Review of Book about Mountain Climbing: The Altitude Journals by David J Mauro
This is not a book I was expecting to love as much as I did. Although this book has a huge focus on mountaineering and climbing, it was also an insightful glance into the authors’ life, almost an autobiography. I chose this book as I'm a nomadic freethinker who travels a lot and a big part of my life involves hiking, camping and exploring, which this book seemed to offer plenty of. The author drew me in immediately, he described his 'normal' life before he discovered his climbing life and it was completely relatable. He presented a grim account of his life failings, his regrets, his love for exploration and travel and how he felt lost and unfulfilled in his current lifestyle. So David Mauro embarks on his life’s biggest adventure by attempting to climb some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous mountains.
The Altitude Journals sees David Mauro progress from rookie to conqueror of the Seven Summits. Along the way we journey with him through the physical and dangerous challenges that each mountain poses, through his insecurities, his family dilemmas, his indecision and his wavering belief in his own courage. I loved the relatable process in which the author deals with his own self doubt and self-talk in his mind. And I was always in awe of how he handled the different life threatening struggles of each mountain. I often felt I was there with him, through each arduous climb.
His realistic narration kept me fascinated with every descriptive detail of his experience, from the strenuous training involved before each climb, to the equipment he used and the inevitable dangers of each mountain. I was very moved by his musings and self-reflection, he was a relatable person not an egocentric 'look at my accomplishments' type of character. He always described how difficult things were and when he felt the most challenged, nothing was far-fetched or dramatic, despite there being a lot of happenings on the journey.
The technical mountaineering terms and camp & climb etiquette were broken down into uncomplicated phrases and I only found myself looking up a couple of technical terms, simply because I was curious. I felt it was very well edited, although I often found it feeling a rather long read, for the type of repetitive storytelling, undramatic tone that it followed. Due to the author’s simple phrasing of mountaineering language and his relatable storytelling, I believe this book is a perfect read for anyone interested in climbing or exploration, or a novice interested in taking up the sport. His non-dramatic, modest tone means you wonder if there's anything this guy can't overcome, you find yourself discovering his bravery, sometimes before he even does himself. I read this book over the course of a couple of weeks and I found myself eagerly anticipating what will happen next, without the expectation of a climatic ending, as it felt clear that this book was about taking on the physical world and the emotional world.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, a must-read for those who are lured by the world's greatest wilderness or by those who find themselves suddenly feeling unfulfilled. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought they could do something amazing but never felt the time was right. It's a story of exploration of the outside world and an inner expedition of courage.
