Postcards from the Ledge: Collected Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child

I just recently discovered Greg Child's books and must confess to now being completely addicted. After being in love with THE ASCENT OF RUM DOODLE, the classic [but ancient - i.e. 1950s] mountain humor classic, I thought there could be no rival. Thank God I was wrong and thanks to Greg's mum for whatever she did to contribute to his comic genes. Last week I took this book on a camping trip and each night by the fire would read aloud a few essays to my companions, who looked forward all day to the next hysterically humorous missives the evening campfire would bring from the funniest climber/writer in the world. It makes a person jealous to know that one person can be this fabulously talented, both as climber and writer. Damn, he's good! You will not be able to put this book down. PS Warning: this book often produces side effects of laughing out loud.

This is a great book of short 'stories' about mountaineering that Child has edited from his articles published in magazines. Each of these stories is a well-written perspective on the art of climbing; they cover a wide range of his experiences ranging from sea-level (island cliffs in the Gulf of Tonkin) to the top of the world in the Himalayas. Each of the stories reflects to Child's own experiences over the last 10-20 years and the philosophy of climbing that he has developed in this time.Many of these stories are written with a dry sense of humor (eg, the 10 rules of bivouacs) that reflect Child's personal experiences. Of course, this humor leavens the drama and tragedy that are described in several of the pieces. With the variety of stories that are included in this book, it is distinctly different from 'Thin Air' which covers three different Himalayan expeditions in depth. I'd recommend both highly; the difference in voice shows the range of perspective that Child can generate with his passion for this sport.

I have a huge collection of mountainerring books...but none are as good as the books by Greg Child who no doubt writes with such humour and sensitivity that he can bring tears and laughter at the same time. It was a great pleasure reading this book and the other titles by him - 'Thin Air' and 'Mixed Emotions'. All these books are unputdownable and no doubt would be treasured possesions to all who loves to read mountaineering literature

Few mountaineers write with quite the prose of Greg Child. "Writer who climbs? Climber who writes?" he himself has mused and many have quoted. What he gives with his accounts of high places is an ever-clear explanation of the inherent dangers and pure exstacy of high-altitude mountaineering and big wall climbing, as easily comprehended by the armchair mountaineer as the Himalayan veteran. My collection of mountaineering literature is great, but most of the wealth therein lies between the pages of his books. Thanks, Greg. You've done it again. A future Himalayan veteran, -C.

Greg Child is a famous mountain guide who fearlessly describes what other mountaineering writers omit. He describes everything from bodily functions to theft to dishonest summit claims, to bureaucratic corruption, and all with a great wit and perception. Several of these essays left me gasping for breath from laughter while others, like his story about Alison Hargreave had me fighting tears. My favorite essay is Greg attempting to show off his climbing skills for his mother. Greg Child is one funny guy.