BOOK REVIEWS
Títle: Long Way Down
Writer: Ewan McGregor &
Charley Boorman
Year: 2007
I
With the announcement of Long
Way Up in the preproduction stag-
es we thought it only right to re-
view Ewan McGregor and Charley
Boorman's second adventure offer-
ing, Long Way Down.
Now over ten years old, Long Way
Down still stands the test of time
as an adventure epic however, the
reader does need to put aside the
prejudices around the support the
two authors received while filming
the accompanying television series.
Since the publication of the first
book by the pair; Long Way Round,
they seem to have lost some of the
innocence of the traveller and Long
Way Down becomes a little tedious
with some of the moaning about the
conditions of Africa.
With that in mind it is still re-
E
Títle: Deep Play
Writer: Paul Pritchard
Year: 1997
W
It's hard to talk about Paul
Pritchard without sounding a lit-
tle patronising; to many he's a leg-
end, the disabled adventurer who
almost lost his life 20 years ago
climbing Tasmania's Totem Pole,
to TRAVERSE readers he's the guy
that rode a pushbike, with 5 mates,
across Australia (TRAVERSE issue
06) however, Paul's story goes way
back, well before the Totem Pole or
pushbike riding.
Deep Play, winner of the 1997
Boardman Tasker Prize for Moun-
tain Literature, is the story of Paul,
and his mates, taking on some of
the toughest climbs in the world.
It's a beautifully written story of
the obsession all climbers have with
the mountain, not for fame within
the greater public but rather the
TRAVERSE 109
freshing to read of adventure that
up until that point many motorcy-
cle travellers had yet to experience.
There's no doubt that Long Way
Down played a huge part in opening
up Africa to the motorcycle travel-
ler and with that came a plethora
of commercial tours exploring the
continent.
Long Way Down is best read
while also watching the TV series to
give it a greater perspective and en-
joyment to the tale.
Some readers may find Long Way
Down not as engrossing as Long
Way Round, yet it is still an encap-
sulating tale told by two fine story
tellers. Read Long Way Down (and
Long Way Round) before you join
Ewan and Charley on Long Way Up.
S
self-satisfaction that they achieved
what no other could or perhaps will.
The reader needn't be a fan of
climbing to appreciate Deep Play,
while the descriptive phrase used
opens up a new world of adventure
to many, Deep Play is more a psy-
chological examination as to what
drives the climbers to do what they
do. Take away the mountains and
this could be any adventurer, an-
ywhere ... perhaps motorcycling
across a remote desert.
Deep Play is a fantastic read that
anyone with an inkling of adven-
ture should read. No, it's not mo-
torcycling, it's just a damn fine read
that opens TRAVERSE up to review
the 20th anniversary publication of
The Totem Pole in our next issue.