Silence is golden

Anyone who's ever dreamed of scaling Mount Everest but never quite got around to it should enjoy Joe Simpson's heady journal of mountaineering mishaps.

After years of close calls, he's begun to worry about the rising body count among his climbing friends. "The baggage of dark fears and terrors" weighs heavy on his rucksack. So, after a spot of Alpine abseiling and some paragliding in Spain, he decides to quit the high life for good. After giving Mount Eiger a go.

However weak Simpson's resolve, his writing is always impeccable. He sticks you right on the rockface - typical chapter openings include "The ice was thin and loosely attached to the rock" and "I hadn't liked the look of the sÈracs at all". Although the book's very existence rather gives away its ending, Simpson ensures that your palms drip and your heart races all the same.