Love The White Spider? Readers share 98 books like The White Spider...

By Heinrich Harrer ,

Here are 98 books that The White Spider fans have personally recommended if you like The White Spider. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Tramp Abroad

Stephen O'Shea Author Of The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond

From my list on the Alps from a history and travel writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a history and travel writer, I had always heard the siren song of the Alps. Deciding to try (unsuccessfully) to ignore my fear of heights, I take a hair-raising tour across most of the highest passes of the Alps, through France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. So many boundaries crossed: linguistic, religious, historical, political, even culinary. I learned the Alps are not a monolith, they are a polyphony.

Stephen's book list on the Alps from a history and travel writer

Stephen O'Shea Why Stephen loves this book

In a travelogue which spends much of its time in the Alps, Twain delivers anecdotes of haplessness that will make readers smile, if not laugh out loud. Twain portrays himself as an American naif who thinks he understands everything while actually understanding nothing at all.

By Mark Twain ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Tramp Abroad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been…


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Book cover of The Beatles and the 1960s: Reception, Revolution, and Social Change

The Beatles and the 1960s by Kenneth L. Campbell,

The Beatles are widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history and their career has been the subject of many biographies. Yet the band's historical significance has not received sustained academic treatment to date. In The Beatles and the 1960s, Kenneth L. Campbell uses The…

Book cover of Terror on the Mountain

Stephen O'Shea Author Of The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond

From my list on the Alps from a history and travel writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a history and travel writer, I had always heard the siren song of the Alps. Deciding to try (unsuccessfully) to ignore my fear of heights, I take a hair-raising tour across most of the highest passes of the Alps, through France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. So many boundaries crossed: linguistic, religious, historical, political, even culinary. I learned the Alps are not a monolith, they are a polyphony.

Stephen's book list on the Alps from a history and travel writer

Stephen O'Shea Why Stephen loves this book

Swiss novelist Ramuz delivers a taut, engrossing tale about Alpine villagers whose decision to tempt fate ends in disaster. Ignoring the pleas of their elders, some young men take their flocks to summer in an upland mountain pasture that is reputed locally to be a cursed place. It turns out that the reputation is well earned.

Book cover of The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919

John Mosier Author Of The Myth of the Great War: A New Military History of World War I

From my list on the other fronts in WW1.

Why am I passionate about this?

Currently a full professor at Loyola University, he entered college at 16, studying chemistry, economics, and literature. He did graduate work in German, Russian, and Philosophy, held a double fellowship in music and literature, and wrote his dissertation on the relationship between historiography and epic poetry. In 2001, his 10th book, The Myth of the Great War was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in history.

John's book list on the other fronts in WW1

John Mosier Why John loves this book

Even though Italy was one of the “victors,” its participation on the allied side was the cause of the government’s collapse, and the rise Mussolini and the fascisti, with all the calamities that followed.  This book provides a truly horrifying explanation of why that was so.

By Mark Thompson ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The White War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In May 1915, Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire. Nearly 750,000 Italian troops were killed in savage, hopeless fighting on the stony hills north of Trieste and in the snows of the Dolomites. To maintain discipline, General Luigi Cadorna restored the Roman practice of decimation, executing random members of units that retreated or rebelled. With elegance and pathos, historian Mark Thompson relates the saga of the Italian front, the nationalist frenzy and political intrigues that preceded the conflict, and the towering personalities of the statesmen, generals, and writers drawn into the heart of the chaos. A work of epic…


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Book cover of Norvel: An American Hero

Norvel by Kenneth F. Conklin,

NORVEL: An American Hero chronicles the remarkable life of Norvel Lee, a civil rights pioneer and Olympic athlete who challenged segregation in 1948 Virginia. Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains to working-class parents who valued education, Lee overcame Jim Crow laws and a speech impediment to achieve extraordinary success.

He…

Book cover of First on the Rope

Stephen O'Shea Author Of The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond

From my list on the Alps from a history and travel writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a history and travel writer, I had always heard the siren song of the Alps. Deciding to try (unsuccessfully) to ignore my fear of heights, I take a hair-raising tour across most of the highest passes of the Alps, through France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany and Slovenia. So many boundaries crossed: linguistic, religious, historical, political, even culinary. I learned the Alps are not a monolith, they are a polyphony.

Stephen's book list on the Alps from a history and travel writer

Stephen O'Shea Why Stephen loves this book

France’s highest-profile contribution to Alpine fiction, Frison-Roche’s story traces the trials and joys of a family of mountaineers in Chamonix during the 1920s and 1930s. Spectacular evocations of the grandeur of Mont Blanc and the dangers of traversing the terrors of the unforgiving mountains and glaciers – it’s all here, and served up with panache.

By Roger Frison-Roche ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked First on the Rope as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First on the Rope - the acclaimed English translation of the French fiction classic Premier de Cordee by Roger Frison-Roche - is a tale about the harsh lives of mountain guides and their families in the French Alps in the 1920s and 1930s.

An ascent of Mont Blanc as porter with his uncle leaves young Pierre further convinced he wants to be a mountaineer, breathing the crisp, pure air and soaking up the splendour of the wild landscape. But his family have other ideas. Chamonix is becoming ever more popular with tourists wanting their thrills on the slopes, and they…


Book cover of My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus

Ronald Turnbull Author Of The Hillwalking Bible: Where to go, what to take and how to not get lost

From my list on mountains and mountaineering.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a hillwalker and mountaineer since the age of 1 year 10 months – and longer than that, if you consider that my family’s been at it for over 150 years now. For the last 30 years, I’ve been writing walking guidebooks, general books about UK mountains, and articles in walking magazines like Trail, The Great Outdoors, and Lakeland Walker. My Book of the Bivvy on tentless sleepouts has acquired semi-classic status among the wilder sort of outdoor enthusiasts. I care about mountains, and I care about great writing about mountains, all of which is explored in my free weekly newsletter, About Mountains on Substack.

Ronald's book list on mountains and mountaineering

Ronald Turnbull Why Ronald loves this book

In 1895, Mummery was about 50 years ahead of his time by becoming the first mountaineer to die on an 8000m peak – caught in an avalanche while attempting the Rakhiot Face of Nanga Parbat. Herman Buhl, who made Nanga Parbat's first ascent nearly 60 years later, described Mummery as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time.

Mummery's book – plus Mary's contribution – is the defining account of what's called the Silver Age of Alpine Mountaineering. It is lively, entertaining, and full of the love of high, rocky, and rather dangerous places.

By Albert Frederick Mummery , Mary Mummery ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank…


Book cover of Starlight and Storm: The Conquest of the Great North Faces of the Alps

Ronald Turnbull Author Of The Hillwalking Bible: Where to go, what to take and how to not get lost

From my list on mountains and mountaineering.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a hillwalker and mountaineer since the age of 1 year 10 months – and longer than that, if you consider that my family’s been at it for over 150 years now. For the last 30 years, I’ve been writing walking guidebooks, general books about UK mountains, and articles in walking magazines like Trail, The Great Outdoors, and Lakeland Walker. My Book of the Bivvy on tentless sleepouts has acquired semi-classic status among the wilder sort of outdoor enthusiasts. I care about mountains, and I care about great writing about mountains, all of which is explored in my free weekly newsletter, About Mountains on Substack.

Ronald's book list on mountains and mountaineering

Ronald Turnbull Why Ronald loves this book

If you want to know what it's actually like to bivvy on a ledge high on the Walker Spur in the 1940s with a storm coming in – and if you want to go far beyond that and be carried away by the power of words and share the intoxicated joy of that man on that ledge with the snow down the back of his neck – well, the man is Gaston. And his book is called Étoiles et Tempêtes.

By Gaston Rebuffat , John Hunt (translator) , Wilfrid Noyce (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Starlight and Storm as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“One of the great climbers of all time . . . who has discovered through the medium of mountains the true perspective of living.” —Sir John Hunt, author of The Conquest of Everest

Known for his lyrical writing and his ability to convey not only the dangers of mountaineering but the pure exaltation of the climb, Gaston Rébuffat is among the most well-known and revered Alpinists of all time. He rose to international prominence in 1950 as one of the four principal stalwarts in the first ascent of Annapurna, the highest mountain climbed at that time. Yet his finest feat…


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Book cover of The Twenty: One Woman's Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail

The Twenty by Marianne C. Bohr,

Marianne Bohr and her husband, about to turn sixty, are restless for adventure. They decide on an extended, desolate trek across the French island of Corsica — the GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath — to challenge what it means to grow old. Part travelogue, part buddy story, part memoir, The…

Book cover of The Kangchenjunga Adventure: The 1930 Expedition to the Third Highest Mountain in the World

Andrew Greig Author Of Summit Fever

From my list on from the other side of the mountain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was an under-employed Scottish poet hillwalker when I met a Himalayan mountaineer in a pub. Due to alcohol and a misunderstanding about the metaphorical nature of Poetry, Mal Duff asked me to join an attempt to climb the legendary 24,000ft  Mustagh Tower in the Karakoram. By the time I admitted I had no climbing experience whatsoever and was scared of heights, it was too late. Those Scottish winters’ apprenticeships and following Himalayan expeditions re-shaped my writing life, outlook, and friendships. My books have been shortlisted three times for the Boardman-Tasker Award for outstanding mountaineering literature, for Summit Fever; Kingdoms of Experience (Everest the Unclimbed Ridge); Electric Brae.

Andrew's book list on from the other side of the mountain

Andrew Greig Why Andrew loves this book

I first read this among my father’s books as a child. I believe he had met Smythe in London in the early 30, thus his signed copy of The Valley of Flowers. This is the quintessential book of that era of passionate amateur climbing and exploration, the age of Shipton and Tilman, of highly knowledgeable and deeply eccentric personalities. The writing is lyrical, just this side of purple, earthed by Smythe’s passion for botany, photography, and close observation. In the true sense of amateur, Kanchenjunga is a great adventure expedition in a time that will not come again. This is the book that prompted me to accept an invitation to climb with an expedition on a serious Himalayan mountain with real mountaineers, despite my lack of experience and hardwired dislike of heights. It changed my life. I like to think Smythe would have approved.

By Frank Smythe ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kangchenjunga Adventure as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'We went to Kangchenjunga in response not to the dictates of science, but in obedience to that indefinable urge men call adventure.'

In 1930, an expedition set out to climb the world's third-highest mountain, Kangchenjunga. As yet unclimbed, a number of attempts had been made on the peak, including two in the previous year. The Kangchenjunga Adventure records Frank Smythe's attempts as part of an international team to reach the summit, how a deadly avalanche, which killed one of the sherpas, brought an end to their climb and how they turned their attentions instead to Jonsong Peak, which offered a…


Book cover of Alpine Warriors

Sam Baldwin Author Of Dormice & Moonshine: Falling for Slovenia

From my list on books about Slovenia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an Englishman who fell in love with a 300-year-old former sausage curing hut on the side of a Slovenian mountain in 2007. After years of visits spent renovating the place, I moved to Slovenia, where I lived and worked for many years, exploring the country, customs, and culture, learning some of the language, and visiting its most beautiful places. I continue to be enamored with Slovenia, and you will regularly find me at my cabin, making repairs and splitting firewood.

Sam's book list on books about Slovenia

Sam Baldwin Why Sam loves this book

As a fan of both Slovenia and the mountains, this book was a real treat. Written by a Canadian author, it’s an excellent account of the rise of Slovenian climbers during a golden era in the 1970s and ‘80s, who quickly became some of the most respected alpinists in the world.

Although it focuses on stories of high peaks, north faces, first ascents, and avalanches, it's set in a background of life in Slovenia, largely during the Yugoslav era. I found this insight fascinating, and it helped me to understand more about the Slovenian love of high places and what draws so many Slovenes to their numerous summits. A very enjoyable read–well-researched and written. 

By Bernadette McDonald ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Alpine Warriors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Although Yugoslavia managed to avoid becoming involved in WWII until 1941, German armies invaded in April of that year and the Yugoslavian defense collapsed in less than two weeks. The state of Slovenia was split up amongst Germany, Hungary and Italy. Partisan groups, under the leadership of Josip Tito, managed to liberate the state by 1945, and then began a period of relative calm, under the benevolent rule of Tito. A Communist, he began to distance himself from the Soviet Union, looking to western economic models as Yugoslavia struggled to rebuild. During the thirty years following the war, a Yugoslavian…


Book cover of The First Fifty: Munro-bagging without a Beard

Ronald Turnbull Author Of The Hillwalking Bible: Where to go, what to take and how to not get lost

From my list on mountains and mountaineering.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a hillwalker and mountaineer since the age of 1 year 10 months – and longer than that, if you consider that my family’s been at it for over 150 years now. For the last 30 years, I’ve been writing walking guidebooks, general books about UK mountains, and articles in walking magazines like Trail, The Great Outdoors, and Lakeland Walker. My Book of the Bivvy on tentless sleepouts has acquired semi-classic status among the wilder sort of outdoor enthusiasts. I care about mountains, and I care about great writing about mountains, all of which is explored in my free weekly newsletter, About Mountains on Substack.

Ronald's book list on mountains and mountaineering

Ronald Turnbull Why Ronald loves this book

It was J Dow, Munroist number 5, who first pointed out that all four of the so-called 'compleaters' previous to himself had availed themselves of beards and that these were perhaps to be counted as improper aids. (Or else, if it wasn't J Dow, it was somebody else.)

Hence the subtitle of Muriel Gray's book; she had been up most of the Scottish 3000ers with no more assistance than a smear of lipstick and a splodge-of-vomit fleece designed as ideal camouflage for when passed out on the pavement on a Glasgow Friday night.

By Muriel Gray ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The First Fifty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this hilarious, irreverent and frequently controversial book she explains the real joy of hill-walking and climbing the Munros.


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Book cover of Heidi Across America: One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle Through the Heartland

Heidi Across America by Heidi Beierle,

A memoir of homecoming by bicycle and how opening our hearts to others enables us to open our hearts to ourselves.

When the 2008 recession hit, 33-year-old Heidi Beierle was single, underemployed, and looking for a way out of her darkness. She returned to school, but her gloom deepened. All…

Book cover of Savage Summit: The Life and Death of the First Women of K2

Roz Morris Author Of Ever Rest

From my list on high-altitude mountaineering.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was 10, my father quoted to me the line by Henry David Thoreau, that "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." This scared me deeply. It became an enduring question. What makes us feel truly alive? I love stories that take us to these edges. I like to explore what we chase - love, adventure, ambition, art - and where it goes wrong. I’ve long been drawn to stories about people who climb the world’s most dangerous mountains, putting themselves through unthinkable ordeals in places that don’t care if we live or die. And what of their friends, families and partners?

Roz's book list on high-altitude mountaineering

Roz Morris Why Roz loves this book

A different mountain, and reputedly more deadly than Everest. The focus is on a handful of professional elite mountaineers, all women, and the different ways they achieve their climbing dreams, according to their personalities - from phenomenal physical grit to unashamed use of every feminine wile. Yes, it seems you can sleep your way to the top. You might think this sounds monstrous, but I found it incredibly human and moving, and afterward I searched YouTube for videos of these women, to see their actual faces, full of unstoppable life.

By Jennifer Jordan ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Savage Summit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Here is narrative nonfiction at its most gripping. Journalist Jennifer Jordan chronicled the individual stories of the five courageous women who have climbed K2, the most fearsome mountain in the world. Climbers call K2 "The Savage Mountain." It is not quite as tall as Everest, but it is far more dangerous, located at the border of China and Pakistan, in the deadly Karakoram range, which has the harshest climbing conditions and weather of any place in the world. Ninety women have climbed Everest, but only five female climbers have ever reached the summit of K2 alive. Three of these women…


Book cover of A Tramp Abroad
Book cover of Terror on the Mountain
Book cover of The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front, 1915-1919

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Interested in mountaineering, Switzerland, and the Alps?

Mountaineering 47 books
Switzerland 48 books
The Alps 16 books