Customer Reviews

H. W. Tilman: Eight Sailing/Mountain-Exploration Books

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Bill Tilman was an unbelievable man and his writings provide an unforgetable image of a bygone age. I love his dry sense of humour and matter of fact descriptions of perilous situations. His real life exploits are absolutely unbelievable. From being wounded twice in the first world war, to a coffee planter in Kenya, to cycling across africa in the 1930s, climbing Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya and the Ruwenzori, the first ascent of Nanda Devi in 1936, reaching 27,200 on Everest without oxygen 1938 (many with Eric Shipton), fighting behind enemy lines in Italy and Albania in the second world war, finally sailing to such remote regions including Greenland and Spitsbergen. His descriptions as detailed in this compilation proudly sit on view on my bookselves. The currently available biography 'The Last Hero' unfortunately is disappointing compared to J.Anderson's 'High Mountains and Cold Seas'.

There have been several attempts to produce a biography of Bill Tilman. As one who travelled with him, his own words - republished here intact - are the best possible biog.

Tilman wrote these books over a number of year, mostly between expeditions to some of the more remote places in the world. They read as if they were written yesterday - Tilman comes across as both laconic and erudite, but also with a lot of dry humor. This is a great collection of his books and as one who enjoys both sailing and travelling (and reading about climbing rather than doing it) I found these books particularly enjoyable and very well-written.

The expeditions themselves were to places like Patagonia, Kerguelen Island, Greenland and Heard Island. None of them easy places to get to, even now. That Tilman managed to sail there in an old wooden Bristol Pilot Cutter was an outstanding achievement in itself. That he managed to climb as well seems to me the icing on the cake so to speak. Loved these books, can't wait to pick up the Climbing books and read them next.

Buy this book.

Tilman was a fine leader of expeditions, capable, reliable, meticulous and always able to discern the fine line between prudence and rashness. He went to places that no-one else thought of going to, and he researched the history of those places, in detail, before he set out.

Unlike almost every other fine leader of expeditions, he was also a master of concise, erudite, witty English prose, which has not dated in the least.

(Be warned that Tilman has a very dry, self-deprecating sense of humour - if you are not laughing every few pages, you are missing something.)

Bill Tilman is probably the best writer on sailing small boats into adventurous situations. Sailing in the 1960's before satnav he goes to the Arctic and Antarctic in his small Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter, with a crew of three or four, and finds himself in perilous situations, mutinous situations, and even, sadly, situations in which lives are lost. The writing style is informed, intellectual, engaging and often humorous. A must read.

Hands down the best book of it kind. Tilman picked up the trail where Joshua Slocum packed it in and added climbing to the adventure. You'll want to pick up your ice-ax and practise bowlines for a Spring voyage to South Georgia or Greenland.

By reding Tilman's books one can travel staying comfortably home, his descriptions are so precise and complete that one can really imagine to have travelled by his side. But his accounts makes also rise the desire of adventure and of being as much as possible outdoors and in contact with nature. I would also like to ask everyone who has read one book or more by Tilman to contact me, because I am writing my degree thesis on him and I am trying to collect reviews, opinions or every other kind of comment on his books. Thank you to everyone who will answer me. My name is Brandalise Nadia.

I read this after I got "The Perfect Storm" and got interested in sailing. Tilman is well-known as being one of the few explorers who were good writers. I wish his Asian travels books were still in print.