In no other book does Reinhold Messner write so openly about himself, nor does he take such a comprehensive stock of his life. Under the motto "I am what I do," he attempts to get to the essence of his life, not shying away from revealing his own weaknesses. Messner recounts his first money earned as a mountain guide in the Dolomites, the everyday life of a border crosser with a family, his lifelong commitment to nature, and his most formative experiences as an adventurer on the eight-thousanders and in the great sand and ice deserts of the world.