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The Evidence of Things Not Seen: A Mountaineer's Tale
 
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The Evidence of Things Not Seen: A Mountaineer's Tale (Hardcover)

by Hamish MacInnes (Foreword), W.H. Murray (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Baton Wicks Publications (May 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1898573247
  • ISBN-13: 978-1898573241
  • Product Dimensions: 24 x 17.4 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 404,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review
'The fulfilment of life's purpose will be found in oneness with reality.' This declaration is an extract from a letter to his sister written by the mountaineer W H Murray while in a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany following capture by Rommel's army in North Africa. In this posthumously published autobiography (he died in 1996) Murray recounts how meditation and the study of mysticism enabled him and others to endure three years of incarceration in various camps in Europe and survive the concomitant squalor, vermin, disease, clubbings by guards and lack of food - prisoners would even slaughter and eat Alsatian guard-dogs if they were foolish enough to stray too far from their German masters. But books, when acquired and permitted, were most highly prized by most prisoners, who would give each other lectures in selected subjects, and Murray writes that during his last year of captivity he no longer felt like a prisoner. He even managed to write a manuscript of his own - on scraps of toilet paper which he stuffed into his clothes - and when his first draft was found and confiscated by suspicious Gestapo officers he wrote it all over again. On his release Murray again devoted himself to his life's passion of mountaineering, and he concentrates the rest of his autobiography on his several climbs in the Himalayas, with detailed descriptions of physical hardships and dangers interspersed with wisdom gleaned not only from books but from fellow mountaineers. The relish of a challenge, allied to the sheer sense of triumphant exhilaration experienced through scaling seemingly impossible peaks, shines throughout his writing. This superb book stands as a testament to a life of internal examination coupled with external exploration, and to a brave, adventurous and resilient man with an indomitably positive outlook. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
Pioneering climbing in Scotland the 1930s, combat against Rommel's forces, three years in Nazi prison camps, and a near fatal alpine accident marked W.H.Murray's early life. Three exploratory Himalayan ventures followed including the critical 1951 reconnaissance trip that established the route by which Everest was climbed two years later. Thereafter he built a reputation as a writer and environmental polemicist and was deeply involved with the struggle to protect the Highlands from commercial exploitation.

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An important but incomplete climber's autobiography, 20 Aug 2003
By A Customer
W.H.Murray died before he finished this autobiography. It shows, and that's a pity. For me the second half of the book is a mish-mash of assorted essays and notes, rather than a finished and coherent component part. Readers keen on Murray's writing will find some fine new material, including accounts of Himalayan wanderings, as well as a good deal that has only appeared in magazines or journals before. Readers who want to understand the sources of Murray's climbing and writing will find some new background, including vivid description of war and its effects, and some interesting letters. But the self-revelation is highly selective. You'll look in vain for illumination on characters from 20th century climbing history, much less historical gossip (for instance about Everest and Shipton). Murray was a private, discreet man to the end. And to me his account of the mysticism that underlay his life and work remains entirely impenetrable.

But (sad if appropriate pun) the book has a dying fall: captious comments about financial and legal problems of the writer's trade, and negativity about contemporary aspects of the climbing scene and mountain conservation, make the latter chapters read in parts like the work of a tired old man.

W.H.Murray enthusiasts simply must have this book, even if it may ultimately leave them mildly disappointed as it did me. If you're new to his writing, then try the double act of 'Mountaineering in Scotland' and 'Undiscovered Scotland' - the real classic Murray - first. Then you may well want to have this as background.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Religious, romantic - and real, 11 Mar 2009
By D. Elliott (Ulverston, Cumbria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
In addition to many fine first ascents of rock and ice routes W H Murray left a lavish legacy of climbing books, guides and articles, of which `Mountaineering in Scotland' and `Undiscovered Scotland' are classics. This last book `The Evidence of Things Not Seen' is essentially his autobiography, in draft form when he died in 1996, but tidied up and added to for publication in 2002. It is clear how some of the material has been extracted from Murray's Scottish classics and Himalayan books, but some insertions are debatable. There is reference to a state of affairs in the year 2000 set in the middle of a first person singular exposition `The Writer's Art and Business' but presumably this does not signify communication from beyond the grave! Notwithstanding this book is an impressive self-portrait of an illustrious man capable of thrilling his readers with action tales to convey the grandeur and beauty of mountain environments; for his attempts at seeking enlightenment; and for his ability to inspire others.

`The Evidence of Things Not Seen' includes descriptions of childhood, informative commentary on pre-Second World War climbing, accounts of war experiences, return to Scottish climbing, visiting the Alps, and expeditions to the Himalaya. Further to climbing and mountaineering there follow explanations and elucidations embracing other issues in his life, his problems as a writer, his involvement with conservation and social issues and various short miscellanies. The `Appendices' seem out of step with the rest of the book, yet new light is cast and they are useful in defining W H Murray. His contributions to climbing and mountaineering are unmistakable and real, but in writings on return from being a prisoner of war to fitting into the post-war world there is increased contemplation on the meaning of life. Murray introduces religious connotations into romantic passages on landscapes and climbing codes and conventions, and he suggests that in certain circumstances a human being may be open to direction from a power higher than his own. He wrestles with intangible transcendental matters but expresses these only as feelings and does not provide actual evidence of things not seen. Murray's weakness in failing to differentiate between faith and truth appears to have been recognised in the `Foreword' where a quotation from `Mountaineering in Scotland' is abridged in such a way as to downplay a reverent proclamation to a mundane statement. To overcome such a schism readers can limit appreciation to real physical aspects, but greater rewards are available if the spiritual is considered. `The Evidence of Things Not Seen' is based on W H Murray's sincere belief that broadened and deepened understanding of mountains can lead to understanding of all things created. Despite criticism - this book deserves a `5-star' rating.
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