A "wonderful" memoir about mountain climbing—and the risk, joy, and adventure of being alive (Chris Bonington).Shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain LiteratureWhen poet Andrew Greig was asked by Scottish mountaineer Mal Duff to join his ascent of the Mustagh Tower in the Karakoram Himalayas, he had a poor head for heights and no climbing experience whatsoever. The result is this unique book.Known for its candor and wit, and ...

A novice's tale of scaling Everest: "Recommended for all armchair adventurers who have ever wondered what it would be like to climb in the Himalayas."— Geographical MagazineThe last attempt to conquer Everest by the unclimbed northeast ridge had ended in failure and tragedy, with the deaths of two great climbers, Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman. Now, in March 1985, Mal Duff would lead a new expedition. Andrew Grieg and the others knew the risks as well as the...

Andrew Greig recounts in poetic sequence the tale of his open dinghy voyage from Stromness in Scapa Flow and an overnight stay on Cava (an island formerly inhabited for over twenty years by two unusual women) in poetic sequence. In sailing small boats in scary open waters Andrew Greg found a new activity and a new metaphor for life. Written in six weeks, Found at Sea is a 'very wee epic' about sailing, male friendship and a voyage. Bon voyage!

Alongside the mountain poems from Men on Ice, Order of the Day and Western Swing will be brand new material, facsimiles of previously unpublished material - including his first poem, written in 1972 - and illustrations and material from the National Library of Scotland archive. A beautiful collector's item full of illustrations, marginalia and notes.

'A remarkable novel' Allan Massie, The Scotsman'A rich, lyrical, rackety, colourful read' Daily MailEmbra, winter of 1574. Queen Mary has fled Scotland, to raise an army from the French. Her son and heir, Jamie is held under protection in Stirling Castle. John Knox is dead. The people are unmoored and lurching under the uncertain governance of this riven land. It's a deadly time for young student Will Fowler, short of statu...

'Highly Engaging' - Sunday Herald'You could easily make a case that Andrew Greig has the greatest range of any living Scottish writer' - ScotsmanThe wagerTo poach a salmon, grouse and a deer from three Royal Estates.The challengersThree men in a mid-life crisis who should know better.The wild cardA flirtatious female journalist who won't...

What are the contours of a life? For Andrew Greig: childhood, adolescence, the country then the city, sex, love, marriage, break-ups and breakdowns personal and political, mountain adventures, illness and recovery, increased awareness of mortality and the preciousness of the moments left, late love… they're all here in these wildly diverse, affirmative, open-hearted poems. As a poet and latterly as a novelist, Andrew Greig is one of Scotland's most esteemed writers. Each of his poetry book...

Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2014.'One of the best historical novels of recent years, Greig dusts off the past and presents it with tremendous skill' - Literary Review'A Triumph of suspense' - GuardianSaltire Award-winning author Andrew Greig reimagines the Border Ballad Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lea as a dark romance and stirring adventure. Often called the Scottish ...

'A tale I have for you.'Embra, winter of 1574. Queen Mary has fled Scotland, to raise an army from the French. Her son and heir, Jamie is held under protection in Stirling Castle. John Knox is dead. The people are unmoored and lurching under the uncertain governance of this riven land. It's a deadly time for young student Will Fowler, short of stature, low of birth but mightily ambitious, to make his name.Fowler has found himself where the scorch marks of t...

'It's a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, I think it'll be the hardest thing that's been done in the Himalayas.' So spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unclimbed West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington's was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition. This was, after all, perhaps the most fearsome and techni...

On 30 January 1981 Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess stood at 24,000 feet on the west ridge of Mount Everest. Below them were their companions, some exhausted, some crippled by illness, all virtually incapacitated. Further progress seemed impossible. Everest the Cruel Way is Joe Tasker's story of an attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth - an attempt which pushed a group of Britain's finest mountaineers to their limits. The goal had been to climb Mount Everest at its hardest: via the infa...

I could never again maintain that I was caught up in this game unwillingly. I knew now what I wanted to do. Willingly would I accept the hardship and fear, the discipline and the sacrifices, if only I could be given back the chance to climb that mountain.' Joe Tasker lies, struck down by a tooth abscess, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the 'big' mountains. He is there with Dick Renshaw to attempt to m...