The book has been reviewed many times over the years. Here are some extracts:
In 1956 Books of the Month said: "It is an epic. It is Homeric. It is inspiring. It is very, very funny... Read it and be moved."
Miles Kington reviewed it in Punch in 1980 and said: "Wonderful... Rum Doodle does for mountaineering what Three Men in a Boat did for Thames-going or Catch-22 did for the Second World War"
On September 15th 2001, The Times said "a hilarious spoof and perfect parody of Britishness... it shames what now claims to be comedy."
The Sunday Mirror made it book of the week on October 14th 2001, and wrote: "this wonderfully funny parody of adventure stories... is just as fresh today."
This is Bristol magazine described the book on October 5th as "A sort of League of Gentlemen with walking boots"
Geographical magazine wrote in December 2001: "a veritable feast... incredibly enjoyable... a marvellous romp."
An anonymous reader from London wrote on Amazon.co.uk's website on
October 29th 2001:
"I'm not a climber, but I do enjoy humour - the drier the
better - and I love this book. I first read it 15 years ago and
have just re-bought it for myself as an early Christmas present.
It's a very gentle, deadpan tale of disaster that I've regularly
found myself re-reading over the years. Treat yourself to a
laugh. You won't be disappointed".
Publishers Weekly on February 1st 2002 said "[Bowman} proves himself to be an entertaining humorist who has much to offer for readers who like their outdoor humor dripping with understated British irony."
The Inverness Courier on March 15th 2002 said "since 1956, it's amazing that any other mountaineering epic has been taken seriously."