Classic Rock
Climbing in the UK with large format photography. A best seller.

Format	Book	Category	Non-Fiction
Title	Classic Rock	Pages	256
Author	Ken Wilson	RRP
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton	Reviews	1
Edition	Reissue (March 1992)	Ave Rating	(5.00 of 5)

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Anonymous 7/2/2005

Classic Rock Ed. Ken Wilson Cruelly and unfairly dubbed ‘geriatric rock’ by philistine grade fascists upon its first publication in 1978, 'Classic Rock' has displayed a more enduring reputation than many of its erstwhile critics. The second in the large-format series celebrating British climbing from The House of Wilson, the book concentrates on the myriad lower grade routes of character which grace Britain’s varied cragscape. As in 'Hard Rock', the first of the Ken Wilson 'big book' series the formula of a personalised essay accompanied by high quality photographic accompaniment is a winning one. Wilson corralled an impressive array of climbing writing talent to provide the literary body of the book and used his finely trained architect’s eye to select the finest photographs to clothe it with. He then applied his distinctive brand of editorial genius to turn out another triumph. The climbs depicted here will always be popular, and 'Classic Rock', with many of its essays now taking on the patina of historical documents, can’t help but continue to inspire new generations and new recruits to the sport. Overall Verdict: 'Very Difficult' to fault Characteristic excerpt: ‘On your own on this pitch, you know you are into something that’s ‘the best’. And then your sixth sense sounds a warning: you look up in time and the topmost bulge is there, eyeball to oddball, loose runner spike and all. It is at this point, as you work out the next move, that the 396 ft. of climbing you have just done nutshells into one reach of the left arm, one high throw of the left leg, and every scrap of nervous energy you can muster. And even when you’ve hit the secret button and done it, and are belaying 10 ft. higher, you are still revving.’

Further Reading:
On The Edge - A review
Planet Fear - A review
Amazon - Details, purchasing, etc.