My parents gave me the book as a Christmas present when I was eleven or twelve. Didn't quite have the same effect. I've done tons of hiking and some climbing and mountaineering but none of the serious stuff - too damn scary, not too mention too damn difficult - I have neither the head, nor the balance, nor the muscles for it.  That said, basic climbing is very safe - about the only danger is on a traverse where you can end up turning into a swinging pendulum and slam into some rock; that or at the very beginning if you're climbing lead.