Mischief Goes South, by H. W. Tilman. London: Hollis & Carter, 1968. 190 pages, 18 photographs, 3 maps. Price: 30s.

Mischief Goes South is the fifth in a series of sea narratives by this mountaineer turned sailor. Tilman, whose distinguished mountaineering career includes the 1938 British Mount Everest expedition (which he led), as well as the ascent of Nanda Devi, which he also spearheaded, acquired the cutter Mischief* in 1954. Since then he has been taking half-year and year-long voyages to the inaccessible coastal mountain ranges of the world. In 1955-56 he visited Patagonia, in 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964 Greenland and Iceland, and in 1959-60 the Crozet Islands and Kerguelen Island in the South Indian Ocean. He has sailed over 115,000 miles since 1955, the equivalent of four circumnavigations of the globe. He follows in the tradition of the Duke of Abruzzi, Robert Scott, and Ernest Shackleton in his steadfastness to his goal regardless of distance and time.

Tilman’s previous books have been hardboiled accounts of long sea voyages and mountain adventures, throughout which his clearly recognizable British qualities (stiff upper lip, old school tie, days of the Raj) provide an amusing albeit anachronistic backdrop. But the current volume has none of the genuine charm of its predecessors. It is a rather misanthropic account of misadventures in 1966 to 1967 with an uninspiring group of companions. Early in the voyage one member of the crew is lost overboard in an mysterious accident. This understandably dampens everyone’s enthusiasm and leads to desertion by most of the crew when Mischief reaches South America. Having replaced the deserters with a polyglot assortment of men Tilman sets sail for the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica. Because of the unsatisfactory nature of his companions he can not leave the ship in their hands while he goes ashore to climb. Hence from a mountaineering standpoint nothing is accomplished.

Included in this volume is an account of a journey around Africa in 1957-58, which does little to rescue the book. One cannot help but admire Tilman as a man, a sailor, and a mountaineer; unfortunately Mischief Goes South falls short of the stature of its author, and his previous literary accomplishments.

Samuel C. Silverstein, M.D.

* Mischief was seriously damaged in pack-ice off Jan Mayen Island of July 21, 1968. After long and futile efforts to save her, she finally sank on August 4 about 30 miles east of the island as she was being towed towards Norway.