Full of Myself is the aptly named and long awaited autobiography of Johnny Dawes, one of the foremost British rock climbers of the '80s and '90s.
Praise for the man and book from Leo Houlding... 'Johnny Dawes is the enigmatic front man of an eclectic band of British climbers who in the mid 1980's redefined the standards of difficulty and danger in traditional climbing. Introducing the world to the impossible grades of E8 and E9, and laying the foundations of the modern scene, Johnny's unique style and character have become legend. This long awaited book gives his take on a highly influential period of climbing history and a look inside the mind of a tormented genius. Written with devoted passion and brutal honesty, Full of Myself lays bare Johnny's bipolar mix of privilege and pain, wizardry and dysfunction. Master of friction and maestro of momentum on rock and road, orchestrator of contemporary climbing techniques such as the dead-point and dyno, the living embodiment of poetry in motion turns his hand to the pen with great effect.'
Ed Douglas adds... 'Johnny Dawes is a legend in British climbing. In 1986, he was responsible for the most inspired new route in a generation, when he climbed Indian Face on Clogwyn d'ur Arddu in Snowdonia. Difficult and tenuous, a fall from its hardest move would most likely be fatal. But Dawes is much more than a risk-taker. His rich imagination has left a legacy of outstanding new routes all over the country, not least on the gritstone edges of Derbyshire where his bold and fluid style reached its fullest expression. He's an artist really, a choreographer with a warrior spirit.'
And from Simon Beaufoy (Academy Award winning screenwriter of The Full Monty and Slumdog Millionaire)... 'Each generation produces a handful of visionaries, people who can see beyond the possible. Whether he likes it or not, Johnny is climbing's visionary. There are accounts of terrifying first-ascents on crumbling sea cliffs and even more terrifying accounts of van-driving around Wales. At the heart of the book is a man traversing on crystals towards some kind of understanding of who he is, a man less earth-bound than us climbing mortals, but who cannot, quite, fly. Much like his climbing, his imagination leaps - this is a beautiful book about an extraordinary person. William Blake with sticky boots'
"I got a job in a fancy box factory in Upton on (often in) Severn, where Nigel Mansell comes from, to earn money to fuel car and obsession. Getting my bum pinched by busty middle-aged women, I mostly burned waste out the back on a big bonfire in the sun". Shakespeare it ain't, but entertaining it is, with lots of quirky writing, cartoons and photos.
A must for anyone with an interest in the history of British rock climbing.
By Johnny Dawes.
Hardback, 24cm x 17cm, 298 pages.
Published 2011.
ISBN: 978-0-9570308-0-0.