No Picnic on Mount Kenya: A Daring Excape, A Perilous Climb

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Summary: Check out the movie.
Review: A big adventure story is even more compelling when told in simple prose as this one is. The author's tone is a constant reminder that we are being let into the events by one who lived them, rather than a professional observer with a more polished writing style. I lately discovered "The Ascent", a feature film loosely based on Benuzzi's story, by Canadian Director Donald Shebib. Shebib added a love interest and beautifully photographed the story on location in Kenya. Check it out.

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Summary: Some prisoners Escape, Few come Back, fewer climb Mountains
Review: A classic of prisoner of war escape storys, - and its all true. They escape from a Bristish POW camp in Kenya, try to climb Mount Kenya, succeed on a lesser peak, then return to Camp. Is was a pretty gentle POW camp but still pretty strong stuff.

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Summary: Some prisoners Escape, Few come Back, fewer climb Mountains
Review: A classic of prisoner of war escape storys, - and its all true. They escape from a Bristish POW camp in Kenya, try to climb Mount Kenya, succeed on a lesser peak, then return to Camp. Is was a pretty gentle POW camp but still pretty strong stuff.

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Summary: Tribute to POW's Hunger for Freedom, Mountaineering Style
Review: As one who loves mountains and climbing, I relish great stories of exceptional mountaineering feats. At times, however, I ponder the meaning and heroics of well planned, well outfitted and well guided expeditions--even when they produce grim results. This is an almost whimsical mountaineering tale with meaning, heroics...and a lot of heart. Bored with dreary life as an Italian prisoner in a British POW camp, Felice Benuzzi's spirit is lifted as he spies majestic Mt. Kenya break through the clouds and he contemplates the idea of escaping the camp long enough to climb the peak and plant a flag. Given the practicalities of the geopolitical map of East Africa in 1941, Benuzzi realizes he has little hope of a successful escape to friendly territory. So, Benuzzi determines to channel his energy to engaging partners in his quest, storing away supplies and manufacturing within the confines of a POW camp the technical equipment to climb a very difficult peak. After six months of preparation, Benuzzi and his two partners must escape the POW camp and avoid close encounters with Africa's dangerous big game (they are in the heart of prime hunting lands) before they can even begin their mountaineering endeavor. Already weak from their life as POWs, running short of supplies, facing unfavorable weather and lacking adequate information about the mountain's topography, they are denied Mt. Kenya's highest point on the route that also denied an earlier group led by the esteemed Shipton. However, Benuzzi savored the sweet taste of success on the mountain's second highest point before returning to camp. The lingering taste of success sustained Benuzzi through the remainder of his days as a POW. Benuzzi recounts his feat with modesty, grace and subtle humor. Fun and inspiring!

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Summary: Great Stuff!
Review: Having climbed Mt. Kenya myself, I can appreciate Benuzzi's experience. The book is a lot of fun to read. Very enjoyable.

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Summary: What a story!
Review: I just needed to comment that the author is my grandfather, and I am very proud of both him and his work.
He was - apart from his job as a diplomat - a passionate Alpinist. He loved mountains. It was not only to relieve the boredom of POW life that he and his two friends made the climb, it was also because they fell in love with Mt Kenya the first time the clouds finally cleared and they saw it...
He spent a large portion of his life working to protect Antartica from development and other human intrusions.
He was a great man, and he wrote a wonderful book. Look for an upcoming T.V. documentary on their climb; it should be interesting.

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Summary: Made me feel as if I were there too...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It sounds almost whimsical that POWs would go to all this trouble and face considerable personal danger to escape, climb a mountain, and then go right back to the prison camp, but the way Benuzzi describes it, it makes a certain sense. The painstaking process of preparing for the trip - which included all the risks and difficulties of a "typical" prison break plus the demands of an Alpine climb - is told in a matter-of-fact, rather dry fashion. (On nominating the third man for the party: "He had never climbed a mountain in his life. The only reason why we decided to try him was because he was universally thought to be mad as a hatter, and mad people were what we needed.") Benuzzi's descriptions of the scenes on the way up the mountain are glorious, and of the return to camp are funny and quite touching. A very enjoyable pocket-adventure story that deserves to be better known.

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Summary: Wonderful Adventure Flatly Told
Review: I'm a big fan of WWII prisoner of war tales, both real (The Long Walk, Ghost Soldiers, et al) and fictional (King Rat, Bridge on the River Kwai, et al), so I was intrigued by this account by an Italian of how he and two companions escaped their POW camp, climbed Mt. Kenya, and then snuck back into camp several weeks later. Unfortunately, while their adventure was undoubtedly remarkable, it never really comes alive in Benuzzi's book. I suspect much of the problem for me is that I know nothing about mountaineering and don't particularly find it interesting. The other difficulty I had was with the flatness of the prose, whether this is due to a weak translation or to Benuzzi's writing in a foreign language I don't know, but in any event, I found it rather tepid. So while I think the whole idea of his adventure is wonderful and in rather brilliant dark humor, I didn't find the telling equally so.

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Summary: captures the true spirit of climbing
Review: Most climbing books are rather boring, even to climbers. There's something about climbing that just doesn't translate well to books. But even though I've never had to break out of a prisoner of war camp just to go climbing, Benuzzi's story just seems more familiar and human than any other climbing story I've ever read. I can imagine myself on his climb, feeling like he was feeling. I don't know if a non-climber would get quite as much out of it, but the story is funny and the adventure is exciting, so give it a shot.

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Summary: Great Stuff!
Review: No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi. This real world tale of adventure and danger to escape the doldrums of life as prisoners of war boggles the mind. Why would three ill-fed, poorly equipped, insufficiently trained, and uninformed Italian prisoners of war escape from their British camp, leaving behind a note saying they would return in two weeks? Encountering bull elephants and real or imagined leopards and rhinos, they slip and slide with hand-built iceaxes and crampons and overburdened backpacks up the slopes of Africa's second tallest mountain. Gives you a sense of wonder about the human animal.