Rating: 
Summary: Solid history of Alpine exploration
Review: "Killing Dragons" is a history of the exploration of the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps from the early 18th century to 1938, when the "last problem of the Alps", the Eiger Nordwand, was finally "solved." The first half of the book discusses the early French and Swiss scientists and adventurers who explored the slopes of Mont Blanc and studied the glaciers of the Bernese Oberland. The 19th century belonged to the eccentric British explorers and scientists and an American expatriate, William Coolidge, who were driven to the mountains by a variety of forces. The end of the British domination of Alpine exploration came when almost all of the peaks had been conquered by their most straightforward routes, leaving only the more technically challenging direttissima routes, north faces, and other novel paths. These climbs required technical innovations (such as the use of pitons and carabineers) and a new more gymnastic approach and attitudes that the British and the French considered to be unsporting. This left the great technical climbs in the Alps to the Austrians, Germans, and Italians, and hence it is fitting that the book ends with a description of two Bavarians' and two Austrians' conquest of the Nordward. Parts of the book, particularly in the first half, although competently-written and useful from an informational perspective, are quite dry and not particularly gripping. Later sections on John Tyndall and Edward Whymper are significantly better and Fleming's description of the personalities and feuds involved are actually quite interesting. I enjoyed the biographical information about Whymper, which fleshes him out as an individual. For more details about Whymper's exploits, I would highly recommend his book "Scrambles Amongst the Alps." There were a few worrisome factual and editing errors early on in the book, such as when the mountain Pilatus is repeatedly placed above Geneva. This is a strange error as the general map included with the book correctly puts the mountain near Lucerne. A few detailed maps would have been a most welcome addition. Overall, this is a smoothly-written and useful historical overview of Alpine exploration written very much from a British perspective and one that I would recommend to anybody who has a special interest in the area or the history of mountaineering. (A prior knowledge of the area by the reader will also help compensate for the lack of detailed maps.)
Rating:
Summary: Alpine History
Review: British historian-author Fergus Fleming has recently been a prolific chronicler of the so-called "Golden Age of Exploration." Since 1999, he has published three relatively lengthy antholgy type works, including "Barrow's Boys," about British Polar and African exploration in the first half of the 19th Century, and his recent "Ninety Degrees North," about the numeorus attempts to conquer the North Pole. "Killing Dragons," the second of the three, also has the least interesting topic. The polar and African expeditions were mammoth affairs that taxed those who participated in them to the limit, often killing or horribly maiming them. By contrast, being the first person to scale an Alp, as we know today not by far the most imposing of mountains, just doesn't rate as an achievement. Still, the book is interesting as an historical account of the beginnings of the sport of mountaineering. Fleming is an excellent writer and a good stroyteller. Parts of "Killing Dragons" are quite thrilling, particularly his accounts of the conquest of the Matterhorn and the first ascent of Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. Between such events, however, the story lags. The history of the founding of Britains Alpine Club and squabbles among its illustrious members, for example, isn't exactly the kind of stuff that takes your breath away. Overall, "Killing Dragons" is better as a work of history than as a collection of adventure stories.
Rating:
Summary: Alpine History
Review: British historian-author Fergus Fleming has recently been a prolific chronicler of the so-called "Golden Age of Exploration." Since 1999, he has published three relatively lengthy antholgy type works, including "Barrow's Boys," about British Polar and African exploration in the first half of the 19th Century, and his recent "Ninety Degrees North," about the numeorus attempts to conquer the North Pole. "Killing Dragons," the second of the three, also has the least interesting topic. The polar and African expeditions were mammoth affairs that taxed those who participated in them to the limit, often killing or horribly maiming them. By contrast, being the first person to scale an Alp, as we know today not by far the most imposing of mountains, just doesn't rate as an achievement. Still, the book is interesting as an historical account of the beginnings of the sport of mountaineering. Fleming is an excellent writer and a good stroyteller. Parts of "Killing Dragons" are quite thrilling, particularly his accounts of the conquest of the Matterhorn and the first ascent of Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. Between such events, however, the story lags. The history of the founding of Britains Alpine Club and squabbles among its illustrious members, for example, isn't exactly the kind of stuff that takes your breath away. Overall, "Killing Dragons" is better as a work of history than as a collection of adventure stories.
Rating:
Summary: So-so read for a long bivouac
Review: Fleming is not, as one reviewer states, a "great writer"; he is, in fact, a fairly dull, lazy one, given to repeating himself, relying on second-hand sources (i.e., he quotes other writers quoting Dumas, Dickens, etc.) rather than the originals, and he has a silly, reductive view of theism (i.e., one either believes in natural development OR God and dragons). I can't say I *enjoyed* reading this book all that much, but it did make me want to hunt down books on mountaineering by Leslie Stephen and Edward Whymper, among others. Fleming approaches his subject--the popularization of the Alps--not from a mountaineering or literary or scientific point of view, but rather from a social one. He is very much concerned about whether so and so was a snob or a gentleman, and that's fine, but prospective readers should be aware. I would much prefer a more technical discussion of climbing, but Ferguson doesn't seem all that well-suited for this. Having bashed this book pretty well, I have to admit I learned from it and am glad I read it. It beats reading Bill O'Reilly or being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.
Rating: 
Summary: Both informative and fascinating
Review: In Killing Dragons: The Conquest Of The Alps, Fergus Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men who explored Europe's most famous and dangerous mountain range. French and Swiss scientists tackled the peaks in the late 18th century seeking to learn more about the atmosphere, earth's origins, and glaciers. By the 1850s this scientific pursuit had evolved into a fierce competition between British climbers. The climbers became celebrities seeking to climb ever higher and more impossible mountains -- while trading quips and barbs and in public press. Stories of the climbers valor, rivalries, egos, and disasters become the substance of popular interest. Highly recommended reading that is both informative and fascinating, Killing Dragons tells how the great Alpine mountains fell to these colorful, eccentric climbers and is a "must" for anyone who has ever contemplated the adventure and sport of mountaineering.
Rating:
Summary: So-so read for a long bivouac
Review: It was hard to decide whether to give this book four stars or five. The book isn't anywhere near to being a complete history of the conquest of the alps (con), but what is here is extremely well-written and interesting stuff which I could barely put down (pro) even though it's a pretty hefty 360 pages in all. The first half of the book (176 pgs) is devoted to Mount Blanc, starting in prehistory, working up to its first ascent in 1786, and then continuing on up til the mid-nineteenth century. More than just the climbs themselves enters into the story. Fleming is as much concerned with the philosophical and cultural meaning of the exploits as with the exploits themselves. So he tries to give us a feel for their context in the wider scheme of things and what the people were like who were doing these things. The amount and variety of material which Fleming has researched and brought into the mix is what makes the reading so fascinating. There's everything from what the mountain villages were like to the scientific debate over why glaciers move. Most of the second half of the book concerns itself with the eventual first ascent of the Matterhorn (1865) and the events surrounding it in the decade before. If Mount Blanc was all about ice, the Matterhorn is obviously all about rock. The author's obviously British perspective weighs heavily in here, which is where we get the most info on first ascents other than the two principals -- esp. if they were done by Whymper as warm-ups for the big prize. Only the last twenty pages or so is devoted to the "modern" (post-Mummery) era, and the concentration so far as the detail is concerned is on the Eiger North Face. So even if the coverage is much more limited than I would have preferred, Fleming is such an accomplished story-teller that I could recommend this to climbers and non-mountaineers alike.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost entirely Mount Blanc & the Matterhorn
Review: It was hard to decide whether to give this book four stars or five. The book isn't anywhere near to being a complete history of the conquest of the alps (con), but what is here is extremely well-written and interesting stuff which I could barely put down (pro) even though it's a pretty hefty 360 pages in all. The first half of the book (176 pgs) is devoted to Mount Blanc, starting in prehistory, working up to its first ascent in 1786, and then continuing on up til the mid-nineteenth century. More than just the climbs themselves enters into the story. Fleming is as much concerned with the philosophical and cultural meaning of the exploits as with the exploits themselves. So he tries to give us a feel for their context in the wider scheme of things and what the people were like who were doing these things. The amount and variety of material which Fleming has researched and brought into the mix is what makes the reading so fascinating. There's everything from what the mountain villages were like to the scientific debate over why glaciers move. Most of the second half of the book concerns itself with the eventual first ascent of the Matterhorn (1865) and the events surrounding it in the decade before. If Mount Blanc was all about ice, the Matterhorn is obviously all about rock. The author's obviously British perspective weighs heavily in here, which is where we get the most info on first ascents other than the two principals -- esp. if they were done by Whymper as warm-ups for the big prize. Only the last twenty pages or so is devoted to the "modern" (post-Mummery) era, and the concentration so far as the detail is concerned is on the Eiger North Face. So even if the coverage is much more limited than I would have preferred, Fleming is such an accomplished story-teller that I could recommend this to climbers and non-mountaineers alike.
Rating: 
Summary: Killing Time with Killing Dragons
Review: The author has admittedly presented a thorough (if not exhausting) history of the earlier attempts and successes in summiting the Alps. And there you have it! Not much excitement, nothing thrilling...sort of like Sgt. Joe Friday on the old "Dragnet" series...just the facts, ma'm! This book might be enjoyed by those who find interest in the arcane and the mundane. I say pass it by and find any number of much more interesting books on mountaineering, exploring and stories of summiting. I gave it two stars for the nice picture on the cover jacket!
Rating:
Summary: Exploring the Alps
Review: The author of "Barrow's Boys" has once again written an extremely interesting work that deals, mainly, with British eccentrics doing unusual things: this time they are exploring, and climbing, the Alps. I found the subject very compelling, because I have always had a desire to see the Matterhorn, a desire that began when I saw, as a young boy, Walt Disney's "Third Man On The Mountain". Having lived one winter in Denver, I loved going into the Rockies and just looking around, and observing the majesty of creation. This work is a very good introduction to the beginning of mountaineering in Europe, and is suitable for the general reader. Anyone who considers themselves learned in the field will probably not like this work, but I enjoy learning something new in everything I read, and this book certainly gave me that type of information. There were a few typos scattered here and there, but they didn't detract from my pleasure in reading this work. The writing style is casual, and it's something worth reading if you love mountains, and like hearing about the odd and determined people who climb them.
Rating:
Summary: A good introductory history to mountaineering the Alps.
Review: This book while not compelling or a must read, is still a well written if standard introduction to the the story of the conquest of the Alps by (mostly) British climbers from the Alpine Club. While it is neither as authoritative nor comprehensive (nor thankfully as long) as Walt Unsworth's "Everest" it is nonetheless a fine introduction that engagingly lays out both the plot and characters in the story of man vs the Alps. From his blbliography and introduction, you can pick up the story in more detail where you please. His treatment of Whymper is first-rate; indeed he is more indulgent and less sardonic with these heroes than he was of John Barrow and his "boys."Mr. Fleming, in addition to laying out the facts, is always shrewd in his analysis of motive and character. Again, while this is no classic, it is a professional job by an intelligent writer on a fascinating subject intended for the general reader. I was appreciative.
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