Facing Up: A Remarkable Journey to the Summit of Everest

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Bear Grylls

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Pages: 304 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0330392263

Pub: Pan Books

Pub date: 2001-03-23

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1048

Editorial Review:

"No Western climber or even any Sherpas had been this high, so far this year. We were treading on virgin territory on the ever-changing surface of the glacier. The excitement welled up, and I felt strong. Here I was with those I knew so well, alone and isolated in the rawness and wonder of nature; and it made me feel good."
Facing Up tells the remarkable story of Bear Grylls' ascent of Everest, making him, at the age of 23, the youngest British climber to survive the adventure. Bear is at sometimes quirky and at others reflexive in his account of his months on Everest. "Nobody minds pain occasionally, but the prospect of being at my wit's end for the next two months terrifies me".
Bear battles against all the odds in the pursuit of his childhood dream--to stand on the summit of the world. Somewhat akin to an emotional roller coaster, Bear shares his elation and his despair, from standing on the summit, to swinging precariously in a crevasse in the Icefall. We are witness to the loss off hope being swept aside by grim determination and a restored faith; the pain and discomfort are quashed by his spirit, sense of humour and eccentricity.

Written in an amazingly personable style, incorporating extracts from his diary and select photos from his expedition, Facing Up takes you every extraordinary step of the way. This book is a must for climbers and adventurers everywhere; a remarkable tale. --Chris Hall

Reader Reviews:

Pretty good - but dwarfed by others in the genre (0/0 people found this helpful)

If you like Bear then you'll like this book. He's obviously made of strong stuff and he has a story to tell but unfortunately he isn't really a writer and doesn't capture the real essence of high altitude mountaineering and its inherent risks as succinctly as other writers within the genre.

The book holds its own but never grips in the same manner as Into Thin Air, The Climb or Forever On The Mountain (to give but 3 examples). It's a worthy addition to any mountain enthusiast's bookshelf but if you are looking for just one mountaineering book you'd walk past this one to get to others.

couldn't put this down!! (1/1 people found this helpful)

like the others i saw Bear on tv and thought heres someone with a good sense of humour and would make a brilliant uncle with his adventure stories, this book relates to much more than climbing Everest it could be paralleled to lifes struggles and your own personal Everest, what i took from it is that if you have the tenacity,determination and the burning desire to conquer something thats seems insurmountable it can be done, i liked Bears references to his faith (i am of no religion) but it struck me that if you have a belief it certainly will help get you through, good luck to him, this book left me wanting more Uncle Bears tales!!

Decent Adventure yarn (2/2 people found this helpful)

Mr Otter - perhaps you should do some research yourself. The Unit to which `shotoff' refers is 21 SAS, which is the territorial equivalent of the regular Army's 22 SAS. There's also a Northern-based Unit designated as 23 SAS, and they're TA also. And yes, I agree with `shotoff' that Grylls military background has always been a bit mysterious, and in the book (or on any TV show I've seen him on), it's never really clear exactly what he's done. And I don't believe that's a function of secrecy surrounding the SAS, I just think that maybe his military background is not as credible as a publisher would like to project....

Anyway, I found this book to be thoroughly well-written story of a breathtaking adventure. Grylls clearly has a great deal of knowledge and credibility in his field and this knowledge really shines through his writing. However, having said that, I agree that it won't join the classics of mountain literature. It's a cracking read, but it just lacks that little bit of insight for me, that slight lack of context between man and his surroundings that defines a classic. If you want a great adventure from your armchair, read this book; if you want a book to take traveling with you on a climbing exped, you'll take Krakauer or Simpson.

Response to Shotoff (3/5 people found this helpful)

Shotoff - thankyou so much for your insightful review of this book. Unfortunately the only thing I learnt was that you should probably consider getting out more. Critisising the book as you did is ludicrous - this is not Pulitzer prize winning novel and nor does it make any pretence to be. It is simply a story of someone who has challenged himself to the extreme to achieve his dream. Pulling the book apart for grammar and criticising the climbing techniques of someone who climbed everest at 23 seems rather peculiar. Add to the the reference to him having been in the TA, when actually he spent 3 years in the SAS where he broke his back - only to then later take part in this climb - and your misguided comments become laughable. Take the book as it is intended and enjoy it - if you want a literary masterpiece then there's plenty of Chaucer around to keep you quiet for a good few years.

Well Worth A Read (10/10 people found this helpful)

I decided to buy this book after watching Bear Grylls in his Born Survivor/Man vs. Wild role as I found him to be quite a likeable guy. I was also impressed when I heard of his attempt to scale Everest after breaking his back in two places.
I had never really been all that interested in mountain climbing but after reading this book I have a huge amount of respect for the men and women who attempt to climb this beast of a mountain.
The book is written in a very 'easy to pick up' way, you need no prior knowledge of moutain climbing to enjoy it and my suspicions about Bears likeability were confirmed.
It is a great read and a great introduction to both Everest and the world of extreme mountaineering and I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

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