Customer Reviews

How to Rock Climb!, 4th (How To Climb Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is undeniably one of the major "textbooks" on rock climbing, and contains a great deal of useful information. Yet it has some rather disturbing flaws. Firstly, even though I read the 1998 edition, outdated information from earlier editions had not been updated. At times I felt like I was reading a book describing rock climbing in some parallel universe: Long refers to brands and items of gear not currently in existence (what's a Salewa Antz?) and some recommended techniques (tying into a trad anchor with the rope rather than with slings or a cordelette) are very rarely, in my experience, used. The text often makes references which will prove confusing for the beginner, and would benefit from a better glossary. The 1998 edition also has some sections so full of misspellings that they appear to have been written by a quasi-literate person. In summary, everything in this book is good information, but some of it is not entirely relevant to the way climbing is done today, and some of it is presented in an unclear manner.

I'm a beginner at rock climbing and reading this book for instructional purposes. While it does a good job of explaining fundamentals I have found certain sections difficult to follow - often times different moves will be referecned before the section that explains them (sometimes with a referencing page, sometimes without). I also found it poorly edited in some spots - mis-refenced pages, paragraphs seemingly in wrong order (ie. pg 62 claims there is a "taping" illustration on pg 60, it is clearly on pg 63; the last and second to last paragraphs on page 63 seem to be flip flopped).

It does an outstanding job of covering the basics in easy to understand terms, it goes over both technique and equipment. The only thing I would like to see is a more comprehensive glossary, there are a few terms not covered.

The book is strange. It's written for beginners but they use a lot of jargon that beginners don't know. Also, while they do their best, there is a lot of things that they talk about but don't show pictures for. It's really difficult to learn about any technique when there are not pictures for half of the topics they discuss.

This book is a great book to start with. It briefly adresses most all skills in the world of rock climbing. It is well illustrated.

If you could learn to rock climb from a book, this would be it. One of the best general references to rock climbing. John Long is an entertaining writer in his own right.

This book provides a good comprehensive overview of the sport. I was hoping for a little more focus on technique, but I suppose there's only so much of that that can be taught in the book! For you gym climbers.. the book is primarily about outdoor climbing, but I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the sport. Even if you don't think you'll ever climb outdoors, it helps give you some background and perspective on the history of the sport and the outdoor activity that you're mimicking in the gym.

This book has it all. If you are just getting into climbing (or trying to refresh your skills), look no further. John Long details the knots, gear and know-how to get your feet off the ground!

John long's Basic BASIC book on climbing. If you are a beginner...BUY IT! LEarn it...right after Moutaineering FOTH!

John Long combines his climbing experience with his special
writing style to give you an introduction to rock climbing
that is both useful and entertaining. The chapter on "The Workout
from Hell" is a classic.