Product Description

Joe Brown is one of the greatest names in British climbing. This book not only describes his many notable climbs, but reflects a most engaging personality with a highly interesting approach to his craft. He was born in a Manchester slum, the youngest of seven children; his father died before he was a year old. The characteristics he showed as a child - a quite extraordinary self-reliance and an unexpected love of the countryside - are reflected throughout his life-story. The Hard Years is also the story of Joe Brown's climbs up some of the toughest mountains in the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28699 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
Joe Brown is one of the greatest names in British climbing. This book not only describes his many notable climbs, but reflects a most engaging personality with a highly interesting approach to his craft. He was born in a Manchester slum, the youngest of seven children; his father died before he was a year old. The characteristics he showed as a child - a quite extraordinary self-reliance and an unexpected love of the countryside - are reflected throughout his life-story. The Hard Years is also the story of Joe Brown's climbs up some of the toughest mountains in the world.

Customer Reviews

Worth reading but not the best in its genre
Joe Brown was probably the best climber of his generation. But he probably writes at rock-climbing standard HVS while he climbed at E9 (for his time).

The Hard Read
There can be no doubt that what Joe Brown has achieved on rock faces and mountains across the world raised the bar for aspiring climbers everywhere. However, his autobiography fails to convey the magnitude of his achievements, which, although he appears as a very likable, down to earth character, does detract from the reading experience.
That said, this book remains an essential addition to any climbers bookshelf.

Evocative of post-war climbing in UK and the Alps
Brown's pioneering rock climbs in the 1950s and 1960s did much to popularise mountaineering in the UK. He and his peers in the Rock and Ice club raised the standard on the UK crags and then headed to the Alps, where their exploits won the respect of the finest local climbers. All this in an era when merely getting to the hills was an experience far removed from the mass transit available today. The book covers Brown's career from the early years through pioneering new routes in Snowdonia, on to the Alps, and thence to Kangchenjunga, where in 1955 he led the first ascent party on the world's third highest peak. other highlights include the first ascent of the Mustagh Tower and an account of the televised Old Man of Hoy climb. The passages on the UK climbing scene are particuarly distinguished, painting vivid pictures of Brown's well-known peers (Whillans, Patey, etc) and places. The story (and the style) contrast starkly with the wider-ranging exploits of the modern day climber, but this book tells where it all started for the generation in which climbing passed from the elite to the masses. I first read it in about 1975, and continue to enjoy it: it has aged extremely well.