Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Your letter asked where I've been..." (more)
Key Phrases: extreme alpinism, alpine climbing, climbing community, Alpine Style, Mont Blanc, Scott Backes (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From Chamonix to the Himalayas to Peak Communism in the Pamirs, extreme climbing has been Twight's response to "stupidity and mediocrity" and at times it is even "a tool to forestall suicide." Following Extreme Alpinism, this volume collects more than 12 years of Twight's extreme outdoor journalism for such magazines as Climbing, Outside and Men's Journal. Punk rock lyrics pepper these essays, providing context and form for his rage, cynicism and obsessive, masculine drive. Avalanches, rotten ice, the deaths of fellow climbers, the rescue of others, dwindling food supplies, lost tents at 18,000 feet Twight survives mortal dangers and tragedies, writing, "No matter what I did, the suffering I experienced did not satisfy me. I had to have more." Twight's in-your-face style is both his strength and his weakness fans of Henry Rollins or Charles Bukowski may find a sport nut analogue in Twight. Deeply personal, arrogant, grandiose, thrilling and unapologetic, this record of his 15-year career will gratify and repel extreme athletes, their admirers and their detractors. 40 b&w photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Mountain climber and coauthor (with Jim Martin) of Extreme Alpinism, Twight has here compiled a collection of previously published articles from Outside, Men's Journal, and other U.S. and European magazines. The articles have been revised for this book, often restoring their original length and language, and each one has a "2000 Author's Note" that gives background material on the original article and the climb itself. Twight's moutaineering experiences led him all over Asia, Europe, and North America and are presented in chronological order. The entire book is about mountain climbing and climbers, and because it is so full of personal reactions and experiences, it reads somewhat like the extended ego trip of a Sixties throwback. While Kiss or Kill may be of interest to public libraries with extensive mountaineering collections, it will be of little interest to most libraries. George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898867630
• ISBN-13: 978-0898867633
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,103,977 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Twight, May 1, 2003

By	Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Long, long ago, I saw Mark give a show in Boulder. It was laced with profanity and although it was entertaining at times, it was also so dependant upon proving that Mark was different, better, more intense and more... Twight, than any of us could ever be, and ultimately, that made the whole seem less than the sum of the parts. Over the years, I've read his articles and have seen more of his talks, all of which were a testament to the Mellowing of Mark. Yes, he has mellowed, but that is not to suggest that he is mellow.

Kiss or Kill has a similar flavor to it, showing the change of Dr. Doom over time and place. I found it extremely funny, extremely sad, extremely entertaining and sometimes extremely overcooked. In short, extremely Twight. It belongs on any committed climber's bookshelf.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Skinny Puppy Fans, November 30, 2001

By	"bigsky682" (Boulder CO) - See all my reviews

The Rollins of alpinism has collected several snarling essays in a thin tome that covers everything from the death of close friends to the disintegration of relationships. Nowhere in the book to we get any idea why this guy pushes the hard routes but that's not the point. Who cares? Sure he's brash and egotistical and opinionated and he mocks your vacuum packed, complacent, Must See TV dog kennel of a world. And there are no bucolic Muir riffs on fields of alpine meadows or pleasant nights passed in a starry bivy. This guy is a war correspondent from a self-inflicted war and if it gets a bit self-indulgent at times at its best it's the stink of pure alpinism, which is hopefully why you'd buy this book in the first pace.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cool book., February 24, 2003

By	M. Ragen "searagen" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber (Paperback)

This is an intense book. VERY INTENSE. In his forward, Twight challenges the reader directly when he says that he wants to make them think, think really HARD, about what he's writing. Twight expects the reader to put it down periodically to do that thinking. He succeeded. This book is an intensely personal perspective on climbing, the ethos of climbing, and the friendships of climbing. The stories are, sometimes, not easy to read -- I sometimes found myself re-reading parts of them just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. Later in the book, Twight indicates that the "Dr. Doom" persona that he put on was sometimes (maybe) overdone for the articles he wrote. Nonetheless, the feelings of anger and rage and the feeling that he just wants to climb his own way and to his own standards, without interference, appear completely genuine starting right from his quotes from his favorite punk rock songs. Adding to the level of interest are Twight's comments after every article where, with some experience and maybe mellowing of time, he adds some additional reflections on what the story meant to him then and now. (Note: This book won the 2001 Banff Mountain Book Award for Mountain Literature.)