At £30 you expect a lot of book and again Mountain Heroes doesn't disappoint. This is a coffee table format book, big, weighty and exuding quality - it's the sort of book you almost feel you should be wearing white gloves to read and reminds you why in an age of kindles and ebooks there's nothing like the feel of a real book. The cover photo gives you a glimpse of the quality inside and from the opening introduction to the index it's a quality that never once drops. The author has a history as a historian and former Curator of Art at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge and that history shows through in an astounding collection of photographs that would grace any art gallery. Throw in an introduction and commentaries by some of the mountaineering world's most respected names and you have a book of enduring relevance as well quality.

While the book is dominated by the 2 page spreads on each of the 100 "heroes" it starts with an introduction by Chris Bonington that's amongst the most readable of his works I've ever come across, putting the last 60 years of mountaineering history into a personal perspective and history. From here Mountain Heroes examines the mountain environment through the eyes of Professor Bruno Messerli and Dr Jack D. Ives and looking at mountains' fragility. With the background set the author now starts to concentrate on the word "portrait" with an essay on mountain photography in "Photography Then" that's of reference quality in its own right before moving on to the main body, The Mountain Face.

The Mountain Face is the perfect title for the next 200 pages as the author presents each of his chosen heroes. Lewis-Jones must have scoured the world for the collection of photographs that follow, each a close-up portrait of the individuals filling a full page. Accompanying the photographs, if you can tear your eyes away, you get a well written biography of the person from early origins to the highlights of their mountain lives. While people may have differing opinions on who should make this top 100 heroes it's hard to deny the credentials of any of the entrants.Together the biographies and photographs, black & white images from the early 20th century through to studio quality shots of today's leading rock and mountain stars, combine to give a portrait of each heroe both as person and their place in history.

Mountain Heroes continues with a discusion between the author, Gordon Wiltsie, Glen Denny and Cory Richards in "Photography Now" followed by "Where the Spirit Soars" a commentary from Steven Venables. In Photography Now  you get an insight into the working life of a photographer, their favourite locations and advice for beginners while Steven Venables sheds light on where the drive to get to the top comes from.

It comes as no surprise that Mountain Heroes closes with an afterword by one man who many would place as their personal hero, Doug Scott. In "As It Was In The Beginning" Scott first examines wilderness and its importance to people using personal experiences before concluding with a desciption of his famous Everest South West Face ascent with Dougal Haston and the epic bivuoac at 8,750m that followed.

Where Mountain Heroes, Portraits of Adventures differs from your usual mountain books is its focus. Rather than being a collection of epic stories of heroism and endurance it concentrates on the people. Mountain Heroes succeeds on many levels; as a reference book detailing the lives of some of history's greatest mountain people, as a history of early mountain photography and as a work of art for the collection of images spanning the last 150+ years.

Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.