A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

If you read any mountaineering books, you would know that they quickly become boring, even if you are an aspiring mountaineer yourself. These books share a similar pattern: travelling to an unfamiliar place, setting up camp, suffering extreme hardships, ignoring danger, persevering despite atrocious weather conditions, ecstatically reaching the summit, surviving against all odds. Maybe losing a few people, or limbs, or at least digits in the process.
This pattern became so obvious that in 1956 W. E. Bowman wrote a satire on all such books called The Ascent of Rum Doodle.
Eric Newby must have been aware of the curtain being drawn on mountain adventures in written form, so he structured his book in very different way. Instead of show more presenting himself and his partner Hugh Carless as mountain conquering heroes, he honestly depicts themselves for what they really were - two self-indulgent clueless men who impose themselves on locals in a poor nation. They are bullying their way to be dragged up steep mountain valleys close to the high point of their fancy - a mountain top they have not a slight chance of reaching. The account of their adventures written in this ironic self-deprecating way is like a breath of fresh air in the oxygen and imagination deprived atmosphere of mountain literature.
Yet, the humor does not fully save the book. At times the author is trying too hard to be funny, the dialogs are clearly edited and spiced up after the trip. The main drawback though is in the author's inability to observe without bias and reflect on people of another culture that he meets. To his upper-class member eyes they are undoubtfully curious but inferior people, uncultured and dirty, unequal to the aspirations and dreams of the two adventurous imperials. As the author makes fun of himself and his friend, those locals around them are reduced to a complete laughing stock for the benefit of armchair travelers at home. show less

A wonderful travel adventure from the end of the golden age of exploration. Newby is best when he describes with humor and self-deprecation their woeful lack of credentials in the matter of exploration and mountain climbing. After four days of practice in the relative safety of Wales, Newby and his companion Hugh Carless travel to Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush, attempt to climb the 20,000 ft Mir Samir and trek through Nuristan in northern Afghanistan. The fact that they accomplished all they did is a great testament to their courage and perhaps naive luck. I can't believe any such journey would be possible today.

A self-deprecating fashion industry Brit (he's careful not to describe appropriate experience - he served in British Special Forces in WWII - this omission helps the story's charm), gathers up incomplete, inadequate provisions and goes on a fun little jaunt in vacation spots north of Kabul.

Who knew Afghanistan could be so wonerfully droll...

I think the most endearing aspect of A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush is the fact that Eric Newby readily admits he had no idea what he was doing when he and a friend decided to explore the Nuristan mountain range in Afghanistan. With very little training and an unclear vision of what was in store, Newby's A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush is little more than a witty, humorous journal. Yet, almost by default it offers intelligent, observant insight into Afghan cultures and terrains few Westerners have ever experienced. Newby begins his tale with the idea of exploring the Hindu Kush mountain range. Recruiting his friend Hugh, they "practice" climbing by scrambling up and down a rock face in Wales. There they learn the tools and of trade and show more suddenly they are experts. From there, with tongue-in-cheek humor, Newby delightfully journals their subsequent adventures in northeastern Afghanistan. show less

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush is by Eric Newby, an English travel writer of some renown. He is accompanied on his short walk by Hugh Carless, a career diplomat, who was a friend of his from school.

This "short walk" is a harrowing series of roads from Tehran to Kabul and thence up into modern-day Tajikistan. It should be noted that "Hindu Kush" translates as "Indian Killer" or "Hindu Killer", which would make me doubt the entire expedition were I invited to participate. I seriously wonder how the pair of them survived the trip. Perilous, steep, and slow-going is the path, which forces them to climb up sheer rock faces, ford raging rivers, and to stave off both frostbite and heat prostration. Their attempt to climb 19,000 foot Mir show more Samir, in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan, ends in failure only 700 metres from the the summit.

I liked much of the book. My never-ending disinterest in history of the names and dates sort meant that I skimmed a couple of sections, trying to get interested but not succeeding. I was most definitely inspired to visit Central Asia myself, but in a tour bus with both heating and air-conditioning, and with something other than flat rocks for my pillow. I enjoyed the interplay between Hugh and Eric.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush was a fairly good book, probably of more interest to historians than to those people who enjoy reading travelogues, but entertaining anyway. show less

Newby had been recommended to me by my brother's girlfriend, years ago, when I was paying them a visit and had taken to perusing their bookcase. It took me a while to get around to reading his work myself - was I put off by the name Eric? Perhaps, but that's unfair - and I'm very glad now of the recommendation.

One thing that struck me here, as it has done elsewhere, is the travel writer's perfect recall. Newby is able to report long, fact-laden sentences, directly quoted by people who I doubt were speaking English at the time. It's something I remember being the case with Theroux as well. I can't do it - I end up fabricating something along the way. Likewise with his descriptions of the natural geography and geology of the places he show more sees - where I might talk of a massive rock, Newby is able to go on for two or three pages at a time, and yet it works so well. I suppose that is what separates the professionals (Newby et al) from the dilettantes (yours truly). show less

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby. Superb travel writing. Newby abruptly gave up his career in the fashion industry, in England in the 1950s, and went off on a mad hike through the mountains of Afghanistan, after taking a four-day hiking course in Wales. Funny stuff, although Newby, unlike Bill Bryson and other popular travel writers of today, does not load his prose with funny commentary or metaphors. He describes his adventures--an appalling transaction with a Persian car mechanic, being detained for manslaughter somewhere in Armenia, the irritating qualities of the Nuristani tribes he encounters--with a spareness that leaves the reader to decide if the incident is supposed to be funny or tragic. I would love to travel in show more that part of the world--every account I've read about Afghanistan has made it seem compelling and gorgeous, but, obviously, it's not a tourist destination these days. Maybe within my lifetime. Also, this book has the best last line I've ever read, anywhere. show less