Rating: 
Summary: This woman knows how to live!
Review: If you climb, this book is a must read. What an incredible life and she's only 40! The book is exciting, thoughtful, and inspiring. I couldn't put it down. She writes as an athlete, philosopher, and mystic all rolled into one. She is humble and clear about who she is. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Remarkable
Review: Lynn Hill is well-known for her remarkable climbing feats in recent years, but this book opened my eyes to her amazing accomplishments from the first time she set toe & fingertip to rock.
The book offeres a glimpse of the mind-set that makes her natural athletic abilities turn into athletic performance that exceeds nearly everyone around her. She introduces us to numerous other climbers we know from climbing history tales, but we get more of a picture of who they are as people and as friends.
This is a fascinating and very inspiring story about a truly amazing woman.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite a cliffhanger...
Review: This is an interesting book but hard to characterize in just a few words. The book certainly offers a comprehensive perspective of Hill's climbing experience from her first climbs as a teenager to recent years. The personal perspectives of many of the key rock climbers of the 70s, 80s and 90s that she offers in this book are often insightful, humorous and touching.However, I think the reason why I give this 4 stars (versus 5 stars) is that I felt that it was missing a bit of the spirit that characterizes the best books of the climbing genre. Even the opening chapter where she describes her fall is missing just a little bit that make it less gripping. There is definitely a lot to like in this book but I can't help but think that it could have been just a touch better.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Autobiography
Review: This is one of the very best climbing autobiographies I've read. 6 Stars. First off, I'll admit that I'm biased towards Lynn Hill. I met her in the early 80's and was taken by her unassuming, humble nature, let alone her incredible climbing prowess. But my bias has not interfered with my ability to give an honest review. This book was co-authored by Greg Child, one of my favorite climbing authors, but I'm guessing that Lynn's words formed the core of the book. It just doesn't read like Greg's other books. Regardless, the two must have an excellent synergy going because the book is enjoyable and very readable. As do all good autobiographies, this book goes well beyond the boring chronological list of events. It takes you into the life and mind of Lynn Hill and lets you see what makes her tick. Lynn chose to treat difficult situations in a straightforward, honest manner. Few punches are pulled, but it's obvious that there is no malicious intent. Lynn merely states the facts as she saw them, then goes the extra mile to tell us how these events made her feel. In doing so, difficult times, such as divorce or leaving the competitive arena are taken full circle and we see how, through her ability to adapt, Lynn was able to move on and grow from her experiences. One knows that people who repeatedly achieve at a high level have something good going for them and this book makes it clear that Lynn is no exception. Her ability to get into the proper mental state for difficult climbing is clearly conveyed. For example, while preparing to climb the Nose in a day, she wrote: "While lying on the ledge in a half-asleep state, I thought about the various people who inspired me throughout my life. These thoughts helped me cultivate the faith and energy I needed to persevere. For me, the ascent represented a kind of performance art to demonstrate the values I believed in. My belief in this effort is what allowed me to access a force of energy much greater than my own. I thought of what I had learned from a seventy year old Chinese Chi Gong master whom I had met in France earlier that year during a martial arts workshop. At the end of the weekend, this Chinese master asked me to arm wrestle him. As hard as I tried, our hands remained upright and locked in an impasse. Then he asked me what I was thinking about. I told him I was concentrating on bringing my hand down to the table. When I asked him what he was thinking about, he said he was focusing way beyond the table, toward an infinite source of energy. I noticed that his eyes were transfixed into space as if in a trance and I felt an inpenetrable wall of force in his arm. Afterward, we discussed my goal to free climb the Nose in a day and he said: 'When you are on the wall, try to imagine a source of energy that extends beyond the summit towards infinity.' " This book is full of motivational insight and should be a valuable resource for anyone that wants to move beyond preconceived limits in their everyday life.
Rating: 
Summary: poorly written
Review: While I agree that Lynn Hill may be an inspiration to many women climbers, I felt that the book was very poorly written. I also concur and can not understand how this book achieved a rating of 5 and 6 stars. It highlights some events of Lynn's climbing in her lifetime but it doesn't capture the soul of climbing. I also felt some arrogance with her writing where most of the writing were concentrated on the negatives of others' climbs while in some instances she had the same. Overall I wouldn't recommend this book to a beginner or a inspirational women's climb.
| 
