Alpine Reviews

Richard Sanders' book has been useful to me as an intermediate skiier, in learning the whys and hows of downhill technique. He's very accessible, but on the down side, last revised in 1979 the book misses out on a lot of developments, especially in equiptment, since then. The section on carving is pretty lamentable. In it's way, though, it's still the best book I've seen so far on skiing.

being a beginer of mountaineering i bought this book so i would not get trapped in an avalanche and so i could learn some basic mountain safety. The book was quit easy to read but very detailed, it covers most of the skills needed for mountain safty. I recomend it to any one who is going to venture out into the mountains soon.

I expected this book to be excellent, given its subject and authors, but I was disappointed with it. Like many books about Himalayan expeditions, Shishapangma focused on disagreements within the team. But whereas in other cases this has been amusing or affecting, here it seemed dreary, and unfortunately tinged with misogyny. The climbing itself is described in rather dull terms; one gets little sense of excitement or danger. Scott's informational/philosophical postscripts may actually be the best part of the book. Don't read this one unless you're studying the route or are a real completist.

It talks about who the great athletes are in skiing and snowboarding, as well as some really basic information of the sport. For example, it tells you that a ski binding is for holding the skis to the ski boots and for releasing the skis when during a fall. Yeah, unless if you find this information almighty valuable, don't buy this book. This book is not a how-to guide, although the book's back cover seems to claim that it will tell you how to improve your skills on slalom, aerials, and moguls. Buy any other book but this one.

This book was obviously rushed into print to be on the shelves during the Olympics. I just scanned the cross-country section, and it's full of errors, outdated information, bad pictures and confusing instructions. I didn't look at the rest of the book, but I doubt it's much better.

A good book for people who are just getting started.

While the Natural History Section of this Book is fine, with modest detail on the plants and animals, the book goes down hill when it get to History and Land Use Issues. The author seems extremely vindictive against the Mountain Cattlemen of Victoria, perhap a reflection of her battles with them as a member of the Victoria National Parks Association. Her bias shows up in many ways, such as those that agree with her are "caring" or "enlightened", those against her are "uninformed" or "greedy." Then again it seems the only self interested parties in the land use conflicts, in her view, are the Cattlemen (especially) and the loggers, but never the Greens, which is baloney of the first order. In total the book could have done better by sticking to the natural history aspect and steering clear of controversy.

The following book review written by Editor In Chief, Mick Walsh, comes from the October, 1996, issue of Classic And Sportscar.

"Graham Robson's time at Rootes during the 1960's makes him highly qualified to write this book. But both models have been excellently covered by McGovern and Taylor in the past and this new title, combining both cars, offers little new. The history is thoroughly told but the buying/ownership tips are hopelessly inadequate and rife with clichés. The layout is lifeless, the pictures are tediously familiar, the captions often inane. The asking price would be better spent joining one of the excellent clubs for these stylish cars."

To say that Mr. Walsh doesn't seem to care for the Robson offering is obvious understatement. The fact that this book continues the pattern of regurgitating outdated rumor and misinformation, is very disheartening. Revisiting (nearly word for word) the sledge hammer narrative from Bill Carroll's book, smacks of simple laziness and an apparent lack of concern for accuracy. To claim that no Harrington Tiger was ever produced, flies in the face of "factory" records. Records, incidentally, that were within a stones throw of the authors elbow while he accessed other materials from The Museum Of British Road Transport and you would think, documents that should have been reviewed before publishing incorrect final production figures for yet another time.

Beyond the Comfort Zone is a tedious read at best. It is nothing more than an egomaniacal piece of work from a juvenile author. Most disturbing are his notions of leadership. Save your money. American Canoe Association is sending this book free for joining. I question the ethics and morals of this organization for their choice in associating themselves with the morals and ethics voiced in this book.