The Beckoning Silence

I decided to read this book after reading Simpson's first book Touching the Void, which is one of the most interesting and inspiring books I have ever read. The Beckoning Silence shows a different side of Joe, and one that is most entertaining. He is someone with the confidence to make fun of himself as well as expose his fears but with an unwavering inner strength and wisdom. Originally I thought the book would be entirely about climbing the Eiger, but he actually takes you on a journey climbing several mountains while paralleling his experiences with his climbing heroes of the past and interweaving the impact they have had on his life. He also takes you paragliding in Spain; although, reading about his fear of flying while on a jetliner circling the airport with mechanical problems was one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. The last quarter of the book is dedicated to his climb and his fear of climbing the Eiger and all his heroes who paved the way with their lives before him. The reflection on the death of two other British climbers on the last three pages was a bit melodramatic and way to drawn out, but I think you'll really enjoy this book and since I heard he just finished the movie of the same title, you may want to check that out as well. Incidentally, "Touching the Void" was an excellent documentary, one of the best and most interesting I have ever seen and very true to the book.

Joe Simpson is consistent in delivering high quality writing in his books, which are always hard to put down. Simpson questions here his passion and drive for his sport, and how fatigue, close calls, and fears have begun to take their toll. Not just for mountaneers, anyone involved in a sport that threatens to cross the thin line between thrill and death can relate to it. Thanks Joe!

I've enjoyed every one of Simpson's books that I've read. It's hard to say why -- maybe it's because his books seem more personal than others or maybe it's because his books tend to ramble in a personal way that cover a lot of ground -- from personal to philosophical and then to the side of the mountain. At any rate, this book starts with a climb in the Andes and a near call with a collapsing serac and Simpson's increasing sense of his own mortality. For some people, this would be called a mid-life crisis and Simpson explores the impact of this realization on his own endeavors. Unlike other people, though, Simpson decides to climb the classic route up the North Face of the Eiger. As he prepares for the climb, he reflects on some of the historic efforts in the 1930s -- and then as he details his climb, he relates the stops and efforts to the history. In fact, he revels in the history as he ticks off some of the stops on the route. I get the sense that we haven't heard the last of Simpson yet. This should be the second of Simpson's books to read after Touching The Void.

I have been climbing mountains for 29 years. Been there done that... first climbs, awesome views, friendship, more close calls than I can remember. Yes, I have explored caves and rafted mightly rivers and gone on a winter expedition to the Arctic. But climbing mountains is the most beautiful of them all. Very often people ask me why I climb. I have a very stressful and time-consuming job enclosed most of my days in a building working with computers, and friends tell me that vacation time is to go to a warm place to relax and recharge rather than going somewhere dangerous to get even more tired and stressed. How boring that seems to me. It is very hard to explain why I find climbing so wondeful... and so humbling. I like Joe Simpson's book not necessarily because of the great climbs he describes but rather because he makes a great job in writing about the fragility and the humility... and the awe, the passion, and the intensity with which we love. It is that which wraps a mountaineers heart. We don't believe we are supermen or immortal... we are not arrogant. This book may help non-mountaineers understand us better, and will allow us mountaineers see in written words things we know all too well in our hearts.

Joe Simpson's writing is compelling, lucid and interesting. As in his previous writing he is refreshingly honest in his story telling of both facts and feelings. The book deals mostly with the 1938 route on the North face of the Eiger. The historical details alone make this book a must read for mountaineering buffs. But, more importantly Simpson explores the interplay between mountaineering experience and the objective dangers of climbing in big mountains. The balance he contrasts is between the extreme satisfaction of being in the mountains and climbing at standards that challenge, with the feelings of those involved, including concerns over route conditions internal motivation and personal performance.In days when we are increasingly fed a diet of what I call "Dare and Scare", or "Mountaineering Rubbernecking Exploitation" books, Simpson had written a sensitive personal account that anyone who has ever had the urge for adventure will relate to. I couldn't put it down. Bravo Joe!