The Beckoning Silence

Since the epic tale of his survival in the Andes, recounted in Touching the Void, Simpson has lived a life full of adventure but haunted by death. Insisting that he played a simple game on a dangerous stage because it seemed the best way of living, Simpson analyses his fascination with the mountains. Simultaneously enticed and intimidated, fascinated and repelled he examines what compels people to put themselves at risk. Confronted by the loss of close friends, Simpson is forced to question the appeal of the exhilarating sport to which he has devoted his life. The book is full of biographical detail and Simpson writes better than any other climber on both the appeal of mountaineering and the darker side of the sport. After the particularly painful loss of a close friend, he decides to turn his back on the mountains he loves, having completed one final check-list of classic ascents, culminating in a catarthic finale on the North Face of the Eiger.