We notice that ‘Llywarch, “yrhenwr”, (Portland, Oregon)’ writes, in the first line of his sneering review (scroll down on that page) of Into the Silence — by Wade Davis: ‘One thing that puzzled me about this book was that, despite the tide of effusive comment here [America] and in the British press…’

This, in our opinion, is the use of a ‘red herring’ to imply that he — ‘Llywarch’ — (whom we believe to be Jim Perrin) is, really, not on our shores.

And, he continues: ‘It didn’t pick up any of the mountaineering awards — the Boardman-Tasker, the myriad categories at Banff Mountaineering Book Festival for which it might have been eligible.’

His wording is contrived: the book could not have been awarded a prize if not put forward; and it was the author’s decision — presumably with the best advice possible — which competition he chose to enter. ‘Llywarch’ clearly seeks in this introductory passage to imply that the book did not receive their awards — perhaps would not have done so, and it is in our view a thoroughly nasty piece of insinuation. And it is only one example, among many, in which Jim Perrin has shown this particularly malevolent behaviour to authors whom he has over the years perceived as ‘rivals’.   Continue reading →