Overall I enjoyed this book, particularly for the genre, but I'll confess that, over the years, I've become far more sensitive to the limiting tropes of that genre, i. The majority of books I review are poetry, often in translation, because I came to literary criticism via my career in translation. Honnold's] ability to connect with a larger audience and bring a humble perspective to his many accomplishments makes him a great ambassador to the sport…[R]eading the vivid descriptions captured by Honnold and Roberts will surely cover the book's pages in a fine layer of palm sweat. Mark Synnott lives in my community, and it was a pleasure to hear him speak about his life as a climber, an adventurer, and his friendship with Alex Honnold, the subject of the award winning documentary Free Solo. In the process of becoming the most famous climber in the world, he’s remained entirely himself, a guy who just wants to live in a van and climb rocks.

Two years isn't all that long for making an award-winning movie; even if Alex does realise he doesn't want to do it, they've still got great footage of the world's grandest bit of granite outside Patagonia. David Roberts (1943–2021) is the author of thirty books on mountaineering, exploration, and anthropology. While Honnold is best known for his starring role in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, he has also appeared in several other films. Many action sports athletes come off like your kid brother in college at best, but Honnold came off on social media like John Brinckerhoff Jackson or R. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (via the 2,900-foot route Freerider at 5.

Dierdre Wolownick, Alex Honnold's mother, started climbing at age 60 and is the oldest woman to climb El Capitan (first at the age of 66 and then breaking her record, again at age 70). It is clear that Mark Synnott knows the climbing world, but this book lost me early on and never regained its footing. No one within the cloistered community of climbing nor to the general public’s view of the sport is a bigger star right now than Alex Honnold, a man who has in a multitude of ways raised the bar on what is even possible in climbing. He gained mainstream recognition after his 2008 solo of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was featured in the film Alone on the Wall [16] and a subsequent 60 Minutes interview.

The culture and history of climbing are discussed as well as some of the ethical dilemmas of being a climber, filming a climber, and how celebrity introduces a complexity to the sport. Looking at the book as if I’d never heard or read any of these stories, they are stunning accomplishments, but the writing itself does not convey the magic or suspense that a film can. is able to offer very good summary of how climbing at the highest of levels shapes the athlete’s psyche. The crux move, the Boulder Problem, requires an exact sequence of grips on very small crimps and friction holds, followed by a committing leg-lunge.

I listened to most of this book on audio while training on a campus board, so it was extra fun and motivating to learn about some of the most epic climbs attempted to date. I have read many mountaineering books and there are similarly many technical climbing terms which do not detract from the story or the drama.

The narrator for 'Alex' is incredibly obnoxious and doesn't seem to understand his personality at all. I think the mainstream audience will be entertained by Alone On The Wall; it’s a quick read, one that could be consumed in a day’s worth of travel, and I would recommend it to my non-climbing relatives who all know Alex Honnold from his placements in mainstream media.His Facebook posts are normally upbeat and do (expectedly) promote his activities and his sponsors, sure, but they betray a scope and depth that draws you in to desire to know Alex the person just as much as Honnold the ultra-athlete. Don't put it down too often otherwise you might not pick it up again, but overall I'm glad I read it.