John Gill: Master of Rock (Climbing Classics)

Ever.

The third version of this classic biography of John Gill, the mythical and legendary climber is Pat Ament's best. Unlike other glorified guidebooks that pose as biographies, the work presents a three demsional portrait of a Master.

This book provides a look at the life of John Gill, classed as the father of modern bouldering. It is relatively short and as the cover says, is a light hearted look at his life. It doesn't go into any great depth and tends to be more of a list of his various climbs and injuries over the years. Saying that, you do get some insight into his character and some aspects of his non-climbing life as well. My only criticism (which is very minor) is that the format is dated, but that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the book, or the awe created by some of the outstanding photos in the book. Be prepared for a lot of photos though, which for climbers is no bad thing. I'd say this book is better for more advanced climbers, whilst the newbies could probably benefit from reading other books first and then coming back to this book when the climbing bug has really bitten. Overall a great read.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

The below reader must be thinking about a completely different John Gill. The John Gill with which this book is about completely revolutionized bouldering as we knew it and has pushed the limits of bouldering in radical new directions.

I was first exposed to Master of Rock in the seventies with its first publication. Being at the time, a devoted climber and student of style, I spent hundreds of days in the Valley watching John Long, Ron Kauk, John Bachar, Barry Bates, Jim Bridwell, and all, polish their individual styles while applying everything and anything I could grasp from them. I could'nt walk past a door jam without cranking out the requisite finger tip pull-ups. I was 86'ed from Modesto Junior College's campus dozens of times while explaining to the authorities that "my frisbee is on the roof" . . . Imagine my surprise and joy to discover this relatively unknown man through Pat Ament's timely biography of John Gill. I was floored by this person who stayed so low-key yet with so much incredible climbing talent, in a sport not lacking in ego! For this book, Pat Ament deserves my gratitude for it is through this book that I found that element of climbing I was looking for. To me, John G! ill is still the consumate hero of motion on rock, however minimal that motion was. Yes, big walls were beckoning, Yosemite and Tuoloumne test pieces were fondling my emotion, and the smell and taste of my ruck sack permeated my VW Beetle, but to me, none of it mattered without style and art with every climb, as the end result. I grew up as a climber by studying the greatest students and teachers of style and ethics through the seventies. John Gill defined style before I called myself a climber. Thank you Patrick O. Ament for taking time from your study of climbing to write this book and allowing me to discover John Gill. I will always charish knowing who John Gill is now and who he was then.