Touching The Void Paperback – Import, 1 Jan. 1998

I read a paperback version of this book around 12 years ago on the recommendation of a friend. Normally a powerful new book has a shelf life of a few short months or years but the near-continuous presence of Touching the Void among the bestseller list is almost as constant as the mountains featured in the book. And for good reason too; stories like this never date and this story continues to inspire, motivate and help people believe that in the face of the most appalling odds imaginable anything is possible when focusing one's mind.Recently I downloaded the new anniversary edition of this timeless classic and in doing so it became the only book I have ever read twice. Whilst knowing the rough plot of the original story I found myself right back in the pages and ice of what has to be one of the most death-defying ordeals of survival ever endured by a human being. Whether you like climbing or not is almost irrelevant as the story here is about man overcoming obstacles on a scale of near-impossibility. The reader is living every inch and minute of the adventure, joy, pain, tragedy, despair, hopelessness, cruelty, determination, will-power and eventual escape from an environment that is about as unwelcoming to the ill-prepared as you can get.If Joe Simpson's mountaineering skills were lacking in anyway back in 1985 then his writing skills were certainly not. In Touching the Void he takes the reader every step of the way sharing the passion of climbing and explaining its many technicalities in an easy to understand way. If you're not familiar with terminology such as col, crevasse or crampon then you're at no great loss because everyone can relate to snow, ice, altitude, ropes, frostbite and broken bones; whose regular appearances replace the more human characters typically found in popular novels.The story is about reaching places where others have rarely ventured, and few of those places involve tall, ice-covered mountains. Deep within the human soul lie unexplored territories where no ice-axe or signal flare will ever get you out. Joe has the tools for the job but he doesn't find them in his back-pack. They appear when he needs them most but from the unlikeliest of sources - a door that opens when you not only stare death in the face but embrace it wholly like it was your best friend.Despite the detailing of multiple incidents, Touching the Void is not a depressing book. On the contrary Joe Simpson must have felt like he was being born again. Even readers will emerge with a different take on life and perhaps re-evaluate the possibilities available to them. I have read hundreds of books over the years but this one left me with blurred vision and stuttered speech. The expression 'You couldn't make it up' was probably never more apt.Amazon did not exist when this book was first published (along with mobile phones or the Internet) but I am now grateful for the opportunity of being able to thank the author for this wonderful piece of story-telling and to recommend it without hesitation to anyone looking for a damn good read.John Kean

'Touching the Void' is a book of two halves. The first half is about Simon and Joe's climb up the mountain and how they coped with various conditions and the second half follows what happens after Joe's accident and how they both get off the mountain. Taking this into account, the second half is far superior to the first. Initially the book seemed a touch dry, with lots of climbing specific jargon and rather flat story telling, but then the accident occurs and you are plunged headlong into their fight for survival and the writing leaps up about a hundred notches and becomes highly descriptive and emotive. You really feel your emotions go through the wrangler as Joe recounts his story and you feel for him every step of the way. By the end you feel emotionally overwrought and (almost) as exhausted as him as he describes his final journey back to camp. There are some excellent colour plates in this book, as well as an additional chapter when Joe goes back to the site of the accident many years later. What starts off as a dry uninspiring read becomes an account of a highly charged fight for survival and you understand why this has become a climbing classic. Well worth a read if you like this kind of book, I'd also suggest 'Into Thin Air' By John Krakauer which is another excellent climbing book.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

A lively pace and clear insightful writing makes this an enthralling read. It is as if you are with Joe and Simon on the mountain. I particularly enjoyed the honesty of the reflections on what happened, including the Postscript, ‘10 years later’ and Bad Memories sections.

Riveting shocking story of mountain climbers that so nearly ended in disaster. It didn't because of amazing resilience and an absolute refusal to give in, to just keep on trying and trying to keep going to safety, and live a bit longer.

I was gripped by this fantastic book from start to finish. I have always been interested in the stories of people who choose to test themselves against nature in all its beauty and indifferent savagery, and this book certainly did not disappoint; atmospheric, moving, desperate, harrowing- it took me through pretty much every emotion just reading it, the thought that somebody really went through this ordeal is unimaginable.There are a few technical terms in this book that I didn’t understand- so it was handy to be reading the Kindle version so I could easily look them up, but this in no way took away from such an astonishing story of survival and friendship. In fact, the relationship between Simon and Joe after Joe’s injury was unlike anything I’ve ever read before: the realisation that you rely so utterly on somebody else, or indeed the knowledge that someone relies so utterly on you must be mind-blowing. I can’t even begin to guess how I would react to being in either of their situations.To put it simply, I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was reading it and I know I will keep on thinking about it a long time after. I can honestly say this is one of the best and most moving books I have ever read.

Good read

I read this book many years ago and it changed my perspective of human endurance. I brought this edition for my daughter to read. Excellent condition for a second hand book. A great service by Amazon and the World of Books.