Amazon.co.uk: The Evidence of Things Not Seen: A Mountaineer's Tale: Hamish MacInnes, W.H. Murray: Books

Mountaineering in Scotland by W.H. Murray

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The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

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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: (1 customer review)
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 48,313 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#26 in Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Climbing & Mountaineering > Mountaineering History & Biography

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Synopsis
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.

Mountaineering in Scotland by W.H. Murray

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

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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