Kiss or Kill - (Confessions of a Serial Climber) by Mark Twight (Paperback)

About the Book

Twenty-six extreme, cynical, and over-the-top stories by Dr. Doom and the only collection of his work

Book Synopsis

2001 Banff Mountain Literature Award Winner

• Mark Twight's collected works, some never before published in North America


• Includes dramatic black and white mountaineering photos


• Features brand new epilogues to all of the stories

They call him Dr. Doom.

Raving and kicking against mediocrity, his anger and pain simmer close to the surface. He speaks and writes the language of the punk music that defined him. He is extreme alpinist Mark Twight, and he doesn't back down from the truth. He's a one-man literary punk band. If you have any doubt, here comes his knockout punch: the only collection of writing Twight swears he'll ever publish.

Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber is raw, unfiltered Twight. These author's cut are the real deal, not the homogenized fluff offered up by magazine editors who are often unwilling to offend. Twight's words make it clear that climbing is only distantly about the summit. Several of these pieces are new to U.S. readers. Twight edited all of the selections and appended each with a current author's note; confessing his inspiration, events that followed, and lessons learned (or not learned, some might say). It adds up to a frightfully lucid look into Twight's personal life as both man and hardcore alpine climber.

Whether railing against the spinelessness of American siege-style mountaineering, admitting addiction to pushing the bounds of the possible, or reveling in his ability to cut away anything in life that holds him back, Twight never blinks. Along the way, there is the drama of new and epic routes, unbreakable bonds between climbing partners, and Twight's evolution as a climber and a man. He tells every story in a unique, in-your-face style.

Kiss or Kill is not an easy read. It may scare some readers-but that's the point. "I want this book to help you recognize your own anger, which will help you understand mine", says Twight. "Somewhere out there somebody understands these words and knows they matter. They were written in blood, learned by heart."

Review Quotes

[Twight] is brutally honest, and nobody, including his friends or himself, is safe from his high standards and criticism. Many of these [collected pieces] are gems and shed new light on his earlier work... This is literature about the soul of alpinism, not a blow-by-blow account of climbing drudgery from some tourist peak bagger.-- "Rock & Ice"

A glimpse into the psychological reasons one person faces extreme danger.-- "Reference & Research Book News"

Deeply personal, arrogant, grandiose, thrilling and unapologetic, this record of [Twight's] career will gratify and repel extreme athletes, their admirers and detractors.-- "Publisher's Weekly"

If you've delved into the growing body of mountaineering literature by reading books like Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air ... be forewarned: They're like Billy Joel; Kiss or Kill is like the Dead Kennedys ... Prodding the deepest recesses of fear the way he'd stab a wafer-thin ice runnel with the pick of his axe, Twight's Kiss or Kill is an engaging read.-- "The Vancouver Sun"

Read [Kiss or Kill] if you have alpine ambitions -- or have a disturbed mind. It's a good read, and you might gleen some perspective from it.-- "Scree"

With chapter titles such as 'House of Pain' and 'I Hurt, Therefore I Am, ' no one would mistake Twight for a member of the Von Trapp family. A bracing tonic for us desk-bound wussies.-- "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review"