Hanging By A Thread: The Science, History, Technology and Culture of Rock Climbing and Mountaineering

Essentially an anthology of climbing history, but viewed from the previously unexplored perspective of science and technology. A curiosity shop of factoids and stories that is hoped will entertain and educate. Along the way we examine several questions you probably never knew existed. So if you want to know how in proving Newton both right and wrong led to the development of contour lines on a land maps; who really invented the key technological breakthroughs in classic mountaineering equipment; what it is exactly that happens to the human body when we go to altitude or how it was decided that conquering Everest was possible then this book will appeal. Possibly the most stand out chapter explores risk taking and attempts to answer the question of why we climb. Rather than using philosophical debate, we instead turn to research in psychology, genetics and neuroscience to try to unearth what makes a climber tick. This is Mark reeves’ second major book the first was a ‘How to Climb Harder’ by pesda press. This is an attempt to go outside his comfort zone of instructional manuals and instead turn to only words to tell a story. He hopes you agree that it is an interesting read.