H. W. Tilman: Eight Sailing/Mountain-Exploration Books

by H. W. Tilman

Release Date: October, 1987

Edition: Hardcover

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Possibly the best Adventure writer

Bill Tilman was an unbelievable man and his writings provide an unforgetable image of a bygone age. I love his dry sense of humour and matter of fact descriptions of perilous situations. His real life exploits are absolutely unbelievable. From being wounded twice in the first world war, to a coffee planter in Kenya, to cycling across africa in the 1930s, climbing Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya and the Ruwenzori, the first ascent of Nanda Devi in 1936, reaching 27,200 on Everest without oxygen 1938 (many with Eric Shipton), fighting behind enemy lines in Italy and Albania in the second world war, finally sailing to such remote regions including Greenland and Spitsbergen. His descriptions as detailed in this compilation proudly sit on view on my bookselves. The currently available biography 'The Last Hero' unfortunately is disappointing compared to J.Anderson's 'High Mountains and Cold Seas'.

A rousing good read

I read this after I got "The Perfect Storm" and got interested in sailing. Tilman is well-known as being one of the few explorers who were good writers. I wish his Asian travels books were still in print.