High Rocks and Ice: The Classic Mountain Photographs of Bob and IRA Spring

I'd never fully appreciated the photographic talents of Bob and Ira Spring until I saw this complilation. Selected from a lifetime of work, these pictures are evidence of the combination of thetalent and dedication of the Spring family. The printing quality of the photos is far superior to any of their previous books. The text is skillfully entertaining, recounting the story behind each picture. I highly recommend this book!

Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of reading Ira Spring's light hearted memoir, AN ICE AXE, A CAMERA, and A JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER will recall that he and his brother spent many years concentrating their photo work on the American mountains and the men and women who climb them. Let others tend to farflung Kathmandu and the INTO THIN ICE phantasmagoria of Everest and its legends. For the Spring boys, America was more than enough, and boasts some of the more beautiful ranges, peaks and vistas. The quality of the photos varies from page to page but in general, Globe Pequot does a remarkable job in treading the fine line between "vintage" and "contemporary." The Spring Brothers never pretended to be working in a fine art context, they are no Ansel Adams, but they were good photojournalists and in their own way, good naturalists too. One day a grateful nation will honor them with a two-sided medal. In the meantime, I advise all who read this message to grab your jar of peanut butter in one hand, this book in the other, and keep your rope in your teeth while you sail through the gleaming images of the North Cascades and other Western "peaks of God."