This is an auction for THE ASCENT OF RUM DOODLE, by W E Bowman.

"Wonderful. Rum Doodle does for mountaineering what Three Men in a Boat did for Thames-going or Catch-22 did for the Second World War. It is simply an account of the leader of an expedition up Rum Doodle, a 40,000 and a half foot peak in the Himalayas, in the same way that Scoop is simply a tale about news-gathering in Africa. The tone is nearer to Pooter than anyone else I can think of, but the flavour is all W.E. Bowman's own." --Sunday Times

"This wonderfully funny parody of adventure stories was first written in the 1950s but is just as fresh today with a truly brilliant comic narrator whose commentary on the expedition members is unintentionally hilarious." --Sunday Mirror

Amazon.com review:

"A bumbling group of British mountaineers mounts an assault on Rum Doodle, a slightly higher neighbor of Everest, in Bowman's parody novel, published in 1956 to become a classic within the climbing community. Bowman cobbles together a crew of clueless climbers, including the puffed-up narrator and a misguided guide, who constantly gets lost and turns up in unlikely places. Early on, a memorable mishap occurs, in which Jungle ends up falling into a crevasse and the rescue effort consists of the rest of the crew joining him while they get soused on "medicinal" champagne. The group goes in circles and then proceeds to climb the wrong mountain, and Bowman spends an inordinate amount of prose on their suffering at the hands of the sadistic cook. He proves himself to be an entertaining humorist who has much to offer for readers who like outdoor humour dripping with British irony."

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Paperback 2001.

171 pages + 16 pages of Illustrations.

A previous owner's name; otherwise, good condition.

The cost of shipping is $3.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.