Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber
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Product Description
Review
"This is literature about the soul of alpinism, not a blow-by blow account of dumbing drudgery from some tourist peak bagger."
Product Description
Extreme climber. Extreme writer. Extreme personality. Mark Twight gives a gripping account of some of his most legendary climbs.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Your letter asked where I've been. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Your letter asked where I've been. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The book is a collection of articles published previously in climbing magazines. However they have never all been universally available and the have been edited to ensure not upsetting individuals or advertisers. This volume brings them all together with no cuts. They all have an author's note, detailing the thoughts behind each article. It is well written and does not contain any of the dry descriptions of events that some expedition books have.
The book is based in the Alps, Himalayas and North America. They revolve around his experiences as a result of his method of climbing - carrying little gear, no real bivi equipment and as a result of this virtually non-stop climbing.
In some ways it is rather disturbing, how can a man who has had 40 friends die as a result of climbing, had broken relationships as a result of climbing and has limited contact with his family as a result of climbing --keep on climbing? He is clearly very talented - most of his new climbs in the Alps have not had a complete second ascent. What comes across is that he has a burning desire to climb, almost at the result of anything else. It is as if by writing he is finding a release about some of the events in his life.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Really enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in mountaineering. A collection of short stories and magazine articles which have been recycled. Although it is not as good as his other book because of the lack of flow it is well worth reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
21 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Very Twight
1 May 2003
Format:Hardcover
Long, long ago, I saw Mark give a show in Boulder. It was laced with profanity and although it was entertaining at times, it was also so dependant upon proving that Mark was different, better, more intense and more... Twight, than any of us could ever be, and ultimately, that made the whole seem less than the sum of the parts. Over the years, I've read his articles and have seen more of his talks, all of which were a testament to the Mellowing of Mark. Yes, he has mellowed, but that is not to suggest that he is mellow.
Kiss or Kill has a similar flavor to it, showing the change of Dr. Doom over time and place. I found it extremely funny, extremely sad, extremely entertaining and sometimes extremely overcooked. In short, extremely Twight. It belongs on any committed climber's bookshelf.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Very cool book.
25 Feb 2003
Format:Paperback
This is an intense book. VERY INTENSE. In his forward, Twight challenges the reader directly when he says that he wants to make them think, think really HARD, about what he's writing. Twight expects the reader to put it down periodically to do that thinking. He succeeded. This book is an intensely personal perspective on climbing, the ethos of climbing, and the friendships of climbing. The stories are, sometimes, not easy to read -- I sometimes found myself re-reading parts of them just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Later in the book, Twight indicates that the "Dr. Doom" persona that he put on was sometimes (maybe) overdone for the articles he wrote. Nonetheless, the feelings of anger and rage and the feeling that he just wants to climb his own way and to his own standards, without interference, appear completely genuine starting right from his quotes from his favorite punk rock songs. Adding to the level of interest are Twight's comments after every article where, with some experience and maybe mellowing of time, he adds some additional reflections on what the story meant to him then and now. (Note: This book won the 2001 Banff Mountain Book Award for Mountain Literature.)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A Must for Skinny Puppy Fans
1 Dec 2001
Format:Hardcover
The Rollins of alpinism has collected several snarling essays in a thin tome that covers everything from the death of close friends to the disintegration of relationships. Nowhere in the book to we get any idea why this guy pushes the hard routes but that's not the point. Who cares? Sure he's brash and egotistical and opinionated and he mocks your vacuum packed, complacent, Must See TV dog kennel of a world. And there are no bucolic Muir riffs on fields of alpine meadows or pleasant nights passed in a starry bivy. This guy is a war correspondent from a self-inflicted war and if it gets a bit self-indulgent at times at its best it's the stink of pure alpinism, which is hopefully why you'd buy this book in the first pace.
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