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Rating: 
Summary: Rock and Ice UK offer safer instruction
Review: Fairly good reading - but Rock and Ice offer climbing instruction that would get most people climbing in a weekend! I reccommend taking a course with them. Jump to: www.rockandice.co.uk and have a look!
Rating:
Summary: Not much more than an overview of the sport
Review: I hate to disagree with the other reviewers, but I guess your satisfaction with this book depends on your expectations. After reading the other reviews I bought this book on-line. I'm the type of person that wants to learn as much about a sport before I seek instruction so I'll have a good background and understand better what I'm being taught. The good: 1) light and humorous in places, 2) gives a good written description of the various aspects of the sport. The bad: 1) when you're trying to learn things, light and humorous gets old quickly, 2) the sidebars are repetitious and distracting, 3) after a while the stories about the author and her friends seem less like information and more like ego trips, 4) (my biggest complaint) there is little valuable detail. Specifically, very few illustrations or helpful pictures. Examples; she talks briefly about harnesses and harness components, but there's no picture or illustration. She talks about different carabiners, belay/rappel devices, and protection pieces, but no illustration. Half of the knots mentioned (and not many, at that) have no illustration (but she takes half a page to try to verbally describe some). Do you want to see an illustration of tying in to the harness, belaying and rapelling setups, how to use anchors or protection, hand and foot jamming, or anything else? It's not there. Instead, there are low-contrast pictures of her friends, which don't help with any of this information. Chapter 16 (Sum-It Up: Advanced Tips) has a picture (taking up 1/3 of the page) of two people on the ground standing next to each other with the caption "Choose your partner wisely." Is that helpful to anyone? Here's the bottom line in my opinion: this book was written with today's legal system in mind. Anywhere important information should be placed, the author inserts phrases such as "This isn't the place to show you the simple knot that wraps cleverly around the biner; that should be left to the instructor". And what happens when you forget the knot after you're training class? Where's the reference information? My basic setup for reading this book was to sit in front of the computer and when I needed to see something that wasn't shown (pretty much everything) I did a Google search and looked at web sites. Not the most efficient or enjoyable way to read a book or learn. My wife saw my frustration and did what I should have done; she went to the bookstore and picked out another book for a Father's Day present. I don't know how The Complete Climber's Handbook compares to all the other climbing books, but it has all the information that Idiot's Guide does not. Tons of illustrations (and lots of text) on equipment, knots, moves, and rope setups. Having suffered through Idiot's Guide, I feel like I've found the holy grail. They say you retain 20% of what you read and 75% of what you see. I believe that. In summary, if you're the type of person that wants a $ light-hearted verbal description of the sport (without much detail), then Idiot's Guide is the book for you. Although you could also get this type of information (and more) through free brochures by Eastern Mountain Sports. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a more in-depth overview AND tons of reference information and illustrations, then look somewhere else.
Rating:
Summary: Not much more than an overview of the sport
Review: I hate to disagree with the other reviewers, but I guess your satisfaction with this book depends on your expectations. After reading the other reviews I bought this book on-line. I'm the type of person that wants to learn as much about a sport before I seek instruction so I'll have a good background and understand better what I'm being taught. The good: 1) light and humorous in places, 2) gives a good written description of the various aspects of the sport. The bad: 1) when you're trying to learn things, light and humorous gets old quickly, 2) the sidebars are repetitious and distracting, 3) after a while the stories about the author and her friends seem less like information and more like ego trips, 4) (my biggest complaint) there is little valuable detail. Specifically, very few illustrations or helpful pictures. Examples; she talks briefly about harnesses and harness components, but there's no picture or illustration. She talks about different carabiners, belay/rappel devices, and protection pieces, but no illustration. Half of the knots mentioned (and not many, at that) have no illustration (but she takes half a page to try to verbally describe some). Do you want to see an illustration of tying in to the harness, belaying and rapelling setups, how to use anchors or protection, hand and foot jamming, or anything else? It's not there. Instead, there are low-contrast pictures of her friends, which don't help with any of this information. Chapter 16 (Sum-It Up: Advanced Tips) has a picture (taking up 1/3 of the page) of two people on the ground standing next to each other with the caption "Choose your partner wisely." Is that helpful to anyone? Here's the bottom line in my opinion: this book was written with today's legal system in mind. Anywhere important information should be placed, the author inserts phrases such as "This isn't the place to show you the simple knot that wraps cleverly around the biner; that should be left to the instructor". And what happens when you forget the knot after you're training class? Where's the reference information? My basic setup for reading this book was to sit in front of the computer and when I needed to see something that wasn't shown (pretty much everything) I did a Google search and looked at web sites. Not the most efficient or enjoyable way to read a book or learn. My wife saw my frustration and did what I should have done; she went to the bookstore and picked out another book for a Father's Day present. I don't know how The Complete Climber's Handbook compares to all the other climbing books, but it has all the information that Idiot's Guide does not. Tons of illustrations (and lots of text) on equipment, knots, moves, and rope setups. Having suffered through Idiot's Guide, I feel like I've found the holy grail. They say you retain 20% of what you read and 75% of what you see. I believe that. In summary, if you're the type of person that wants a $ light-hearted verbal description of the sport (without much detail), then Idiot's Guide is the book for you. Although you could also get this type of information (and more) through free brochures by Eastern Mountain Sports. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a more in-depth overview AND tons of reference information and illustrations, then look somewhere else.
Rating: 
Summary: A thorough and amusing primer for novice climbers
Review: I've always been interested in rock climbing but felt intimidated by all the gear and terminology -- not to mention my fear of clinging to a vertical wall of rock. However, after reading this amusing book I realize that not only am I not alone, but being fearful of high places is as natural as the fear of the dark. The authors of the book give a lighthearted introduction of why people love to climb and then give complete step-by-step guidelines how to seek instruction and get going -- inside and out. I highly recommend this to beginners and anyone eager to brush up on their climbing skills.
Rating:
Summary: Really Good Book
Review: this book is the 2nd rock climbing book i have owned and it is really good. It helped a lot and you should really get it. It covers everything from technique, trad climbing, buying equipment to tips on how you should approach training. This book deserves 10 stars and i hope you find it as helpful as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Idiot's Guide Rock Climbing
Review: This is the third "Rock Climbing" book I have purchased in the last two years. After a long time interest in this sport, it was only after reading this book (I couldn't finish the other two) that I actually went out and made my first climb, a big accomplishment for me. This is not your normal "How To" or "Basic Essentials" type instructional guide, it is a more than complete text book for new to intermediate level rock climbers. Humor and personal experiences are appropriately interjected by the author to make every learning essential both interesting and poignant. Personal safety and teamwork are stressed throughout in a way that made me feel more confident instead of scaring me away. There is even a heavy stock, tear away, quick reference chart containing climbing terminology and a pre-climb checklist just inside the cover for nervous beginners (I took mine with me). A long list of equipment suppliers, manufacturers, climbing organizations and camps, guide services and indoor climbing walls with all contact information is at the back of the book. Clearly, I would not have made my first climb without the motivation and confidence that this book gave me. If you have any interest in rock climbing, this book is the clear, self-empowering must read on the market today.
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