News from the library
The four books mentioned in January’s Connect have arrived in the library.
Revelations by Jerry Moffatt (no. 1945 on the MCSA library shelves)
This book won the Grand Prize of the Banff Mountain Book Festival. The announcement says, “Living standards for dedicated rock climbers in 1980s England were grim by any measure … Jerry Moffatt talks about the dole, subsisting for months on beans and tea, camping out in caves, in shacks, and under flimsy tarps at crag sites throughout the United Kingdom. It’s all in service to the relentless training he undertook to become one of the best climbers and boulderers of his generation.”
It was also shortlisted for the 2009 Boardman Tasker Award, which described it as “a highly readable and effective account of a seminal period in British rock climbing, marked by a professional attitude to training, by one of the key protagonists”. The judge said, “What makes such phenomenal progress possible is training. This book more than any other I have read made me sit back and wonder whether I too should consider some training. The climbing wall as a kind of middle-aged climber’s Viagra, promising the rejuvenation of otherwise limp muscles. The prospect is tempting.”
Well written and enjoyable.
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Beyond the Mountain by Steve House (no. 1946)
The winner of the Boardman Tasker prize for mountain literature in 2009 (and also a category winner for Mountain Literature in the Banff Mountain Book Festival) was Beyond the Mountain by Steve House. It is described as “the very impressive climbing autobiography of one of the world’s leading figures in alpine-style climbing in greater ranges.”
The BT judge said, “There is one book in particular here which we all felt as soon as we finished it, we would want to read it again. Not because it was hard to read, but because of the depth. It is a book we feel privileged to have read, and proud to have been asked to judge. And those seem to us good reasons to declare it the winner.”
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Cairngorm John: A Life in Mountain Rescue by John Allen (no. 1944)
Also shortlisted for the 2009 Boardman Tasker Award, it was described as “a sensitively and effectively underwritten account of the author’s experiences of mountain rescue in the C
airngorms; a worthy testament to a great voluntary tradition.”
It tells of high endeavour and constant learning, of narrow escapes, and too often of tragedy. In addition it speaks of the developments in techniques and science over the duration of John Allen’s career, particularly in the preservation of life in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
A thoroughly enjoyable and impressive read. |
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The Climbing Essays by Jim Perrin (no. 1943)
I can’t do better than quote the blurb. “Jim Perrin has won deserved acclaim over the years not only for this travel writing but also for his more introspective pieces on the great outdoors and his rock climbing exploits. This is the definitive collection that brings together the best of his
writings from four decades on climbing. It includes rare, uncollected pieces, substantial new essays and a lengthy and autobiographical introduction that confirms his reputation as one of the wild and subversive cult and grassroots figures of the British sport.”
Divided into three sections (On Climbs, On Climbers, On Climbing) it includes a lyrical essay on climbing on the sea cliffs of west Britain with his son, Will, then 15 years old, and is followed several essays later by his funeral address for Will, who died, aged 24, by suicide. Like all his writing, it is unsentimental, unself-pitying and a celebration of the gift of life and of mountains.
It deservedly won the award for Mountain Literature at the 2006 Banff Mountain Book Festival. It’s superb writing.
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And this is the last communication from me as the Honorary Librarian. Regretfully I have had to give up the portfolio as a result of work and travel commitments in 2010. Greg and Ineke Moseley will be taking over, and I wish them all the pleasure and delight of this portfolio.
Kate McCallum
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