Higher Than The Eagle Soars

Having spent time with Stephen on the Eiger, I know what good company he is. He has huge talent and a remarkable story to tell. His Everest climb was one of the great adventures of our time, but what is really fascinating is the life journey that took him to the top

Ranulph Fiennes

The story of his descent after a night spent the top is... both harrowing and deeply moving

Sunday Times

There can be no dispute about the magnitude of his achievement...Venables is superb on the terror and exhilaration of climbing...There is a particularly heart-stopping account of a journey up the north face of the Matterhorn. Insightful into his own character, Venables is honest enough to face up to the selfishness that mountaineering requires and the strain it puts on relationships

Leo McKinstry, Sunday Telegraph

This is a memoir run through with humanity, humour and a deep abiding love of high mountains and the adventures they provide

Great Outdoors

If you've never climbed, Higher Than the Eagle Soars can still be read for its old-fashioned, self-effacing humour, as the story of a cultured man determined to place himself inside a tradition he loves. Or you can read it for the thrills and spills

M. John Harrison, Guardian