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The Ascent of Rum Doodle

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The Ascent of Rum Doodle

By: W. E. Bowman
Narrated by: Terry Wale, Bill Bryson
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

First published in 1956, The Ascent of Rum Doodle quickly became established as a mountaineering classic. As an outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, many thought it inspired by the 1953 conquest of Everest. But Bowman had drawn on the flavour and tone of earlier adventures, of Bill Tilman and his 1937 account of the Nandi Devi expedition. The book's central and unforgettable character, Binder, is one of the finest creations in comic literature.

©1989 W. E. Bowman (P)2010 Penguin Audio Classics Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Sports Fiction Comedy Adventure
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Such a wonderous epic tale is only improved by the exceptional voice performance of Terry Wale. I smiled a lot through this book, and laughed out loud more than once. I’m sure I will revisit it, on a distant unseen day, obscured from view like the beautiful, terrible peak of Rum Doodle, and the thought of her rarified atmosphere still swells the breast of this armchair adventurer, though this may also be a hormonal imbalance caused by chicken nuggets.

Worth every Ascent.

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This was such a delightful listen. It’s a story of a group of incompetent men and their socially inept leader as they try to climb the highest mountain in the world, Rum Doodle.

Consistently silly in a funny way, and read so perfectly by Terry Whale.

If you enjoy Bill Bryson or Alan Partridge, I highly recommend giving this little treasure a listen.

Funny and delightful

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Would you try another book written by W. E. Bowman or narrated by Terry Wale and Bill Bryson ?

Pretty light going but kept me entertained for a long car trip. Starts off silly and simply keeps going, which is something I like in a silly story.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

One and the same, it is rather silly but sometimes you need that in life.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Terry Wale and Bill Bryson ?

Probably

Did The Ascent of Rum Doodle inspire you to do anything?

Not really

Any additional comments?

A few family members copped different parts of the story when they were in the car, some joined in the fun others couldn't stand it.

Gave me a giggle or two

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