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2 unusual facts about The Ascent of Rum Doodle


The Ascent of Rum Doodle

It is a parody of the non-fictional chronicles of mountaineering expeditions (notably H. W. Tilman's account of the ascent of Nanda Devi and Maurice Herzog's book Annapurna chronicling the first ascent of Annapurna in Nepal) that were popular during the 1950s, as many of the world's highest peaks were climbed for the first time.

A new edition was released in 2001 with an introduction by the contemporary humorist Bill Bryson.


William Ernest Bowman

William Ernest Bowman (30 September 1911 Scarborough - 1 January 1985), was an engineer and writer, best remembered for his 1956 book The Ascent of Rum Doodle, a satire on the world of mountaineering literature inspired by Bill Tilman and his 1937 account of the Nanda Devi expedition.


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