Touching The Void

Long, long ago, I used to play pool in the Broadfield pub in Sheffield. I used to play another bloke regularly, nice guy - if a bit irascible at times - and, one day, he asked me what I did. "Writer," I said, "but unsuccessful." "Oh," he said. "I've written a book too. Published. It's not doing too b......more

I never really understood what there was to debate in the "big debate" surrounding Touching the Void. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates made the first ascent on the west face of Siula Grande in 1985 but ran into some serious trouble coming back down. A storm kicked up, and Simpson fell on the ice, driving......more

okay. i am still not going to climb any mountains, at least not any that are covered with glaciers and are over 10K feet. but what really got me about this story, what deeply deeply moved me to a new understanding of human endurance, was not that he climbed the peruvian andes, suffered sub zero temp......more

4.25 ⭐️— Despite reading this epic memoir some time ago, it’s certainly an easy recall. Such an inspiring, harrowing & downright terrifying tale of that sense of adventure mountain climbers inhibit, leading to tragedy & life affirming heroism. Touching the void is no picnic to read, it’ll pull you ap......more

There are very few words to articulate to the feelings in which one human can relate to this scenario. In all life’s ordeals, survival is one of the most finicky of questions. Not one life will have the same results when it comes to survival. Touching of the void sets the perfect notion for Darwin’s......more