity, he decides to make his escape from the British PoW camp and after being re-captured twice, he made it to the Himalayas, and eventually to Tibet.

His story really takes off when he talks of the months of hard trekking through inhospitable lands, and the years he spent trying to get Tibet to accept him into the country. However what really inspires is the story of becoming the fried of the Dali Llama, and learning of Tibetan politics and society. He accompanies the Dali Llama into exile from Tibet during the Red Chinese invasion, and goes on to be instrumental in raising global awareness of the plight of the insular Tibetan people on a global scale. 

The vivid and pragmatic depiction of the untouched Tibetan race (before the Chinese cultural revolution in which 1.2 million Tibetans lost their lives) is what has made this one of my favourite books. I can really recommend this.

Rating: 4 1/2 Rabbit Raisins

Mao's Last Dancer (2003)

Continuing the Chinese theme, this was a book that I had no prior knowledge of, and I spotted on an Australian bestsellers list. Another autobiography, this book tells the story of Li Cunxin, a peasant boy living in poverty in the 60's China. The book tells of how his peasant life is affected by the politics of Mao's revolution, how he grew up to love Mao and his policies although he descended into deeper and deeper poverty and starvation. Eventually he was randomly plucked from that poverty by the Chinese government (on the basis of his flexible limbs) who were looking for candidates to attend Madame Mao's dance school, and compete on a world stage.

He works hard, knowing it is his only chance to lift his family out of poverty and build a better life for himself, and upon the death of Mao and the beginning of a new open door policy he becomes one of the first Chinese people to leave the country. Upon leaving, he discovers that all he was told about the 'impoverished west' was fabricated and he uses his dancing as a means to gain freedom from the communist regime.

This book is written exceptionally well and is unputdownable for somebody keen to learn about Chinese peasant culture, and Mao's cultural revolution from the inside. One of my favourite self explanatory quotes echoes a sentiment given to me by a Chinese tour guide 'Oscar' when I was over there in 2005: "I often shed sympathetic tears and I felt even more grateful for the life that Chairman Mao had given us. If our life was heavenly, then these poor 

children's lives in America must be hell indeed."  

Rating: 4 Rabbit Raisins