Customer Reviews

Starlight and Storm (Modern Library Exploration)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who collects climbing literature. Beautifully written (and/or beautifully translated), it presents a romantic, joyous view of climbing which may seem foreign to many modern climbers. The material on Alpine expeditions is very similar to that found in the works of Diemberger and Buhl, so it probably isn't worth buying the book for those alone; Rebuffat skips over Annapurna, for reasons which become clear when you read the introduction. _Starlight and Storm_ does, however, have an added bonus in a wonderful essay on climbing and danger, included in the section on technique. Overall, a book worth having.

This is a great book, one of the classics. However, I do agree with the reviewer who complains that there isn't enough stuff about the actual climbing. Not only did Rebuffat do many famous ascents, but he also climbed with the greatest French climbers of his generation, most notably fellow Annapurna expedition members Louis Lachenal and Lionel Terray -- and he basically never mentions them. It is as if Gaston was too humble, and thought no one would be interested -- but we are, we are!

Anyone who enjoys this book needs to run not walk to find Lionel Terray's "Conquistadors of the Useless" which is very sadly out of print in English (although still a mainstay of French climbing literature). Not only do you get great stories of Gaston himself from Terray (including their ill-starred and hysterically funny attempt to run a farm together), but you also get all the blow by blow descriptions you could ever want of the big climbs -- the Walker, the Eiger, etc, -- as done by the legendary Lachenal-Terray rope.

Also, look out for "True Summit" by David Roberts, a new history of the Annapurna expedition which is due to be released later this Spring. And if you read French, try the two hot books in French climbing circles these days: Rebuffat's recently published biography and Louis Lachenal's memoirs ("Carnets du Vertige")

... not to mention Rebuffat's several other books and, yes, even movies!

Lyrically written, the author, Gaston Rebuffat, one of the world's climbing greats, expresses such joy for mountaineering that it is infectious. No climbing enthusiast's library should be without this book. The photograph of Rebuffat which graces the cover of this book is alone worth the price of the book.

Rebuffat is positively poetic in his description of various climbs. The reader almost feels as if one were as one with the mountain. A purist, the author climbed not for the glory of it, but for the sheer joy of the brotherhood of the rope. In these days, where climbing is often just a reason for a media event, the author's approach is refreshing, indeed.

"Starlight and Storm" is one of these rare examples of an outstanding climber who can also write engagingly and with poetic verve!

Rebuffat is unquestionably one of the outstanding climbers of the early post WW II mountaineering in Europe and perhaps the most outstanding French climber of the period. His achievements (first French climb of the Walker Spur of the Grand Jorasses; first French Climb of the north face of Eiger, member of the Anapurna expedition) speak for themselves.

What also sets apart Rebuffat from many others (many climbers write books to underwrite financially their future expeditions or to underscore their achievements) is his joyful, honest and inspired writing. Rebuffat has a real talent to convey beautifully his emotions and leads us masterfully along his fascinating climbs.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in mountaineering, and I commend John Krakauer for including it in the new "Exploration" series!

This book changed and energized my life. I picked up Gaston's Starlight and Storm from a used book bin while wandering downtown in DC one night when I was 18 years old. I read it a dozen times that year. And I have been climbing mountains with passion ever since. The book and the man changed my life. A year after reading this, I began to climb, initially at Seneca Rock in West Virginia. Then I moved abroad ultimately climbing in Chamonix over a dozen seasons, all over the UK and Western Europe from the Eiger to the Marmolata, and all over the US for some 50 years now. I've bought and reread all of Gaston's books. I've got pictures of Chamonix with Gaston as the main figure photographed by Pierre Tairraz, the photographer for all his books, in collages on most of the walls in my home. They have been up or years and I'm thought of as a curator of mountain photos. 30 years ago, I met Gaston with his pipe in his mouth looking out over the rising clouds from the Auguille du Midi Hut above Chamonix (just like a photo in this book) and had an opportunity to tell him that Starlight and Storm and the vision he shared of climbing in it had gripped me to the core and changed me while a wandering boy to a life-long world-wide climber and mountaineer...and I thanked him. He was gracious and happy that I had found my love of climbing...just like you would expect. My visit on that occassion was to climb his own route on the Midi. Well, it is later now in time, I've slowly become 66 years old, now living in the mountains of Colorado, but I still have this book on my shelf, so worn, so moving, so brilliant an stirring...the comradeship of the rope ..my friend, my companion, my inspiration. The story of my life, actually. Bon voyage, Gaston. Thanks again for your inspiration.

Gaston Rebuffat is clearly a very nice guy, and much of the glory of this book is how clearly that shows through. But what doesn't shine nearly so much is his discussion of the climbs themselves. There is little interest in how the various climbs are achieved, in the technical nature of the accomplishments, or even the excitement of the climbs themselves. Instead, we get alot of stuff about the brotherhood of the hills, and the sort of touchy-feely love of the mountains which in the 1950s was probably much less annoying than it is now. Despite this, Rebuffat's book is still a classic, if only because he was the first climber in so many cases to put us right on the mountain with him. I would recommend his former climbing partner Maurice Herzog's Annapurna before this one, but still feel that Rebuffat's Starlight and Storm is a more than amiable companion.

Gaston was one of the worlds best Alpine climber. One of the few to climb all 8 major North Faces in the Alps. He doesn't dwell on the technical aspects of climbing. His other book, ON SNOW AND ROCK deals with climbing techniques, but this book focuses on the story of the climb. One can sense his resolve and melding of his self with the mountain. It was an inspiring book for me. Unlike some reviewers I never fully mastered my fear of heights, and quit after a number of years. But those climbs I did do were in part inspired by wanting to emulate this great climber.

Highly recommended for "arm chair mountaineers."

In short this is a great book. I am glad to see how humble a climber Gaston is during a time when rivals were few and far between. I wish today's climbers could write about what climbing is about, friendships and the mountains, and not about how hard they climb and how they conquered over all. Good reading.

I really liked this book, but I believe one has to be enraptured of the Alps, or the history of mountain climbing, to share my enthusiasm for it. After living in Europe, and continuing to travel there frequently, I find that I am fascinated by the Alps and their history. This book is a pleasant excursion into the Alps for those interested in mountain climbing, but not a travel book, or even much of a story book, although the story is interesting. I find myself comparing old maps to new ones, and relating them to the places I have been. A bit more of a research project than light reading. This book is like watching a documentary, one that airs on public TV for specific audiences, not one on the networks for general consumption. If you are interested in the Alps, or personal stories of mountain climbing you will enjoy this book.