[slab_happy]

A friend's asked for recs for her nephew, who's hooked on climbing. Apparently he's not a super-confident reader, and something with pictures would be good.

[Fiend]

Gogarth South guide??

Ned's Beastmaker book??

[Will Hunt]

The first climbing book I had was Preposterous Tales by Gresh and Emmett. I was 16 or 17 and I devoured it. Lots of photos of cool foreign destinations. Lots of exploration and a real spirit of adventure about it.

[Steve Crowe]

The Climbing Bible by Martin Mobråten

https://www.v-publishing.co.uk/books/climbing/climbing-the-climbing-bible/

[Hoseyb]

Mick Fowler's vertical pleasure.
An easy read with lots of being a kid falling in love with climbing at the beginning, and just a great love of adventure and passion for climbing of all styles throughout. Err maybe not bouldering, although there is southern sandstone

[petejh]

Subscription to Alpinist, a window onto the whole world of climbing.

[Bonjoy]

I reckon I'd have really enjoyed Gordon Stainforth's Fiva as a twelve year old. Pretty gripping alpine epic involving fairly clueless teenagers on Europe's biggest rockface(I think).
Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong; is the epic true account from Gordon Stainforth of a near-death experience on a mountain in Norway in 1969. In the summer of 1969, as Apollo 11 was blasting off to the moon, two teenage twin brothers, with only three years' mountaineering experience, set off to climb one of the highest rock faces in Europe. With just two bars of chocolate, some sandwiches, a four-sentence route description and an old sketch map, they left their tent early one morning with the full expectation of being back in time for tea. Within a few hours things had gone badly wrong, they were looking death in the face, and the English Home Counties seemed very far away... Short listed for the 2012 Boardman Tasker Award.

[andy popp]

Please don't let it be a training manual.

[mark20]

The first book I read when I was around that age was Tom Patey - One Man's Mountains. From memory it's not too difficult to read in that it is a collection of articles, essays, trip reports, songs, etc and covers a range of climbing across the UK.

Preposterous Tales by Gresh and Emmett is also a great suggestion, loads of photos from around the World

[Johnny Brown]

I more or less taught myself to climb with two books: Tony Greenbanks's brilliant Climbing for young people and Fawcett on rock.

It's a shame CFYP has dated so much (1977) as I've seen nothing similar. He assumes you are without transport, frothing keen and nowhere near a crag, so as well as all the obvious advice there are exercises to improve your footwork by traversing shoe polish tins lined up along a wall, and practising multi-pitch ropework by belaying between trees in a park. I had an unexpected reminder of the latter some years back when a friend was so out of it following an after party that he needed to get something from the car, so asked for a belay while complaining he couldn't find the grigri.

Fawcett on rock was just total inspiration. The big man at his peak, shot by John Beatty, doing moves ranging from the instructional to those of laughable impossibility. Hagiographical intro by Jim Perrin plus main text masterfully ghost written by none other than M John Harrison. I was smitten. Lost my copy in recent years due to an ill-advised lend just before I completed the frontispiece signatures with MJH. Although whilst chatting upstairs at 10 Downing St (natch) the subject came up (no doubt I brought it up) and Gill Kent suddenly intrposed herself in the conversation with the words 'I wrote that fucking book!'.

I'm afraid that probably isn't very helpful but I quite enjoyed writing it.

[cheque]

“Base camp is a bus stop near Sheffield for Rooster Booster, E6” 

That Tony Greenbank book is in my eBay watchlist of old climbing books that I’m gradually getting round to buying. It’s made its way to the top of the list now 

Someone needs to write a modern version of Let’s Go Climbing! I get FOMO for being a kid in the 40s reading that which is saying something.

[Wellsy]

I reckon I'd have really enjoyed Gordon Stainforth's Fiva as a twelve year old. Pretty gripping alpine epic involving fairly clueless teenagers on Europe's biggest rockface(I think).
Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong; is the epic true account from Gordon Stainforth of a near-death experience on a mountain in Norway in 1969. In the summer of 1969, as Apollo 11 was blasting off to the moon, two teenage twin brothers, with only three years' mountaineering experience, set off to climb one of the highest rock faces in Europe. With just two bars of chocolate, some sandwiches, a four-sentence route description and an old sketch map, they left their tent early one morning with the full expectation of being back in time for tea. Within a few hours things had gone badly wrong, they were looking death in the face, and the English Home Counties seemed very far away... Short listed for the 2012 Boardman Tasker Award.

Just saying this is a banger in your 30s as well, I loved it

[andy popp]

Someone needs to write a modern version of Let’s Go Climbing!

I was about to say if we're going proper old school, then it has to be Let's Go Climbing!

[cowboyhat]

As a frothing twelve year old all I had were the Marsh Rope Techniques, and the occasional OTE or High we'd pick up in a climbing shop. I think fawcett on rock or something would have been great but only with hindsight; I didn't hear of it til many years later at uni.

I have this problem myself though right now; I want to buy a book for my, (now thirteen), year old but nothing seems right and hasn't for a few years. He isn't really the obsessed type though, certainly enjoys climbing but almost has too much exposure and is probably put off by the fact that it seems to haunt every waking moment of his fathers life.

[Will Hunt]

Walking down Haworth high street a few years ago I saw Fawcett on Rock in the window of a second hand book shop. Should have bought it. I plumped for the 1974 Yorkshire Limestone guide instead.

[Fiend]

Dear GOD 

I still have a copy of FOR. Doing Satin for the first time after seeing it looking "impossible" in that book was an excellent experience.

[cheque]

Walking down Haworth high street a few years ago I saw Fawcett on Rock in the window of a second hand book shop. Should have bought it.

Copies on eBay for just over a fuckall if you really regret it. It’s not a rare book.

[nai]

Doing Satin for the first time after seeing it looking "impossible" in that book was an excellent experience.

Absolutely.

1. Don't step on the snow.

Still makes me chuckle

[northern yob]

I had an unexpected reminder of the latter some years back when a friend was so out of it following an after party that he needed to get something from the car, so asked for a belay while complaining he couldn't find the grigri.

Ha ha those were the days, that’s the same night he looked at me all doe eyed called me chicken and looked like he was gonna kiss me.

Back on topic fawcett on rock is a great book, I still randomly thumb through it on occasion.

[SamT]

Wanders upstairs to get dusty copy of Fawcett on rock off the shelf.

Power of Climbing?

[Johnny Brown]

Losing my copy of Fawcett has actually been less distressing than I expected, it's like one of those albums you rinsed out so much in sixth form it's been absorbed into your soul. But if anyone comes across one with sigs in Shef I wouldn't mind it back. Good ticklist for the Extreme rockers too, solo La Demande for starters.

I was a bit surprised whne i finally met some contemporaries and they were all Power of Climbing heads. Every time we went out I'd be thumb-printing pebbles in a semi-mantel and get nothing.

[Bonjoy]

The best thing is the photo on page 90 - Bridging, Burbage South. I spent ages scouring the crag looking for this perfect rounded scoop. Before finally working out it was a photo of the slab right of David turned through 90 degrees.

[slab_happy]

I more or less taught myself to climb with two books: Tony Greenbanks's brilliant Climbing for young people and Fawcett on rock.

It's a shame CFYP has dated so much (1977) as I've seen nothing similar. He assumes you are without transport, frothing keen and nowhere near a crag, so as well as all the obvious advice there are exercises to improve your footwork by traversing shoe polish tins lined up along a wall, and practising multi-pitch ropework by belaying between trees in a park. I had an unexpected reminder of the latter some years back when a friend was so out of it following an after party that he needed to get something from the car, so asked for a belay while complaining he couldn't find the grigri.

Fawcett on rock was just total inspiration. The big man at his peak, shot by John Beatty, doing moves ranging from the instructional to those of laughable impossibility. Hagiographical intro by Jim Perrin plus main text masterfully ghost written by none other than M John Harrison. I was smitten. Lost my copy in recent years due to an ill-advised lend just before I completed the frontispiece signatures with MJH. Although whilst chatting upstairs at 10 Downing St (natch) the subject came up (no doubt I brought it up) and Gill Kent suddenly intrposed herself in the conversation with the words 'I wrote that fucking book!'.

I'm afraid that probably isn't very helpful but I quite enjoyed writing it.

I found a copy of Fawcett on Rock in a second-hand bookshop and have cherished it ever since. I especially love the occasional passages where a distinctly Harrisonian voice breaks through for a moment ...

Lost all ability to cope the first few times I ran into Mr Fawcett at the bouldering wall.

[andy popp]

Ron says "Aye."

[IanP]

I found a copy of Fawcett on Rock in a second-hand bookshop and have cherished it ever since. I especially love the occasional passages where a distinctly Harrisonian voice breaks through for a moment ...

Lost all ability to cope the first few times I ran into Mr Fawcett at the bouldering wall.

Fawcett on Rock was a pretty big book for me when it came , great pics and words, very inspiring!

Also came across Ron at Stanage in the 80s and he tried to give me beta on the Green Traverse, unfortunately it would be a few year until I was strong enough.  Even better he was at Masson Lees to congratulate my daughter on her first ever outdoor lead in 2017  .

[andy_e]

I especially love the occasional passages where a distinctly Harrisonian voice breaks through for a moment ...

Ah excellent, I ordered a copy this week in the hope this would be the case...

[Johnny Brown]

A few lines were good enough to make it into Climbers, which was published only two years later.

[fatneck]

Not sure if it would grip a 12 yo but Hands of a Climber was a great read for me when I started climbing. Gave me a great sense of perspective on the evolution of climbing...