Rating: 
Summary: Well off the Beaten Track
Review: Most reviewers concentrate on Newby's lack of mountain-climbing experience.While everything written by his appreciative readers is true, the main point is that the mountain-climbing trip was just a ruse to fool the authorities into granting him access to a fabled and little-known part of the world that had only recently been civilized - and that is most likely now gone. Like all his other best books, this gives fascinating glimpses of rare and remote cultures. To travel and adventure afficionados, it is also famous for its description of his encounter with that "real" adventurer, Wilfred Thesiger.
Rating: 
Summary: Once thru the Kush, lightly
Review: Occasionally poorly written, yet almost always charming, this is a book for the arm-chair traveler, the frequent traveler, the would-be traveler and the non-traveler who wants to be confirmed in his opinion that, in general, travel is far too dangerous and uncomfortable to be undertaken. While it is a book for all, it takes an intrepid Brit to make this kind of voyage and write this kind of book. Thank God England is still cranking them out. It must be something in the water. While the current state of world affairs makes the very journey which is the subject of this book, a 'road trip' taken in wilds and mountains of Afghanistan in the 1950s, almost impossible to imagine and certainly suicide to duplicate, at the same time, the average TV watching person probably has a greater knowledge of Afghanistan than Newby could have reasonably expected from an average reader 50-aught years ago. Frequently hilarious, often amazing, sometimes sad, it is a book well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Quintessentially English way of travel (and writing)
Review: Quintessentially English bit of travel, with the ambitious idea of climbing Mir Samir in Afghanistan, but ostensibly to visit Nuristan next door. The English bit comes into play when you discover that Newby isn't a mountain climber, nor is his traveling friend. They "practice" for four days in Wales before embarking. This is the type of travel literature I favor. A trip, yes, with its attendant hazards and foibles, but also a story about the travelers, why they travel and the people they meet. So far, I can sense a "difference" in travel writing, easily two categories now, but possibly many others. This book would join with Seth & O'Hanlon as a "Hardship Trip"--a journey filled in pain and danger. Salzman and Mayle are "Sedentary Travelers." They both got to the place, then stuck around and observed the things that happened around them. This book also has one of the best last lines I've read in quite a while. I can't quote it, because not only would it ruin the line for you in case you choose to read this book yourself, but also because it is necessary to sit through the 180 or so pages that go before to fully appreciate the irony of it.
Rating:
Summary: Staggeringly funny
Review: The idea is preposterous: two non-alpinists, one working in fashion design, the other a diplomat, decide to scale some of the hardest peaks in the world, in one of the nastiest, most remote corners of the globe. The resulting book is hysterical. It's been a couple of years since I last read it, yet I'm giggling again as I recall some specific passages. Fun, fast read.
Rating:
Summary: A 20th Century travel classic
Review: They don't come sweeter than this. Facing middle age, Eric Newby abandons his chosen career as a fashion wholesaler to embark on a whimsical journey to remotest Afghanistan to attempt a mighty peak that has never been climbed. His companion, an old friend, knows as much about high-altitude (or ANY) climbing as he does: not a skerrick. They are almost parodies of a vanished England - absurdly brave, amateurish and uncomplaining; Newby's account of their scratchings up airy ice-walls will have the sweat springing from your palms. Along the way we get a rich insight into the rare mountain societies of one of the most mysterious nations on earth, but it is Newby's character itself that makes this book such a joy. Self-mocking, his courage entirely inferred, Newby's modesty holds until the final hilarious, appalling line. We may not want to go climbing with him, but we'd welcome his company on any journey. In fact, Newby's courage was always a key to his personality. His teenage years were spent as a high-rigging sailor on grain ships in the Southern Ocean. In World War Two he was a commando with the Special Boat Squadron. His capture, escape, and life on the run is memorably recounted in another of his classics "Love and War in the Appennines." But for me, "A Short Walk.." remains his most charming, exciting and extraordinary book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good travel book
Review: This book was really hard to keep my attention. I did not find it exciting at all and did not get emotionally attached. I must admit that I did not read the whole book because I tried several times and never got into it. I bought it because Lonely Planet had branded it and I love all of their travel books. This is not in the same vain or writing style as a LP book.
Rating:
Summary: A great travel book
Review: This is a great travel book through part of Afganistan in the mid-1950's. Newby writes in a dry and witty style which I found perfect. It's not condecending or superior or too trite or "cute". It's only about 260 pages and that's a pity as I would of loved it being twice as long. I first came across it as an unabridged recording on 8 cassettes - it was a magnificent reading of it and it become a favourite of mine from the first. If you find or buy the recording (I think only one recording of it was ever made) then get it as it's well worth the price - but you might have to try the UK edition of this web site for it. Please ignore the one poor review listed here - this is a wonderful book. It's the sort of book I would like to write myself!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This is one of the best travelogues I've ever read. It is an account of travel to a little known corner of Afghanistan, which in itself is little travelled. Replete with rich humour, historically relevant details, and adventure, one could not ask for a more engaging read. I've read this book many times.
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