Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps

And don't expect any good scenery photos...it's full of a bunch of guys in Victorian dress. Again: BORING!


Solid history of Alpine exploration   July 15, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

"Killing Dragons" is a history of the exploration of the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps from the early 18th century to 1938, when the "last problem of the Alps", the Eiger Nordwand, was finally "solved." The first half of the book discusses the early French and Swiss scientists and adventurers who explored the slopes of Mont Blanc and studied the glaciers of the Bernese Oberland. The 19th century belonged to the eccentric British explorers and scientists and an American expatriate, William Coolidge, who were driven to the mountains by a variety of forces. The end of the British domination of Alpine exploration came when almost all of the peaks had been conquered by their most straightforward routes, leaving only the more technically challenging direttissima routes, north faces, and other novel paths. These climbs required technical innovations (such as the use of pitons and carabineers) and a new more gymnastic approach and attitudes that the British and the French considered to be unsporting. This left the great technical climbs in the Alps to the Austrians, Germans, and Italians, and hence it is fitting that the book ends with a description of two Bavarians' and two Austrians' conquest of the Nordward.

Parts of the book, particularly in the first half, although competently-written and useful from an informational perspective, are quite dry and not particularly gripping. Later sections on John Tyndall and Edward Whymper are significantly better and Fleming's description of the personalities and feuds involved are actually quite interesting. I enjoyed the biographical information about Whymper, which fleshes him out as an individual. For more details about Whymper's exploits, I would highly recommend his book "Scrambles Amongst the Alps."

There were a few worrisome factual and editing errors early on in the book, such as when the mountain Pilatus is repeatedly placed above Geneva. This is a strange error as the general map included with the book correctly puts the mountain near Lucerne. A few detailed maps would have been a most welcome addition.

Overall, this is a smoothly-written and useful historical overview of Alpine exploration written very much from a British perspective and one that I would recommend to anybody who has a special interest in the area or the history of mountaineering. (A prior knowledge of the area by the reader will also help compensate for the lack of detailed maps.)


Both informative and fascinating   May 18, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

In Killing Dragons: The Conquest Of The Alps, Fergus Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men who explored Europe's most famous and dangerous mountain range. French and Swiss scientists tackled the peaks in the late 18th century seeking to learn more about the atmosphere, earth's origins, and glaciers. By the 1850s this scientific pursuit had evolved into a fierce competition between British climbers. The climbers became celebrities seeking to climb ever higher and more impossible mountains -- while trading quips and barbs and in public press. Stories of the climbers valor, rivalries, egos, and disasters become the substance of popular interest. Highly recommended reading that is both informative and fascinating, Killing Dragons tells how the great Alpine mountains fell to these colorful, eccentric climbers and is a "must" for anyone who has ever contemplated the adventure and sport of mountaineering.


Exploring the Alps   February 9, 2001
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The author of "Barrow's Boys" has once again written an extremely interesting work that deals, mainly, with British eccentrics doing unusual things: this time they are exploring, and climbing, the Alps. I found the subject very compelling, because I have always had a desire to see the Matterhorn, a desire that began when I saw, as a young boy, Walt Disney's "Third Man On The Mountain". Having lived one winter in Denver, I loved going into the Rockies and just looking around, and observing the majesty of creation. This work is a very good introduction to the beginning of mountaineering in Europe, and is suitable for the general reader. Anyone who considers themselves learned in the field will probably not like this work, but I enjoy learning something new in everything I read, and this book certainly gave me that type of information. There were a few typos scattered here and there, but they didn't detract from my pleasure in reading this work. The writing style is casual, and it's something worth reading if you love mountains, and like hearing about the odd and determined people who climb them.


A good introductory history to mountaineering the Alps.   January 21, 2001
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book while not compelling or a must read, is still a well written if standard introduction to the the story of the conquest of the Alps by (mostly) British climbers from the Alpine Club. While it is neither as authoritative nor comprehensive (nor thankfully as long) as Walt Unsworth's "Everest" it is nonetheless a fine introduction that engagingly lays out both the plot and characters in the story of man vs the Alps. From his blbliography and introduction, you can pick up the story in more detail where you please. His treatment of Whymper is first-rate; indeed he is more indulgent and less sardonic with these heroes than he was of John Barrow and his "boys."Mr. Fleming, in addition to laying out the facts, is always shrewd in his analysis of motive and character. Again, while this is no classic, it is a professional job by an intelligent writer on a fascinating subject intended for the general reader. I was appreciative.