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Here's three utter, utter classics which just have to be posessed:
1. The Seven Mountain Travel Books, in a single volume by H W Tilman
2. The Six Mountain Travel Books, in a single volume by Eric Shipton

And, something completely different:
3. Cold Climbs: The Great Snow & Ice Climbs Of The British Isles, compiled by Ken Wilson et al.
This is not a climbing guide book, its coffee table size and entirely with b&w photographs and "stories" written by some very famous climbers for each route. A classic chapter is The Tower Ridge Rulebook (Ben Nevis)Check it out

I read Boukreev's book after Krakauer's and although I enjoyed the first part of "Climb," I thought the last half of it was just a pissing contest, complaining primarily about Krakauer. I also enjoyed the first half of Krakauer's "Eiger Dreams," but found the second half of it mostly ego boosting drivel. I thoroughly enjoyed Whymper's "Scrambles Amongst the Alps." I enjoyed "Desert Solitaire," but have met some folks who didn't enjoy it, but who did like Abbey's "The Monkey Wrench Gang," which I also enjoyed.

Annapurna, Maurice Herzog. Can't be beat.

The Crystal Horizon, Reinhold Messner. He fell into a crevasse and lived to tell the tale.

The Romance of Mountaineering, by R.L.G. Irving is a good survey, even though by now it's a bit old.

I also personally liked a book by Elizabeth Knowlton about one of the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat; I forget the title. It was well written.

The book by Knowlton was titled "The Naked Mountain". It's another one sitiing on my shelf, but not read yet. One of these days...

BTW, the info about the title was found right here on <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/display_component.pl?type=component&mountain_id=100&route_id=&component_id=3742&object_id=3742 ">SP</a>!

Lost Horizon by James Hilton is an amazing book for anyone interested. Not primarily about climbing, but it factors into the book quite a bit

Hemingway took off with that book.

The Long Walk looks like a must.

How about "Missing in the Minarets, The Search for Walter A. Starr"
Problem is the price of the book. Would anybody want to let me borrow it? Please?

I'm reading The Bookseller of Kabul right now by Asne Seierstad. It is incredible.

The book grabs you with the first sentence and it is impossible to put it down. A friend warned me that this would happen!

I just finished "Walking the Gobi" by Helen Thayer. In 2001, when she was 63 and her husband Bill was 71, they made a 1,600 mile crossing of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia on foot!! Unbelievable story!!

I really enjoyed Bill Bryson's A walk in the woods which is about trying to hike the AT. I preferred Into Thin Air over The Climb but that's just me.

Right now I'm reading Between a rock and a hard place by Aron Ralston. I'm about 3/4 of the way through and so far a good read.

I have to mention No shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs. It's not a great read but has some good stories in it. He just kinda comes off as a show boater towards the end of the book. Not that it isn't an amazing achievement but...

Anyone else read that book and agree / disagree.

peladoboton wrote:

Mike Swiz wrote:I have to mention No shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs. It's not a great read but has some good stories in it. He just kinda comes off as a show boater towards the end of the book. Not that it isn't an amazing achievement but...

Anyone else read that book and agree / disagree.

didnt get to the end of the book. i picked it up in february and about halfway through i jumped into freedom of the hills and started training, and then started climbing again like i mean it.

and hell yeah, i'm going climbing again this afternoon!!!

Amazingly enough I have yet to read Freedom of the Hills, I just haven't gotten around to it yet but it is on my list being as it's referred to as the "bible of mountaineering."

Mike Swiz wrote:
Amazingly enough I have yet to read Freedom of the Hills, I just haven't gotten around to it yet but it is on my list being as it's referred to as the "bible of mountaineering."

Personally, I wouldn't read it cover to cover, but rather pick chapters on skills you need to refresh (or learn). Of course, in time, you'll cover the whole thing.

For other mountaineering books see this LIST