Straight Up by James Ramsey Ullman (1968)

John Harlin: The Life and Death of a Mountaineer.  Excellent biography of American alpinist John Harlin II (not to be confused with John Harlin III, his son). John Harlin was a man of many talents: he studied fashion design in university, played football, was a fighter pilot, an expatriate, and one of the best American climbers active in the Alps in the early 1960s. The first American to climb the North Face of the Eiger, Harlin became obsessed with the idea of the Eiger Direct - pioneering a new direct route up the center of the wall. In 1966, climbing with Dougal Haston, Chris Bonington, and Layton Kor, the route materialized after weeks of work - but John Harlin fell to his death when a fixed line he was prussiking snapped. This is a penetrating and fascinating portrait of a complex man. First edition hardcover, dustjacket fairly worn, missing a few chips on front and spine, but now protected in a vinyl Brodart cover. 288 pages with a black and white photographic insert in the middle.