Alain Robert rises toward the clouds in nearly every city he visits. As one of the world’s most amazing people, his autobiography, With Bare Hands, The True Story of Alain Robert, the Real-Life Spiderman (2008, Blacksmith Books, Hong Kong, 306 pages) should be fascinating, and it is – in spades.
A true-life adventure story unlike others, this book (edited and adapted by John Chan) tells why and how Robert climbs the outside of the world’s tallest buildings and rarely uses ropes, hooks or safety gear.
“Without fear, danger is intangible, thus impossible to appreciate and respond to…. I grapple with buildings and cliffs…, and I do it for the pure joy of it. The proximity of my mortal watershed offers an almost sexual excitement.”
Relying just on hand powder and climbing slippers to grip ridges, edges and ledges, the author has conquered the Petronas Towers (in Kuala Lumpur), Taipei 101, the Sears Tower (Chicago), Canary Wharf (London) and many more. Since 1994 when he identified “a whole new universe…. a range of mountains of glass and steel”, this urban mountaineer has scaled 80 skyscrapers in dozens of cities.
If Robert plays the hero, then certain buildings must be villains. “The Sears Tower is square at its base, but as it climbs it tapers inwards with several receding tiers to leave the segmented core standing proudly clear of the impressively aerial city of Chicago. Cloaked in villainous black, there is more than a hint of Darth Vader about this awesome monster.”
Bird’s-eye views and death-defying experiences give Robert strong opinions. For example, he dislikes Singapore.
“The shiny tropical city is certainly orderly, tidy and very pleasant…, but there is no denying the fact that it lacks artistry, diversity and that most essential ingredient, the passion of the human spirit. Singapore has wealth, but it is clearly one of the least human cities on the planet, a city of conformity.”
Forty-five-year-old Robert weighs 52 kilograms and hails from Valence, France, where he previously worked part-time in a sports store. As a climber, he has endured towering triumphs and bitter setbacks.
Like its author, With Bare Hands focuses on climbing tall buildings – why, when, how and what happens next. This unusual theme never turns dull. Many readers will want to cheer as Robert conquers the dangers of clambering up challenging skyscrapers.
Others will be disappointed that he reveals little about his childhood and family life. “Like all kids I wanted to be brave in the manner of Zorro or Robin Hood and climbing seemed to offer me that,” he writes. But exactly what do his parents, wife Nicole and three sons think of his escapades?
When promoting the book in Hong Kong, Robert climbed another edifice, this time a hotel. On earlier visits, he scaled two high office towers.
No other author takes such risks. No fellow climbers muster the courage to join Robert in this zany sport.
“Time moves very slowly when you teeter between life and death. Seconds, minutes or hours, they are all the same. The world becomes spectacularly vivid and moves in slow motion.”
A climber since childhood, Robert suffered serious injuries years ago in falls from rock-faces. He hasn’t plunged from high on a building. If he does, his exploits and life end instantly.
“Falling from 40 metres or 400 metres leads almost certainly to the same result: death. Or perhaps there is a small chance of incapacity, another kind of death. My wrists and knees, already damaged in my youth, would not support a significant fall. I am not a stuntman and the doctors have firmly told me that I am banned from falling.”
Unauthorized climbing often leads to the author’s arrest on charges like trespassing and reckless endangerment. Although usually released within days, he’s become a rare authority on jail conditions around the world.
“I have seen my fair share of prisons…, but this Malaysian jail was something else…. The ground was sticky, disgusting. Even the cockroaches had difficulty moving around…. The air was stale and thick with pungent sweat and urine.”
Despite the “high” stakes, Robert finds humor everywhere and shares it. To maintain his sanity, he laughs at danger.
Along the way, this offbeat author draws meaningful conclusions of value to everyone. “Man creates his own limits, but we all have in us the power to overcome them and to reach our goals. We just need to find this power within ourselves and harness it, for it is there within all of us, within you. We have the ability to soar to great heights if we direct our energies away from doing other people’s work, fulfilling other people’s dreams.”
Prepare to clutch at the pages, holding on, hardly daring to breathe, as Robert tells of clinging to giant buildings. Reading With Bare Hands may induce serious vertigo. Pulses will quicken. Hearts will thump.
Approval rating: 79 per cent.
For more information: www.blacksmithbooks.com or www.alainrobert.com
(May 7, 2008)
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