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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Part personal story, part history, and part study, Macfarlane expertly explores the West's changing attitudes towards high, cold places. Erudite and insightful, this book will interest anyone who wonders why we court death in the mountains.
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
this resonated with me in many ways and was a fascinating musing on the development of the (British) view of mountains and mountain climbing. I did feel like it glorified Sagarmatha - ending at Mallory without talking about what the mountain has become felt like a missed opportunity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
This book is primarily about men and the perspectives of a European history of exploration. It is incredibly white-washed and does not acknowledge any stories or experiences of people local to where many of the famous mountain ranges are located.
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I wanted to like this more than I did. Maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it. I've not read any of his other books but people regularly praise the poetic writing and while I didn't hate the writing, I didn't love it and didn't find it overly poetic. Some really good bits but overall not a brilliant time for me. Would maybe explore another book by the author though.