HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

No Picnic on Mount Kenya : An Escape from a…
Loading...

No Picnic on Mount Kenya : An Escape from a Wartime Prison, an Epic Ascent, an All-Time Classic of Mountaineering Literature (edition 1989)

by Felice Benuzzi

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3121085,058 (4.09)10
In the shadow of Mount Kenya, surrounded by the forests and creatures of the savannah, life drags interminably for the inmates of POW Camp 354, captured in Africa during World War II. Confined to an endless cycle of boredom and frustration, one prisoner realizes he can bear it no longer. When the clouds covering Mount Kenya part one morning to reveal its towering peaks for the first time, Felice Benuzzi is transfixed. The tedium of camp life is broken by the beginnings of a sudden idea--an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea. Not many people would break out of a POW camp and trek for days across perilous terrain before climbing the north face of Mount Kenya with improvised equipment, meager rations, and a picture of the mountain on a tin of beef as their most accurate guide. Fewer still would break back into the camp on their return. This is the remarkable story of three such men--a powerful testament to the human spirit of rebellion and adventure--reissued in a deluxe edition featuring Benuzzi's own watercolor paintings of the expedition and a final chapter that has never before appeared in English.… (more)
Member:Nigel.Lewis
Title:No Picnic on Mount Kenya : An Escape from a Wartime Prison, an Epic Ascent, an All-Time Classic of Mountaineering Literature
Authors:Felice Benuzzi
Info:Patrick Stephens (1989), Edition: New Ed, Hardcover, 240 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 10 mentions

English (8)  Italian (2)  All languages (10)
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
An interesting story, well told and well illustrated. ( )
  breic | Sep 6, 2020 |
Kenya Mountaineering
  oirm42 | May 24, 2018 |
Charming little WWII prison escape story about an Italian in a British POW camp in Kenya. The author escapes for 17 days in order to climb Mt Kenya which he can see from his barracks window tempting him. Like Robinson Crusoe he builds mountaineering gear, ice-axes and crampons, from scraps found around the prison, then escapes with two mates and heads for the hills. The writing is funny with a literary bent, while the story is effective since the idea of escaping from "prison" to climb a mountain would strike a chord with many later readers seeking the freedom of the outdoors. ( )
  Stbalbach | May 25, 2011 |
No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a tale of a bizarre and thrilling adventure, a story that quickly grips the reader with a unique combination of daring and suspense. In 1943, Felice Benuzzi and two Italian compatriots escaped from a British POW camp in equatorial East Africa with only one goal in mind--to climb the dangerous seventeen-thousand-foot Mount Kenya. Their story is one of bravery and mountaineering that is enthralling. The sheer poetry of the story makes it vivid for the reader and that is what one remembers long after putting the book down. But beyond the poetry is the spirit of adventure which transcends the page and inspires the reader. For all who would dream of adventure this is one book that comes close to fulfilling that dream. ( )
  jwhenderson | Apr 17, 2011 |
Fascinating true story of hope, dreams, and goals under stressful circumstances. An Italian soldier in a WW2 prisoner-of-war camp in Africa plans and executes a daring adventure in great style: he and fellow prisoners sneak out of the prison camp, climb nearby Mt. Kenya, and return. ( )
  listorama | Aug 15, 2008 |
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
In the shadow of Mount Kenya, surrounded by the forests and creatures of the savannah, life drags interminably for the inmates of POW Camp 354, captured in Africa during World War II. Confined to an endless cycle of boredom and frustration, one prisoner realizes he can bear it no longer. When the clouds covering Mount Kenya part one morning to reveal its towering peaks for the first time, Felice Benuzzi is transfixed. The tedium of camp life is broken by the beginnings of a sudden idea--an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea. Not many people would break out of a POW camp and trek for days across perilous terrain before climbing the north face of Mount Kenya with improvised equipment, meager rations, and a picture of the mountain on a tin of beef as their most accurate guide. Fewer still would break back into the camp on their return. This is the remarkable story of three such men--a powerful testament to the human spirit of rebellion and adventure--reissued in a deluxe edition featuring Benuzzi's own watercolor paintings of the expedition and a final chapter that has never before appeared in English.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.09)
0.5
1
1.5
2 1
2.5
3 5
3.5 3
4 27
4.5
5 13

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 207,252,781 books! | Top bar: Always visible