The Greater Fool: Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality

by Lucas Roman

For as long as stories have been told, we’ve had a peculiar fascination with the wayward among us, with those we call the fools. Our histories are flush with those who stand at the edge of reason, of those who see what others cannot. Among the archetypes, the Greater Fool holds a most special place within the canon. Standing there unphased after the dust and the punchlines settle, the Greater Fool is the one who hangs on when all others let go, the one who turns into the storm when all common sense and foot traffic points the other way. Where the world around them sees only an empty promise, the Greater Fool maintains there is yet worth to be discovered still. Intrepid and unwitting as they may be, they’re also the ones we need. As irony would have it, in every Greater Fool there’s just enough magic to pull us back in their direction. Just enough light for truth to shine an arc of redemption. This is the story of Brad Gobright, one such anomaly who shined for us all a most special and unending light.

Genres: Adventure, Climbing

394 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Shayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rating is not for Brad's story (which I loved reading and learning more about) but more that the writing style was hard to follow. I would've preferred the book to focus solely on Brad and probably 50 pages could've been cut out, if not more. The sentence structure was super complex for a non-fiction book in my opinion and it took away from the experience of reading about Brad's life. The section detailing the El Potrero Chico accident was super emotional for me as it was more detailed than any news articles I ever read and just heartbreaking.

[Sydney Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy tears, sad tears, the whole nine yards. Couldn’t recommend it more.

[Alex Floeckher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great homage to a great person. The end was very difficult to read even though I knew what was coming. RIP Brad

[Nat Vorel · Rating 3 out of 5]

great when he was talking about brads life but goddamn he could’ve left out fifty pages worth of things and achieved the same thing

[Morgan Loomis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the book that killed my book club. We're climbers and we had a hell of a time getting through this book.

[Veronica Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Because, whenever The Impossibility of Being wells up within me; whenever that awareness and its subsequent gratitude bursts upon my consciousness in a euphoric, fell swoop; whenever I look around at all that is and am overcome by the sweet embrace of existence, I know, just for me, that part of my ability to find and hold that truth is because I first saw it in Brad Gobright.”
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when i first tried to read this a couple years ago, i couldn’t - i felt an oddly.. parasocial connection to brad, and it felt like too much emotion for me to hold. i picked it up again recently, and all the messages brads story conveyed were exactly what i needed to hear at exactly that time. absolutely sobbed through the final chapter. i agree with the author - the universe does conspire.

anyways. this was incredible. vulnerable, honest, painful, funny. the penultimate chapter, ‘blue’, was crushing, but also.. respectful. lucas roman did a truly inspiring job of honouring brad - one can only hope to cultivate such love in the hearts of their friends.

[Brian Busby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really happy the author wrote a book to share Brad Gobright's story and I learned a lot from the passages that spoke of his interactions with friends, his notable climbs, his family life, etc. Unfortunately that was only about 50% of the book. The rest was purple prose, fluff, and rampant speculation that really took away from the narrative. It was great to read a quick passage about a fun Brad adventure but to have it followed by three pages discussing how significant it was and how it should teach us to behave in our own lives was excessive. This book really could've used a more ambitious editor.

For anyone interested I suggest you read the introduction to the book on the publisher's webpage or in a bookstore. If you enjoy that sort of prose then you'll probably love the book, and if not, well, don't expect anything different in the remaining chapters.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roman wrote a beautiful tribute to a great climber and beautiful soul. We get more than a sense of who Brad was, we also get a glimpse into the why, the motivations behind the kind of lifestyle a lot of us admire, aspire to, or wish to understand. Roman's use of imagery serves its function well in many passages, while in others, it detracts from the scene/message. And while he had the right, as an author, to put some of himself into the work, I feel he took too much liberty in the final chapter. I honestly ended up skimming that final chapter, unfortunately. It needed a heavier editing hand to cut unnecessary and repetitive parts of the text, as well as to pick up on the grammatical and spelling errors that I found throughout the text. As a side note, I also found it cringe worthy how many times Roman managed to use the word slave.

[Ian Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A carefully told tale of an incredible life, gone too soon. Lucas Roman tenderly navigates the details and stories that make up Brad Gobright. While at times they could wax poetic about the smallest things, by the end of the book I came to love their descriptions. Understanding, in that way they were simply emulating Brad in his own chase for the beauty in this world. Running head first towards it in fact :). An inspiration to so many out there, I’m happy the story of Brads life is available to all. I think we could all find more that one wisdom of truth for ourselves within these pages.

[Nathan Szwarc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a great job of telling the amazing life of Brad Gobright. Brad is a legend a climber who I’ve looked up to for his brashness and fearlessness, but it was comforting to know a lot of times he was just as lost and confused as the rest of us. The writing of this book and times was a little over the top for me maybe too much going on or somewhat hard to follow but just my opinion to each there own.

[Stephen Crutchfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I enjoyed following Brad’s climbing career and was endeared to his casual and silly nature from numerous climbing films. Unfortunately this book was a big disappointment. It really needed an editor. The sentences were unnecessarily complex, and overall the author was too verbose and heavy handed. I couldn’t finish it.

[Colin Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great story of Brad's life overall but I did not care for the author's writing style. Many instances of overly drawn out and abstract concepts being applied to the story. I would have preferred if the book just stuck to the facts. Maybe more small stories from interviews with his climbing partners.

[Nadya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful look inside a life gone too soon that lived with incredible passion, with a profoundly inspiring zest for life. It makes you look at your life and reevaluate your own priorities on how you spend your waking hours. I cannot recommend this read enough.

[Trevor Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great biography of Brad Gobright. Could have done without the rest of the nonsense.

[Genevieve Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly respectful and beautifully writted account of a legend gone too soon. I learned a lot about the man we all think we know

[Oisín Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read that highlights Brads journey but also the toll of his death on family & friends. Often glamorised in documentaries but the real brutality of the aftermath isn’t left out in this.

[Jasmine Paris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really moved. Newly inspired to remain free and present and intrepid and true to my core knowing. I thought, throughout most of the book, that Roman’s writing was far too flowery for my taste; while this is true, the resounding feeling I have upon completing the book is gratitude to Roman for having shared another man’s story in all its heart-wrenchingly human splendor. Not an easy task. Beautiful, inspiring, uplifting.

6.5/10

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was clearly written with a tremendous amount of love and care. It paints an elegant portrait of its subject. It definitely waxes poetic at times, which I could’ve done with a little less of, but all in all I found it to be a beautiful book.