Post by nicklyle on Mar 24, 2013 19:23:44 GMT -8
I don't think we need to narrow the scope of FOTH. I have read just about all of the books. A few try for the encyclopedic general coverage that FOTH attempts. None, in my opinion, do as good a job of covering all aspects of alpine climbing without going into excessive detail. Getting the balance right is hard, and an ever-moving target as techniques and gear evolve, but I still like the more thorough coverage. I have been reading FOTH since the 3rd edition and I have found it consistently solid and thorough without spiraling off into excessive detail. This balance between thorough coverage and a basic, introductory, style is the one thing that sets FOTH apart from most other books out there. Connally's book is very good, but keeps more specifically to the basic alpine topic. The European "Handbook of Climbing" lacks some of the material in FOTH and is a bit more old-school.
FOTH fills a particular role quite well. It is the reasonably complete text introducing the vast topic of human powered alpine travel. We can improve it. I think it can be leaner in places, but needs to be expanded in others. It might be a mistake to take away too much and reduce FOTH to a basic teaching manual.
There are now, and will always be, a selection of in-depth books on the many specialized disciplines that go into alpinism. This will remain so whether or not FOTH is longer or shorter.
Another thing to consider about the multi-media expansion of the text is that it will take a massive effort to extend that multi-media segment out to all the languages into which FOTH is now translated, and to maintain and update this material. In the mean time the basic text version needs enough depth to stand alone when translated and sent off to another culture somewhere out there.
Read more: freedom9bestpractice.freeforums.net/index.cgi?action=display&board=leading&thread=38&page=1#ixzz2OWBh6UfR
FOTH fills a particular role quite well. It is the reasonably complete text introducing the vast topic of human powered alpine travel. We can improve it. I think it can be leaner in places, but needs to be expanded in others. It might be a mistake to take away too much and reduce FOTH to a basic teaching manual.
There are now, and will always be, a selection of in-depth books on the many specialized disciplines that go into alpinism. This will remain so whether or not FOTH is longer or shorter.
Another thing to consider about the multi-media expansion of the text is that it will take a massive effort to extend that multi-media segment out to all the languages into which FOTH is now translated, and to maintain and update this material. In the mean time the basic text version needs enough depth to stand alone when translated and sent off to another culture somewhere out there.
Read more: freedom9bestpractice.freeforums.net/index.cgi?action=display&board=leading&thread=38&page=1#ixzz2OWBh6UfR