Customer Reviews

The View from the Edge: Life and Landscapes of Beverly Johnson

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Gabriela Zim's editors did her a disservice by allowing this DRAFT to be released as a final book. Reading between the lines the chapters' concepts are apparent, but they are not brought to fruition, and after a few chapters I was parched for some substance. I sensed a talented writer. But, really, I read this book and felt like I was reading Beverly Johnson's daytimer. Places and people are not well developed.

A glowing, praise-filled biography of someone everybody seems to have loved, probably with good cause. If you were looking for details about Johnson's stellar climbing career, however, you will be disappointed: the author is clearly not a climber and seems to have little interest in that aspect of her subject's life. Also, the editing job on this book is terrible; it's full of misspellings and grammatical errors. I'd get it from the library.

I had just finished backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, mostly solo, and was preparing a class on backpacking when I remembered a quote from Beverley Johnson when she talked about solo climbing a big wall in Yosemite--"The way you eat an elephant is one bite at a time." I used the quote in my class slideshow and while 'googling' her name came across this biography. I worked in Yosemite when she was a climbing ranger there and was thrilled to be able to read her life story. She was a larger than life person when I worked at Yosemite in the 70's and I was always inspired by her adventurous life. She was way ahead of her time in living a life of outdoor adventure and I found her example inspirational.

I thought this was a very well written book. The grammatical/spelling errors aside, I like the style of the book. The author uses mostly Beverly's letters to her parents to tell her story. Beverly wrote some truly amazing letters. Her sense of humor, fun and outlook toward life comes thorough. Some interviews with friends after her death are also included. The author only touches on Beverly's life as a climber; after reading this book you can see was only one aspect of her life. Beverly comes across as a amazing woman someone whos lifestyle many can admire. I think a must read for any woman in a male dominating sport or activity.