Living Dangerously, by F. Spencer Chapman. 253 pages, with 28 illustrations and 4 maps. New York: Harper & Bros., 1953. Price, $3.00.

This book is short, well-written, and full of brief anecdotes of adventure, which can be enjoyed even if read separately. The preparation for and ascent of Chomolhari and the author’s several climbs in Sikkim are the only mountaineering entries and lack the high adventure of the rest of the book. The chapters dealing with Greenland Eskimos, their hunting and their kayaks, and with Chapman’s adventures in Malaya are excellent indeed. It is remarkable that this man is alive. Besides some uncanny luck, his survival apparently is due to his adaptability to adversity, in addition to his fantastic powers of physical endurance. This reviewer once tried to match a Chapman feat—trekking in Sikkim from Lachen to Gangtok, a distance of 60 miles through and across the roughest of Himalayan gorges, with a full rucksack, in 24 hours—and gave up after 20 miles. For those who enjoy adventure, this book is excellent reading.

Robert H. T. Dodson