Alex Honnold

I wanted to read this after watching 'Free Solo' which I think could very well be one of the most amazing athletic feats ever. This book gave me so much appreciation for the genius of director of 'Free Solo' -- Jimmy Chin. Honnold is a legend, no doubt. Watching 'Free Solo' absolutely blew my mind, it's one of my favorite documentaries ever. It put me on edge and made my hands sweat like crazy. Unfortunately, this book didn’t add much more to the information gained from watching the film. I feel as if the book works better if you read it first, as it’s timeline is Alex’s life before the movie. He doesn't talk much about free soloing El Capitan as the book is written before that. I didn't know this prior so admittedly that may have skewed my review. The book is also heavily grounded in technical climbing jargon. If you are not familiar with climbing terminology or the sport in general, this book will not resonate with you. I also thought that the way it was told was awkward jumping from narrator to Honnold. I'd rather hear it told by Junger or Krakauer. Alex's dry, unfiltered way of speaking can get lost on any reader not used to his candor. In the end, I think poor editing killed this book. It should be written as a first-person cliff hanger - pun intended.… (meer)

I don't climb and my immediate thought after hitting the specialized vocabulary on page one was, "I'm in over my head." What I found however, was a careful sprinkling of context and parentheticals throughout the text to help the reader like me. While there were still references I didn't get, the book was very kind to non-practitioners without wholesale dumbing down the language for a mass audience.

The book works because of the back and forth between the subject (Honnold) and his co-writer Roberts. Their sections are formatted and voiced differently, and do a great job of placing the meat of the book (Honnold's sections) in context with the drier and sometimes antagonizing sections written by Roberts. The book provided a behind-the-scenes look at some of the amazing climbing films that Honnold has featured in.

I didn't really get the sections on Honnold's relationship with SP - I'd guess they were included because they were important, but I'm not sure that came across in the text. Generally, a few more diagrams, especially to help detail the longer exploits involving multiple climbs, would have been appreciated by this non-climber.… (meer)

I had to read this after watching the excellent movie, "Free Solo." The movie is much better, with a view into Honnold's climbing, his life and relationships, and the ethics of making a movie about a deadly sport. This book is more focused on climbing. It has lots of filler, and not much drama. Honnold's life is solitary and it can be dull to read about.

Unfortunately, the book feels like "The Art of the Deal," except that Honnold actually did write parts of his memoir. The parts of the book written by coauthor Roberts are largely not good. One feels that he was desperate for content. He gives blow-by-blow accounts of movies, he quotes at extreme length online forum posts. He is really stretching for any content.

Still, the book builds some momentum, and, if you can care about climbing, the climbing stories are fun to hear.… (meer)