London, 2015, new updated edition. 318 pp, 22 b/w and 26 watercolor illustrations by Felice Benuzzi. Maps on end papers. Softcover. Near Fine to Fine.
This is a revised, expanded, updated and illustrated edition of one of the great classic tales of small scale mountaineering. Felice Benuzzi and English author Howard Curtis have gone over the original text of the book (which was originally written in English, an Italian edition was later) and added much more to the story. We can see that Italy had an affinity for Mount Kenya, and after Benuzzi's climb and before WW2 ended it was climbed, more legitimately, by other Italian climbers.
All that had happened before Benuzzi's tale, such as many failed attempts, and Shipton and Tilman's traverse, was unknown to Benuzzi and his partners. If you have not re-read No Picnic in a while, this new edition is like seeing old old friend who has some great tales to tell.
Many people consider this one of the greatest of all climbing stories. Benuzzi, an Italian prisoner of the British during WWII, escaped from a POW camp in Kenya to climb Mt. Kenya! 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. Leaving a written 'parole' declaring they would return in two weeks, Benuzzi and two companions nearly scaled Mount Kenya on stolen rations, and improvised climbing equipment. Once done, they broke back into their camp to surrender! An extraordinary tale of war and mountaineering.
No Picnic on Mount Kenya is the classic tale of this most bizarre and thrilling adventure, a story that has earned its place as a unique masterpiece of daring suspense. New paperback.
'A tale worth reading . . . Mr. Benuzzi's paradoxical mixture of pride and self-mocking humility is attractive; his courage is amazing; his story dramatic.'- The New York Times
'The history of mountaineering can hardly present a parallel to this mad but thrilling escapade.'-Saturday Review
'A wonderful story of crazy courage that warms the heart!' - Library Journal
'For some of us this may be the best book of its kind . . . For this was an adventure more poetic than practical, and that was its special quality . . . If Signor Benuzzi never climbs another mountain, this one was something to remember, and so is his good and vivid book.' ---The New York Herald Tribune Book Review
'It was a mad venture but a gallant tribute to man's deep yearning for freedom . . . Appealing.' - Kirkus Reviews
'Several qualities lift this book to the top class of adventure stories. There is the sense of style about the whole enterprise; to yield its maximum satisfaction, the escapade had to observe a strict code . . . More important, there is the spirit in which the whole adventure was undertaken.' --- Times Literary Supplement
