H.W. Tilman: The Seven Mountain-Travel Books [Hardcover]

H.W. Tilman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1983

H. W. Tilman has been called "arguably the best expedition writer and best explorer-mountaineer" of the 20th century.

· New in paperback
· Tilman (on reaching the summit of Nanda Devi): "I believe we so far forgot ourselves as to shake hands on it."
· Tilman (after arduous and ultimately unsuccessful attempts on two peaks in Central Asia, and his arrest as a spy): "as I turned to go down into Chitrail, tired, lousy, and bereft of my diaries, I felt that the year had at any rate been rich in instruction."

The W. L. Gore Shipton/Tilman Grant is named for Tilman, and his climbing companion, Eric Shipton, but too few Americans are aware of Tilman's remarkable gift for writing. This economically-priced paperbound includes: Snow on the Equator, The Ascent of Nanda Devi, When Men and Mountains Meet, Everest 1938, Two Mountains and a River, China to Chitral and Nepal Himalaya.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

H. W. Tilman's belief was "any worthwhile expedition can be planned on the back of an envelope." He wrote fifteen mountaineering and sailing books. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 896 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898860741
• ISBN-13: 978-0898860740
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,129,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guilty laughs in Tilmans' company, July 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: H.W. Tilman: The Seven Mountain-Travel Books (Hardcover)

An avid collector of Himalayan subject matter, I have also been lucky enough to have wandered around the upper Langtang Valley on several occasions in the last few years. Not only is Tilmans book still accurate in many respects, but it is also highly amusing at the same time. Fact, folklore and quotations are fantastically woven into a single, almost epic tale of discovery. It is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and yet one might feel a certain sense of guilt at particular comic moments. Where Tilman describes one of his porters as "slow in mind and weak in leg, and not, one suspects, long down from his tree", it is an hilarious turn of phrase, but in our modern standardised and easily-scandalised society one feels the need to look over one's shoulder to make sure the PC police aren't looking.
I would heartily recommend anyone to read the book, particularly if it is available, the Nepal Himalaya single edition, - great, great books for travelling minds (and soles..) so long as you can cope with the mountain of salt required to see some of Tilmans less emphatic points.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the last great explorer-authors, April 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: H.W. Tilman: The Seven Mountain-Travel Books (Hardcover)

In this anthology Tilman's pioneering travels through central Asia are recounted in his wonderfully laconic voice. This is a great addition to any exploration or mountaineering collection, particularly because Tilman was the first European to visit many of the peaks and places described. The portrait of Nepal he presents I will always treasure.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploration: life worth living., January 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seven Mountain-Travel Books (Hardcover)

Tilman and Shipton were the first humans to enter the Nanda Devi sanctuary, a valley surrounded by some of the greatest Himalayan peaks. They were indelibly marked by the experience.