A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

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Subsequently, he published books in swift succession, often going over the same ground; in 1973 he brought out two within months. Despite unspeakable hardships, primitive food rations, and unfriendly villagers, the two adventurers dragged themselves up higher and higher into the Hindu Kush. A gifted linguist and a voracious reader, admired for his integrity and intellect, he was charmingly modest, yet fascinating to talk to.

Frater wrote that the book had "become the literary equivalent of a listed building", but that he far preferred Love and War. Thesiger serves as a final counterpoint–the final foil of sorts–to illustrate how unprepared and inept Newby and Carless were throughout their journey. Newby had no climbing experience whatsoever, and his account of taking a crash course in climbing is one of the more engaging sections of the book.

It was satisfying to hear the reflections of Hugh Carliss, in the epilogue written for this edition. Folks w an interest in mussulman history, Sunni conversion by sword of the infidel Shia, wars and conquests etc will find a lot to chew on. In 1956, on the way back from Nuristan and their heroic effort to climb the 20,000ft (6,100m) mountain Mir Samir, Newby and Carless met the explorer Wilfred Thesiger at Shahnaiz in the Panjshir valley. He was lucky to enjoy the first-rate assistance of the self-effacing Diana Petry, without whose help the travel pages would sometimes have failed to appear.

Newby dedicated the book to his friend and companion: "Hugh Carless of Her Majesty's Foreign Service, without whose determination, it must be obvious to anyone who reads it, this journey could never have been made. Needless to say, this leaves them woefully unprepared for the majesty of Mir Samir, a tall and windy peak they have vowed to climb. The Laurel-and-Hardy-go-to-the-Himalayas type humor in the beginning put me off at first, but once Newby put aside that vibe and just started describing the Edenic beauty of NW Afghanistan he had me. It is an autobiographical account of his adventures in the Hindu Kush, around the Nuristan mountains of Afghanistan, ostensibly to make the first mountaineering ascent of Mir Samir. In 1956 at the age of 36, Eric Newby ended his London career in fashion [2] and decided impulsively to travel to a remote corner of Afghanistan where no Englishman had ventured for 60 years.Apparently this place belongs to a Nuristani general who lives at Kabul," said Hugh as we digested the ghastly meal I had prepared. Working in the clothing industry in 1950s London the author and his friends hit on the idea of having a mountain climbing adventure in Afghanistan. In fact, two more grain races followed the 1939 race in which Newby participated, with the last race being held in 1949.