This well-researched biography brings a greater understanding of one of the most controversial of American mountaineers. One chapter is devoted to the incredible rescue in 1966 of two Germans trapped high on the west face of the Petit Dru, which led to Hemming becoming the darling of the French media.

Hemming's stormy partnership with John Harlin and their epoch-making first ascent of the south face of the Aiguille du Fou, has fresh light thrown upon it, as there is upon Hemming's relationships with various women. The text builds into a profound psychological portrait of Hemming's complex and almost schizophrenic personality, and into the causes of his eventual suicide.