Moments of Doubt is a collection of 20 essays and articles on mountaineering and adventure by David Roberts, selected from the published works of two decades. It showcases one of the most highly regarded writers in the field.

Glorious Failures, Volume 1 is an engaging collection of the most famous and infamous almost-summits. Each of these early attempts often rival the first successful ascent in fame and notoriety. The story of the 1956 American expedition to K2, which came tantalizingly close to the summit only to be forced back by illness and weather, is told in fascinating detail by Jim Curran.

The Mountains in Art History is the first English-language work to focus on mountains as subject matter and source of aesthetic and spiritual inspiration for painters. This collection of original essays is written entirely by Wesleyan University students of art history. The essays examine how artistic representation of mountains has varied through the lens of specific depictions in English and American literature, and consider how images of mountains functioned in conjunction with religion, the sublime, and Romanticism. These essays by student authors adeptly ruminate on works by individuals such as William Wordsworth, John Frederick Kensett, Alexander van Humboldt, Emil Nolde, and Arnold Fanck. Includes an introduction by professor Peter Mark and a helpful appendix of the course syllabus and narrative description.

Account of first ascent of west face of Mt. Huntington, Alaska, in 1965.

Trips gone wrong, embarrassing incidents, unfortunate pratfalls, and hilarious reflections are part of Over the Top: Humorous Mountaineering Tales, Volume 3; the newest volume in The Mountaineers Anthology Series. Kurt Diemberger's A Lesson in French and Greg Childs' Chalk are examples of climbers' keen appreciation for the absurd, droll, ironic, and hilarious moments in their world.

On the 100th anniversary of the first attempt to climb Mt Everest, Margret Grebowicz shows how and why climbing and mountaineering are still important today. In 1923, a reporter asked George Mallory why he wanted to summit Mount Everest. “Because it’s there”. Today the question "why do this?" is included in nearly every mountaineering story or interview. Meanwhile, interest in climbing is steadily on the rise, from commercial mountaineering and climbing walls in university gyms and corporate workplaces to the flood of spectacular climbing imagery in advertising, cinema, and social media. Climbing has become the theater for imagining limits—of the human body and of the planet— and the nature of desire, motivation, and #goals. Covering the degradation of Everest, the banning of climbing on Australia’s Uluru, UNESCO’s decision to name alpinism an Intangible Cultural Heritage, the sudden death of Ueli Steck, and the commercial and critical success of Free Solo, Mountains and Desire chases after what remains of this pursuit – marred by its colonial history, coopted by nationalistic chauvinism, ableism, and the capitalist compulsion to unlimited growth – for both climbers and their fans.

Each volume of the Dictionary of World Biography contains 250 entries on the lives of the individuals who shaped their times and left their mark on world history. This is not a who's who. Instead, each entry provides an in-depth essay on the life and career of the individual concerned. Essays commence with a quick reference section that provides basic facts on the individual's life and achievements. The extended biography places the life and works of the individual within an historical context, and the summary at the end of each essay provides a synopsis of the individual's place in history. All entries conclude with a fully annotated bibliography.

ABOUT THE BOOK In this book, I have chosen sometimes to be deliberately vague about the name and location of certain prehistoric ruins and rock art. Such an ethic is by now in long use among writers, photographers, and guides who celebrate the Southwest. A narrative of personal discovery should not serve as a treasure map.” Roberts’ and Child’s book Sandstone Spine is an account of the expedition of three men along Comb Ridge, a sandstone ridge resembling a miniature mountain range and running for nearly an hundred miles across Arizona and Utah. This area is full of archaeological ruins, primarily from various phases of the Anasazi people, as well as more recent Navajo sites. While the basic premise of the book is a recounting of Roberts’, Child’s, and their friend Vaughn Hadenfeldt’s experiences during the arduous expedition along the length of the Ridge, the structure and additional content of Sandstone Spine make it much more than simply an account of an hiking trip. Interspersed between sections recounting the events of the hike are retellings of historical events significant to the area, and information on both the current Navajo inhabitants and the prehistoric Anasazi people. Roberts also includes geological and natural history information, arranging all of this content into a fascinating mosaic of a book. The book narrates how, while searching for a new expedition, author David Roberts and long-time hiking and climbing partner Vaughn Hadenfeldt wondered whether or not anyone had ever hiked Comb Ridge from end-to-end in one trip. As it seemed that no one had ever made a complete traverse of the Ridge, the two friends decided to try it themselves, and they both agreed that photographer and mutual friend Greg Child would be the perfect third party to join them on the expedition. At ages 47, 53 and 61 respectively at the time of their trip, Child, Hadenfeldt, and Roberts had spent their lives making adventurous forays into some of the most inaccessible places on Earth. Both Roberts and Child made good livings writing about their adventures, while Hadenfeldt ran a business guiding hiking trips into the Utah canyonlands. The level of expedition and adventure-writing experience that Roberts and Child have ensures that their book includes interesting and relevant information for readers. Roberts did considerable research after the trip to complement the daily journals he kept. Sandstone Spine was published by The Mountaineers Books, which also published some of Roberts’ other titles. The publisher is a part of The Mountaineers Club, a non-profit dedicated to “the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.” In keeping with its publisher’s philosophy, Sandstone Spine is very much a book about enjoying the outdoors in a respectful and non-destructive way. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK Over the years, Greg, Vaughn, and I had found literally hundreds of Anasazi ruins in the backcountry. Yet the thrill of coming upon a new one—especially one so beautiful as this—was undiminished. Chapter One describes the preparations that Roberts, Child, and Hadenfeldt make for their expedition. As the area they wish to traverse has unreliable water supplies, the men decide on a water-caching system, in which they visit key locations along the ridge by driving and day-hiking, and leave plastic bottles of water where they can easily find them again. They also decide to arrange for another friend to meet them at certain dates at points where highways and road access penetrate the ridge, so they won’t have to pack a whole month’s worth of food. This will also allow them to swap out equipment if necessary. Hiking the whole length of Comb Ridge also requires permits... ...buy the book to continue reading!

The British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877-59) reconceptualized economics as a theory of economic welfare and a logic of policy analysis. Misconceptions of his work abound. This book, an essay in demystification and the first reading of the entire Pigouvian oeuvre, stresses his pragmatic and historicist premises.

What compels mountain climbers to take the risks that they do? Is it the thrill in the physical accomplishment, in managing to defy the odds, or both -- and why do they continue to do what they do in the face of such great danger? In On the Ridge Between Life and Death, David Roberts confronts these questions head-on as he recounts the exhilarating highs and desperate lows of his climbing career. By the time he was twenty-two, Roberts had already been involved in three fatal mountain climbing accidents and had escaped death himself by the sheerest of luck. And yet, as he acknowledges, few things have brought him more joy than climbing. In a famous essay on the subject written more than twenty years ago, Roberts judged climbing to be "worth the risk." He continues to climb to this day, and several of his challenging routes in Alaska have never been climbed since. But in reassessing the emotional costs to himself and to loved ones, he reaches a different conclusion, one that is sure to cause controversy not only in climbing circles, but among adventurers of all kinds. Candid and unflinching, On the Ridge Between Life and Death is a compelling examination of the risks we take in order to feel more alive.