No Picnic on Mount Kenya - Hardcover

Felice Benuzzi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857053760 ISBN 13: 9780857053763

Publisher: MACLEHOSE PRESS, 2015

Synopsis

In the shadow of Mount Kenya, surrounded by the forests and creatures of the savannah, life drags interminably for the inmates of P.O.W. Camp 354. Confined to an endless cycle of boredom and frustration, it is little wonder when one prisoner realises he can bear it no longer.

When the clouds covering Mount Kenya part one morning to reveal its towering peaks for the first time, Felice Benuzzi is transfixed. The tedium of camp life is broken by the beginnings of a sudden idea - an outrageous, dangerous, brilliant idea.

There are not many people who would break out of a P.O.W. camp, trek for days across perilous terrain before climbing the north face of Mount Kenya with improvised equipment, meagre rations, and with a picture of the mountain on a tin of beef among their more accurate guides. There are probably fewer still who would break back in to the camp on their return.

This is the remarkable story of three such men. No Picnic on Mount Kenya is a powerful testament to the human spirit of revolt and adventure in even the darkest of places.

About this title

Review:

Mr. Benuzzi's paradoxical mixture of pride and self-mocking humility is attractive: his courage is amazing; his story, dramatic (New York Times)

A most extraordinary prisoner-of-war and escape story (New Yorker)

More electrifying than anything a person with a nose for real adventure could hope to read (Piero Melati Repubblica)

A mad venture and a gallant tribute to man's deep yearning for freedom (Kirkus Reviews)

The history of mountaineering can hardly present a parallel to this mad but thrilling escapade --(Saturday Review)

A hymn to mountaineering and adventure --(Marco Valle Il Secolo)

A first-rate humanistic account that should quite simply be considered a classic of Italian literature --(Pietro Spirito Il Piccolo)

Book Description:

A classic tale of derring-do: The Great Escape meets Touching the Void

About this edition

• Publisher: MACLEHOSE PRESS
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0857053760
• ISBN 13: 9780857053763
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 321