Alone on the Wall (Expanded Edition)

By: Alex Honnold, David Roberts

Narrated by: Andrew Eiden, Will Damron

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Includes two new chapters on Alex Honnold's free solo ascent of the iconic 3,000-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park

On June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold became the first person to free solo Yosemite's El Capitan - to scale the wall without rope, a partner, or any protective gear - completing what was described as "the greatest feat of pure rock climbing in the history of the sport" (National Geographic) and "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever" (New York Times). Already one of the most famous adventure athletes in the world, Honnold has now been hailed as "the greatest climber of all time" (Vertical magazine).

Alone on the Wall recounts the most astonishing achievements of Honnold's extraordinary life and career, brimming with lessons on living fearlessly, taking risks, and maintaining focus even in the face of extreme danger. Now Honnold tells, for the first time and in his own words, the story of his three hours and 56 minutes on the sheer face of El Cap, which Outside called "the moon landing of free soloing.... A generation-defining climb. Bad ass and beyond words.... One of the pinnacle sporting moments of all time."

©2018 Alex Honnold (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Surprisingly Slow Read

What could have been an exhilarating journey, was a surprisingly bum read with way too much filler. This could be a fun read at three chapters long. Disappointing.

A damn boring read.

Boring, ended up disliking Alex Honnold

I'd you are a climber and can really truly appreciate technical climbing language then you may be able to hang on and finish book just to read about Alex's climbing feats. If you are a just a reader of outdoor non- fiction who loves to learn about other adventure sports and exciting outdoor stories, don't waste your time. There are a lot of stories that may be exciting If you are a climber, but the writer fails to make them seem so or even make me care what will happen to the individuals in the experience. I ended up not finishing and skipping around since overall, I ended up with an actual dislike for Alex, the main subject. Found him selfish and inhuman most of the time, at least from the perspective of the book. Although to be fair, people who are " genius" in their own field often come off that way whether or not they are. Overall boring and uninspiring to a non rock climber.

Meh

The narrator for 'Alex' is incredibly obnoxious and doesn't seem to understand his personality at all. I gave up because of that. While Alex might not be for everyone, in this book, he comes off as a self-entitled a#*$ole, rather than a person who really has no filter. For climbers who have been paying attention, there is also very little new information, so far as I have read, which you wouldn't already know.

blah

would be more interesting if he didn't include his opinions. carbon foot print blah blah blah...

filling in these details completes the experience

As an ex boundary pushing alternative athlete from the seventies I'm able to vicariously understand how badass this achievement truly is.. Alex, you DA MAN EXPONENTIALLY. As your peer group already exist at such a high level, your evolution is in another stratosphere.

Last few chapters were great

I enjoyed this book, but it was a little confusing with different narrators. I saw the movie Free Solo and this book doesn't bring anything new although it gave a more in depth view of the mind of Alex. All in all a nice book.

Honnold Heads will Appreciate

Have consumed most things Honnold at this point - Free Solo, Reel Rock episodes, Climbing Gold podcast, etc. Cool to get the expanded history on his soloing origins + process of working El Cap that hasn't been captured on film.

Interesting to see commenters griping about not wanting his opinions on climate change. If you're sensitive about hearing opinions that contradict your own, skip it. If you want to know more about the person's life, read it.

Narration for the Honnold portions is kind of weird since pronunciation isn't always correct + I'm so familiar with Honnold's voice. The David Roberts portions are better - voiced by Will Damron who has done some other books I've listened to.

Worth the listen

This book will primarily appeal to climbers and people more interested in the details of what Alex honnold does than the average person. It doesn’t have the widespread appeal that, say, dean karnazes memoir does, but it’s a great read.

So good

Alex’s minder is so inspiring , much better than the doc!!!!! I love it i love it

Easily surpassed my low expectations

Before reading this book I saw Alex Honnold as somewhat of a pretentious blowhard that tries to act nonchalant.
My expectations were low, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. Pretty insightful book, with some interesting first person accounts.
I did internally roll my eyes when the topic moved to climate change, but I at least appreciate him not having double standards.
When you’re as talented as Alex, and have the ability to inspire the human race, you put up with the cost of documenting your stories.
I still don’t see Alex as incredibly genuine, but did enjoy his story, and the majority of his writing.
What a mentally and physically special individual who had pushed rockclimbing and the idea of what is possible to new heights.

Shame Alex didn’t narrated

Shame Alex didn’t narrated great book otherwise. What a fascinating human being. Was worth any minute.

Respect

Extremely enjoyable read about an amazing guy. Gripping from start to finish. The reader was excellent and I felt that I was actually listening to Alex. There are numerous technical terms and techniques but I personally had no problem with this as I was able to understand the bigger picture. I have read many mountaineering books and there are similarly many technical climbing terms which do not detract from the story or the drama. I did not find Alex at all arrogant as many would suggest, I would expect any genius in any field to be confident and in fact I find him quite genuine. What he has done is almost beyond comprehension. Is he mad or irresponsible, well probably yes but this is not as he sees it. Enjoy him while you can, and make sure you read this book!

Superhuman

Honnold is simply superhuman when it comes to climbing. His achievements are unmatched and will probably remain so for decades to come. Interesting account of his life and accomplishments so far.

brilliant

good story with funny parts. very well read. I was expecting it to be very similar to his film Solo but there was much more I cluded in this book.

great

i reqlly enjoyed this. its great to see more about Alex. his voice actor sounded a bit snarly in places but other than that it was great throughout

A beautiful insight into finding passion in life

Following the very good documentary film . I wondered how much could be contained in the book or would it just be a quick sell on the back of the popularity of the film. This is a very strong companion piece if you enjoyed the films Visual ,you now get to hear it from inside Alex’s mind every move mapped . The distraction cameras and people can bring to this soloist and the self imposed loneliness to find the focus needed to take on this life or death cannot miss a beat dance with the mountain. When the dance is done only the mountain itself is there to see your achievements.

The road to El cap

This book is good for either climbers and non climbers, getting into Alex's mindset is absolutely amazing.

Truly amazing feat.

I was lucky enough to see this in IMAX with a live q&a with Alex and Jimmy at the end of the movie.
This is an easy listen, well narrated that covers many of Alex's climbs and trips, culminating with El Cap at the end of the book. An enjoyable insight into some of Alex's amazing achievements.
Thanks

The human story

A mixture of biography and autobiography, this tells Alex's story and attitude to climbing and to life well, I think. there's a lot of climbing terminology, but some clear explanations are given early in the book thankfully. As good as the film Free Solo was, this book really shows Honnold as a deep thinker, and as a refreshingly honest and considerate individual, not as glib has he can sometimes appear on camera. Got a little less interested in the narrative in the third quarter of the book, but over and all really enjoyed it.

Surely someone proof listens to these things first?

Obviously an amazing chapter in climbing history but the narrator wasn’t familiar with many climbing terms, like how to pronounce ‘alpinist’ and ‘alpinism’. At one point he referred to the ‘Down’ Wall on El Cap.

It would be so easy to fix these things. I don’t know why they don’t make the effort.

The narrator also manages to make Honnold sound quite disdainful and aggressive. Maybe he is? If he isn’t, the tone chosen is unhelpful.