Book Description
When the research team led by Eric Simonson found George Mallory's body high on Everest in 1999, the news made headlines around the world-and ignited intense debate. One question, at least, remained unanswered: What happened to Mallory's partner, Andrew Irvine? In 2001, Simonson's team returned in search of answers among the high camps on Everest's north side. Detectives on Everest is the story of this second expedition, and what it found, including new archeological findings from the early British and Chinese climbs on Everest. It is also the story of an exciting rescue, one that led the climbers to make some important discoveries about their own values. As Dave Hahn , Andy Politz, Tap Richards, and Jason Tanguay, accompanied by Phu Nuru and Fu Dorji, were preparing for their own summit attempt, they discovered that five climbers from two other expeditions were in dire straits on the mountain . Abandoning their ascent plans, the team pulled off one of the highest, most technically difficult rescues in history even as other climbers passed them by, refusing to help.
Although the rescue effectively ended the expedition, it renewed the team's respect for the mountain and its history. It also earned four of the team members and two of the sherpas the David A. Sowles Memorial Award, which the American Alpine Club bestows upon "mountaineers who have distinguished themselves, with unselfish devotion at personal risk or sacrifice of a major objective, in going to the assistance of fellow climbers imperiled in the mountains."
But the story does not end there. Surprisingly, the most tantalizing clue to the mystery of Mallory and Irvine was uncovered not on the mountain-but in Beijing. Shortly after the expedition ended, Hemmleb and Simonson traveled to China to interview climbers from the 1960 and 1975 Chinese expeditions. What they were told might hold the key for future detectives on Everest.
Customer Reviews:
The Latest on the Fate of Mallory and Irvine.......2007-04-02
"Detectives on Everest" is unusual in the mountaineering literature associated with Everest in that it is not about pioneering some new route up the world's highest mountain. Instead, it is the expedition account of the 2001 return to Mount Everest by the team of historical detectives that found George Mallory's body in 1999.
The expedition did not succeed in its primary purpose, to locate the remains of Andrew Irvine, perhaps with a camera and recoverable images that might settle the question of whether Mallory and Irvine reached the summit of Everest in 1924. The expedition did search the Northeast Ridge of Everest, in the process locating many of the old high camps from British and Chinese expeditions and thereby clarifying some history. Sections on Mallory's climbing history in Britain and a superb collection of photographs, descriptions of artifacts, and a history of attempts on Everest via the Northeast Ridge provide some valuable context for the discussion of whether or not Mallory and Irvine were technically capable of reaching the summit of Everest in 1924. The bottom line here remains a question mark.
The most significant relevation may be an interview with the survivors of the 1960 Chinese Expedition, who used the Northeast Ridge and who may have found Irvine's body near one of their high camps. This interview leaves open the possibility that a future search might again locate Irvine's body.
A final section, in which expedition members diverted from a summit attempt to rescue several climbers in trouble on the Northeast Ridge, talks to both the ruthless ethics of climbing in the "death zone" at and above 28,000 feet and the wonder that earlier expeditions with far less equipment and technical expertise got as high as they did.
This book is recommended to fans of the continuing mystery of Mallory and Irvine, and to readers interested in the history of expeditions on Mount Everest.
To the reader.......2004-04-14
Dear reader,
Could you really believe that mountaineers climbing at 29000 fts. during nightime and on unknown terrain without torchlighs are able to reach the summitt of Everest? The point is this and, please, don't try to make me believe that Chineses' accurate report of terrain is genuine, because aerial surveys and photos were made in 1960 too and, moreover, mountaineers could have reached a point between the second step and the summit, but to summit in pitch dark seems too much even for the more optimistic.I'm astounded by the accuracy and by the affection that you, reader, seem to feel for Hemmleb's account: have I reached someone near Jochen or Eric? Maybe I'm not expert in history, but geography tells that South Tirol, that is Alto Adige is within the boundary of Italy, keep an atlas at hand and you'll see that this is not a nation represented at the United Nations Organization and that on Messner's passport it's stamped "Italy"... There are many people in Italy who wants the entire northern part of the Country separated from the rest of us: Would you call an Everest ascent from a Milanese an ascent of Padanian Country? Let me tell you that these particularisms in a time of a united Europe sounds a little parochially-minded and anti-historic. But, I was forgetting... Hemmleb is from Germany, so he is sensible to other German speaking people...
Careful research, careless readers.......2004-04-14
Giancarlo Passarini's review (see below) shows an undercurrent problem certain readers seem to have with the research Hemmleb et al. have done. Passarini doesn't like the possibility that the Chinese climbed Everest in 1960, so he attacks the author and suspects that statements approving of the Chinese claim were a "trade-off" for the information Hemmleb and Simonson received about Irvine. Nonsense! Passarini ignores that "Detectives" is very careful in its analysis of the 1960 Chinese expedition, including qualifying comments such as "Here is the story as the three (Chinese) later put it on record" (p. 156) or "Of the terrain (between the Second Step and the summit) the Chinese could provide only verbal descriptions" (p. 157) - all a far cry from flatly stating "the Chinese did it", as Passarini thinks the book has done. If careful, distinguished research is treated this way, the fault doesn't lie with the author but with the reader. (As for the issue of "South Tyrol", a more impartial view of its history and semi-autonomous status is advisable, but is beyond the scope of this review)
Marking Time While Finding History.......2002-12-01
This is a most significant book which fills in much of the detail about the early British expeditions to the North Face of Mount Everest. Yes, the 2001 climb failed to locate Irving's body and with it the missing cameras which may determine for once and all whether or not Mallory and Irvine did reach the summit in June of 1924. But the 2001 Expedition did uncover the several of the camps used by these early climbs and Hemmleb recounts how this makes our understanding of these early expeditions much more complete than it previously was. For instance, Hemmleb describes how it can now be determined that Mallory did not relocate his high camp, a point of great interest to and debate among Everest scholars for decades. And, what is most crucial in this book is Hemmleb's description of the patient and persistent work with veterans of the earlier Chinese climbs which has made the future location of Irvine's remains much more likely -- including a revelation that the Chinese had located Irvine's body not just in 1975 but also in 1960. Jochen Hemmleb is to be congratulated for his clear and concise writing, his brilliant scholarship, and the dogged devotion which keeps bringing him back to uncover ever more secrets, however reluctantly surrendered, on the 1921, 1922, and 1924 British expeditons. And this book, in short, is a necessary read for all with even a peripheral interest in the history of Mount Everest and of these early expeditions. Bravo, Jochen!
Detectives on Everest.......2002-10-21
After reading "Into Thin Air" I wanted more.....but this book was nothing but a "he said, she said". Very poor writing style and the facts were not even correct. 12 people perished in 1996...wonder about the other facts....a historian?
Average customer rating:
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Climbing Everest
George Leigh Mallory
Manufacturer: Gibson Square Books Ltd
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Amazon.com
The issue will shortly be decided. The third time we walk up East Rongbuk Glacier will be the last, for better or worse.
George Mallory wrote those words in May 1924, just days before he and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine made their final attempt to summit Mount Everest. They disappeared on June 8, 1924, and mystery has swirled around them ever since. Did they reach the summit, 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary?
The recovery of Mallory's body in May 1999 provoked more questions than it answered. Clearly Mallory fell and then died of exposure. But was he on his way up or down? David Breashears (of IMAX Everest fame) and mountaineering historian Audrey Salkeld devote a thoughtful chapter to the discovery, examining the clues found with Mallory and speculating on his experiences on that fateful day. As is to be expected, however, Breashears and Salkeld leave it to others (including Conrad Anker and Jochen Hemmleb) to make conclusions; their book is about much more than Mallory's disappearance. Last Climb is an affectionate biography of Mallory, his fellow climbers, and their three Everest expeditions. Diaries and letters written by expedition members bring their voices into the present, while the authors' considerable Everest expertise ensures historical accuracy. Dozens of vintage photographs taken by Mallory and the other expedition members illustrate the text, revealing a time when "gentlemen mountaineers climbed in leather boots and tweeds"--their gear better suited to a bright day in the Scottish highlands than the slopes of Everest.
The morbid-minded may be disappointed that the only photograph of Mallory's remains is of his hobnailed boot, but others may see this as a mark of respect for the great climber. Beautifully presented and carefully written, Last Climb is easily the classiest book on the Mallory mystery. --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
From renowned Everest mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears and historian Audrey Salkeld, comes the first lavishly illustrated account of Englishman George Mallory's 1920's Everest expeditions, including the ill-fated 1924 attempt with Andrew Irvine to be the first to summit Everest. Included are rare, never-before-published archival photographs, as well as an account of the recent, sensational discovery of Mallory's body, 75 years after his disappearance.
The question of whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached the summit of Everest in June 1924, thirty years before Edmund Hillary remains one of the great mysteries of twentieth century exploration. That mystery was partially solved on May 3, 1999 when the body of George Mallory was found on a rocky ledge about 2,000 feet below the summit. But was he on the way up, or down, when he died in a fall? David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld have culled remarkably evocative archival photography from Mallory's expeditions to Everest and, by virtue of their long familiarity with Everest, bring a uniquely insightful perspective to this dramatic story.
The world's tallest mountain, lying on the border between Tibet and Nepal-though it had been identified since 1856 and its summit was distantly visible as a small bump on the Himalayan horizon from the Indian hill station of Darjeeling-had remained remote because both countries were at the time strictly out of bounds to travelers. Having negotiated permission to enter Tibet, three expeditions in the 1920s (1921, 1922, 1924) succeeded in surveying and mapping territory unknown to outsiders, and climbing to heights above 28,000 feet-and just maybe all the way to the top of Mount Everest. All in all, while it was a magnificent achievement, these first three ventures cost the lives of at least twelve men. These brave explorers brought home the magnificent images of Himalayan mountains and a medieval way of life on the roof of the world, which are dramatically showcased in this book. AUTHOR BIO: David Breashears is a world-class filmmaker and mountaineer, who has worked on such feature films as Seven Years in Tibet and the award-winning documentary Red Flag over Tibet. In 1983 he transmitted the first live pictures from the summit of Mount Everest. Breashears is the recipient of four Emmy awards for his achievements in cinematography. In 1987 he directed and produced the documentary film, "Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine." In 1996, he co-directed, photographed, and co-produced the acclaimed IMAX large-format film Everest, and contributed his still photographs from that climb, as well as a foreword, to the best-selling National Geographic book Everest: Mountain Without Mercy. David is largely credited with spearheading rescue efforts during the harrowing tragedy of May 10, 1996. The first American to summit Mount Everest twice, he has made four successful ascents of the world's highest mountain. David Breashears is the author of High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places, recently published by Simon & Schuster. Audrey Salkeld maintains one of the most comprehensive private archives on mountaineering. She has written the scripts for a number of films including David Breashears' The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine, for which she took part in Tom Holzel's 1986 expedition and climbed to the North Col of Everest. With Holzel she is the author of The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine. She is also the author of the highly acclaimed book on her Himalayan travels in Mustang and Tibet, People in High Places.
Customer Reviews:
The book from the people who failed to find Mallory.......2001-06-22
For those of you who read "Into Thin Air" and were somewhat fascinated by the story of George Mallory's attempts to climb Everest in the 1920's and the later rumor of the discovery of his body by a Chinese climber in 1975, then this book will only heighten your interest.
I had thought about buying this book, but I came across it at the public library and checked it out. I'm kinda glad I didn't buy it, because the text isn't that well written--people are referred to by their last name and then formally introduced several pages later, some details are left out, other details are repeated, etc.--but the photographs from the 1920's expeditions and of the items recovered from Mallory's body are absolutely captivating. It just fascinates me to no end to think about these guys making the first attempts to climb Everest, experimenting with oxygen tanks, and reaching a height on Everest not surpassed until the 1950's.
I think the main problem with the book is this: the authors had made two expeditions to find Mallory's body in 1986 and 1995. They were unsuccessful. Another team was successful in 1999; this was documented in a PBS/NOVA documentary and they have their own book, which deals more with the discovery of the body. It seems like the authors of this book pulled out the material they had been working on and wrapped it up somewhat hurriedly to capitalize on the publicity (as another reviewer has also noted). So they don't talk much about their own attempts to find Mallory, and they don't talk enough about the successful team's discovery of his body (because they weren't there).
A pictorial history of British Everest Expeditions.......2000-12-20
There are many books on the market dealing with the summit attempts of George Leigh Mallory. No one tome has yet encapsulated the adventures to stand out as the consummate work. It will be necessary to read several books to lay claim to being fully informed. The great strength of LAST CLIMB is in its wonderful collection of vintage photographs from the 1920's British Everest Expedition and its members. Its one thing to read of gentlemen climbers in tweed and quite another to see it, a picture being worth a thousand words and all that. The many dozens of photographs, some taken by Mallory himself, breath life into a much exhausted realm of discussion. Mallory was an aesthete and I believe he would not want his story to be told in the mere blandness of words but exhorted on the artistic level provided by the beautiful photography collected here. Hats off to MR. Breashears and Ms. Salkeld for presenting these heroes in all their glory.
Excellent visual history..........2000-10-24
It states in the prologue that this book was started prior to the discovery of Mallory's body on Mt. Everest. With that said, after reading it; I'm of the impression that it was completed quickly and rushed into print after finding the body so it could sell the maximum number of copies.
I've now read what I think are all the post discovery expedition books. This is an excellent book. There are wonderful pictures of the early British expeditions which are not found in other books and the writing was concise and tried to cover all areas. After reading it, the historical aspects seems to be a greatly pared down version from Audrey Salkeld's previous book with Tom Holzel "The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine".
Overall this is a wonderful coffee table book. It covers Mallory's history with Everest; has plenty of 1920's photographs; a section on how he went into legend like he did: pictures of what was removed from the body and a section which reviews the clues based on where the body was found and what he had on his person. If you have a casual interest in the topic, this is a great book to choose. If you are looking for something a bit more involved, try the aforementioned "The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine" by Tom Holzel and Audrey Salkeld. Looking for a book on the history of the expedition to find clues on the disappearance? The exclusive team story is in "Ghosts of Everest". Conrad Anker's version is in "The Lost Explorer" (he's the one who actually found Mallory's body). My favorite of the expedition books however, was "Lost on Everest" by Peter Firstbrook. It covers historical background on Mallory and the early Everest expeditions in more of a conversational yet detailed manner, and this I found overall the most intriguing.
Look elsewhere for the story of the "Last Climb".......2000-03-12
I bought this book thinking that it was written to accompany the wonderful television programme I saw about a 1999 expedition to Everest to discover what became of Mallory and Irvine. It is not.
The book is well presented book and nicely bound. The most attractive aspect of the book is the 1920's photographs; they are very evocative of a lost era when parts of the earth were distant and unexplored. However it is not particularly well written and the discussion of the mystery of Mallory and Irvine's fate is unclear and ineffective. It does not shed light on its subject, and I have had to look elsewhere for that. Poorly served by maps and diagrams it leaves the reader struggling to appreciate the terrain, routes and location of camps. It's weakest point is where the authors try to recreate the last climb by describing what was going through the head of Mallory; this is very unconvincing, not least because no attempt is made to take into account the character of men with English public school backgrounds (to my mind, a key factor). Thus the book fails at the point which is of most interest.
In conclusion, a nice book to browse through thanks to the photographs (hence the 3 stars) but otherwise unsatisfactory.
Captivating tale of adventure........2000-02-12
I have read pieces of information about the legendary early expeditions of Mt. Everest and therefor really wanted to read this book. From the start to finish I found this book to be well researched and written. I very much enjoyed the photographs. Now I am curious about the other books written about George Mallory. This book made the men of the expedition come alive.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating Read.......2007-03-26
I was only vaguely familiar with the story of Mallory and Irvine before reading this. Hemmelb does a nice job of interweaving the story of Mallory's 1924 attempt at Everest with that of the 1999 expedition that went in search of his body. For anyone interested in Everest and the history of attempts to climb it, I can recommend this book highly.
DID THEY OR DIDN'T THEY?..........2002-06-08
This is a beautifully and lavishly illustrated, textually rich book. Its pages demand the reader's undivided attention and are sure to enthrall all mystery lovers, Everest aficionados, nostalgia junkies, history buffs, and climbing enthusiasts. This book is sure to provide the reader with many hours of enjoyment.
The book chronicles the search for George Mallory and Andrew Irvine by the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition. It juxtaposes the dramatic turn of events during their expedition with those of the 1924 British Everest Expedition which saw Mallory and Irvine attempt a summit climb, only to disappear into the mists of Everest, never to be seen again. It makes for a spell binding narrative, as past events are woven through present day ones.
The 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition was a meticulously well prepared and well organized venture. With its discovery of George Leigh Mallory's body, it enjoyed much success. The research and analysis that went into its ultimate, well thought out conclusions were comprehensive and fascinating, with its strong reliance upon forensics and deductive reasoning. Their reconstruction of Mallory's and Irvine's last climb is riveting. Unfortunately, the ultimate question still remains unanswered. Did they or did they not reach the summit of Mount Everest back in 1924?
The beautiful photographs of the personal effects found upon Mallory's person underscore a certain poignancy about the discovery of Mallory's well preserved body. The photographs which memorialize this discovery are amazingly lovely and tasteful, considering its subject matter, and hauntingly illustrate the finality with which Everest may deal with mountaineers, no matter how accomplished.
The photographs also highlight how ill equipped for the harsh climatic conditions were the early Everest expeditions. It is amazing, and a credit to those early expeditioners' courage and fortitude, in braving such an inhospitable and harsh terrain with the inadequate clothing and equipment available to them at the time. Mallory and Irvine were certainly intrepid explorers!
This book is a fitting tribute to two men who sought to make a historic summit and, in their attempt, would forever be a part of Everest.
Mystery solved!--OR IS IT??.......2001-11-30
If you have ever wondered what happened to the best climber ever to set foot on this earth, and the brave wonderful man who disappeared with him, this is your book! A group of courageous men set out to solve this question in 1999, 75 years after the mysterious disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. And what they find will chill you to your very bones! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Mt. Everest and all brave but foolhardy ventures.
Book Description
- Includes never-before-published letters and photographs
- The mystery of Mallory and Irvine continues to capture public imagination
- Written by an Irvine family member
Mallory and Irvine. These two names have been inextricably joined since the two climbers disappeared on Mount Everest more than seventy-five years ago. Mallory's story has been well chronicled, but Irvine has always been overshadowed by his more famous climbing partner. Little has been written about him until now. Who was he? Why was he invited by the British Everest Committee to join the 1924 expedition despite his limited mountaineering experience? And why did Mallory, sixteen years his senior, select Irvine as his partner for the final assult on the summit? Julie Summers, great niece of Sandy Irvine, has been fascinated since childhood by the story of "Uncle Sandy." In May 2000, Julie made an astonishing discovery: a long forgotten and unopened trunk containing Irvine's letters nad photographs from Everest. Drawing on these and other material, Julie writes a revealing story of a fearless young adventurer whose life and death linked him with one of the greatest mountaineering legends of all time.
Customer Reviews:
yawn.......2003-03-22
I'm afraid I have to disagree with other reviewers of this book. The writing is often awkward and grammatically challenged (to use a current euphemism). And Sandy Irvine comes across as a rather ordinary young man, self centered, good at sports, and good with his hands, but lacking in any sort of intellectual sophistication. It was this very sophisitcation and intellectualism that made Mallory the interesting figure he remains. Had Mallory been a mere hearty, he would have far less interesting. In contrast to Mallory, Irvine strikes one as eactly what this biography tries to convince one he was not, i.e., a follower who had little idea of what Mallory was leading him into.
Because of Irvine's commoness and the bad writing (Where oh where was an editor!?), this is hardly worth the time, and certainly not worth the money.
Excellent reading!.......2001-07-09
This is a very well-written and researched book. It provides an introspective and analytical look into the man of mystery on the expedition...Sandy Irvine. The photos, family anecdotes, and treasure trove of memorabilia recently discovered provided a full and satisfying read. You can't know all about the 1924 expedition until you know about what made Sandy Irvine tick.
An intensely personal, candid, and informative account.......2001-05-22
Fearless On Everest: The Quest For Sandy Irvine is an intensely personal, candid, and informative account of the life of a young man who died at the age of 22 while on an expedition to climb Mt. Everest. Written with a narrative smoothness that completely engages the reader's attention, biographer and Irvine family member Julie Summers includes newly discovered letters and photographs and specifically addresses a long-debated question in mountaineering circles: Why did George Leigh Mallory choose the young, less-experienced Andrew Irvine as his partner on so hazardous an enterprise? Also very highly recommended for mountaineering enthusiasts are three related titles from Mountaineers Books addresses the doomed Mallory-Irvine expedition: Ghosts Of Everest: The Search For Mallory & Irvine (699-5, $.....); The Mystery Of Mallory & Irvine: Fully Revised Edition (726-6, $.....); The Wildest Dream: The Biography Of George Mallory (741-X, $......).
Fearless on Everest.......2001-03-31
Julie Summers sensitive telling of the story of Sandy Irvine is not only a great read, but is written with intelligence, grace and wit. Irvine's personality looms large in the book, and the reader is easily captivated by his infectious personality. Explorer, lover, adventurer, journalist -- one can easily imagine Summer's Irvine on the silver sceen, portrayed by Harrison Ford or Mel Gibson. This wonderful book will be enjoyed by climbers, mountaineers, armchair explorers and laypeople alike. A real tour de force, the only question that arises after reading is: who is going to option it, and when is the movie coming out?
The true picture of Sandy Irvine.......2001-02-27
Sandy Irvine has always been portrayed as Mallory's shadow, the bit player who followed the great man without question. If you read this book you will no longer be asking yourself 'Why Sandy Irvine?'. The answer is self explanatory. This man had personality, a history, humour and ambition. For the brief time he was on the expedition to the mountain, Everest was his peak as much as it ever was Mallory's. But there is more to Irvine than one might previously have thought: he was not only a great oarsman, rowing in the Oxford winning boat of 1923, and an intrepid explorer of the arctic, but he was also the passionate lover of his best friend's stepmother. Julie Summers pulls no punches, she does not allow her family allegiance to cloud her own vision and excellent research. Read this book to find out about the other half of the greatest mountaineering partnership of all time. I guarantee you will smile, more than once.
Amazon.com
In 1924, a 37-year-old English schoolmaster and war veteran named George Mallory bid farewell to his beloved wife and children and went off to Tibet, where he intended to climb the north face of Mount Everest, a feat that had never been achieved. He was warned that the approach might not be attainable--and that, in any event, humans might not be able to survive at such altitudes without oxygen. But in that fine British spirit of dauntlessness, Mallory pressed on all the same, and he and his novice companion Andrew Irvine did not survive.
When Mallory's frozen body was found on the high slopes of Everest in 1999, it touched off a wave of interest in the question of whether he had reached the top before falling to his death--which, if so, would unseat Edmund Hillary's 1953 expedition as the first to summit. Peter and Leni Gillman, themselves mountaineers, hint that he did, drawing on evidence that is at best circumstantial but compelling all the same. Their interest in this biography, however, is to provide a more complete picture of Mallory as a man of his time, who was a familiar among the Bloomsbury set of writers, a loving husband and father, an accomplished scholar and teacher, and a modest hero who, though not technically the best climber of his time, never refused a challenge. The Gillmans acquit themselves in this task very well, and they offer a fascinating reconstruction of what they imagine to be Mallory's last moments on earth. Their book makes a fine companion to Conrad Anker and David Roberts's The Lost Explorer and David Breashears and Audrey Salkeld's Last Climb. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
- Chronicles all three of Mallory's Everest expeditions
- Illuminates how Mallory reconciled his ambitions on Everest with his unquestioned love for his wife and family
Since the discovery in 1999 of George Mallory's body on Everest, controversy has raged over whether Mallory and Andrew Irvine could have summitted the mountain. Every detail of the climb has been dissected and Mallory's skill as a mountaineer has been hotly debated. Observing the debate, Peter and Leni Gillman felt that the essence of who Mallory was as an individual had been lost. In The Wildest Dream they offer the most comprehensive biography ever written about one of the twentieth century's most intriguing personalities.
Exploring Mallory's early years, the Gillman's take the reader to Cambridge and Bloomsbury where Mallory consorted with some of the most colorful literary and artistic figures of Edwardian England: Rupert Brooke, James and Lytton Strachey, Maynard and Geoffrey Keynes, and Duncan Grant, among others. The Wildest Dream moves on to examine exactly what Mallory accomplished as a climber, evaluating the quality of his routes and skills within the context of climbing in the early 1900s.
At the heart of this biography, and of Mallory's life, is his wife, Ruth. The letters they exchanged during the many separations caused by World War I and three Everest expeditions reveal the depth of their commitment to each other and the unwavering support and strength Ruth offered George. The Everest expeditions are also insightfully rendered, offering perspective on criticisms levied at Mallory after the 1921 and 1922 attempts. The authors examine how Mallory, a dedicated husband and father, arrived at his fateful decision to participate in the doomed 1924 expedition and why he continued to press for a summit attempt when the odds seemed stacked against him. As Mallory once declared, a climber was what he was, and this is what climbers did; this was how they fulfilled their wildest dreams.
Customer Reviews:
I could not have been more disappointed.......2004-07-29
I could not have been more disappointed. I have read many books on Mt Everest and other mountains. I love the subject. I also love the legends and stories of the early explorers and the more recent adventures on this mountain.
For this reason, I could not have been more disappointed with this book. The author goes to great lengths to try to prove that Mallory was a homosexual or Bisexual. Page upon page is devoted to this issue and just when you think, "okay we got that out of the way, now can we read more about the man and his experiences" the author launches into yet another episode that "proves" Mallory had sex with men. I just kept thinking, "okay, who cares about that," can we get past that.
I finally got so sick of the whole thing, probably because I was so excited to read about Mallory's mountain climbing life, that I gave up.
Don't waist your money on this book unless you want to read all about Mallory's relationships with other men that just might prove he was gay....and then again, maybe he was just a guy who had some male friends.
PS. I am not a homophone, just not interested in dwelling on the issue.
Primarily About The Man Not The Mountain.......2001-01-18
This biography of George Mallory written by Peter and Leni Gillman is excellent. It is exactly what it claims to be, so while climbing must be a part of any book about Mr. Mallory, this really is about the person who was a climber. This book ranges over his whole life; this is not an "Everest Book". The book does extensively document an enormous number of climbs he made, the first ascents, and of course the years he spent in his attempt to conquer Everest. The book does explore the question of whether or not he and his climbing partner Sandy Irvine were the first to Summit Everest, however like all other positions, the final proof is lacking and may or may not ever be found.
If you are looking for a great book on its own, or as a companion to this work, "Ghosts of Everest: The Search For Mallory And Irvine", is excellent. This second book is a documentary of the expedition for the answers to the fate of the two climbers, and it is extremely well done. "The Wildest Dream" also does much to clarify the rock climbing abilities of Mr. Mallory, which some historians have called into question, and have used as a basis for their position he never made it. Both these books (for this non-climber) put this issue to rest.
This book explores Mr. Mallory as a Family man, a Father, a Soldier, as well as the skills for which History remembers him. The Biography explored the vast differences between climbing as a sport today, and climbing as an activity dominated by a class system, that at times increased the danger of their activities. With any comparison today, the equipment, the risks that were taken, and the weather they survived with their primitive clothing, is nearly beyond belief. That Mallory, Irvine, and others reached such heights on Everest is nothing short of a type, effort, and endurance that put one in awe of these men.
The book also deals with those who coped with the extremely long absences these attempts required. Mallory's Wife and Family played a large if intermittent role in his shortened life, they stood by and waited for him through World War I, and his Mountaineering. We gain insight into Mallory the Professor, and other aspects of his life that were unknown to me.
After all the reading I have done it has become less an issue for me of whether the final piece of that last climb was completed. It is likely we may never know. But what Mallory and his friends did was so extraordinary, and so many years prior to the summit being reached, in many ways the final mystery may be more of a curiosity for the ages. For I believe what they did do, secures their place in History as extraordinary people.
An extremely interesting, and well-documented Biography.
The Wildest Dream.......2000-10-28
I absolutely loved this book. It was wonderful to read about the whole man, from his childhood to his young years, his family, his marriage and finally his travels and climbs to Everest and of course the times in which this happened. The title is so poetic and wonderfully fitting. He was not an obsessed loner but someone who shared many interests with other great women and men of his time. As a mother of children who are just starting out in school, I was surprised and interested in his teaching methods and musings about education and schooling. Some of his thoughts are mine exactly and this is almost 100 years later. He was a great writer and reading his letters is a pleasure in itself. I wish there would be a publication of all this writings. While his homosexual exploration certainly belongs to a full bio, I find the whole sexuality discussion rather unnecessary. I think his marriage and more so his and Ruth's relationship in itself is proof - at least to me - that George Leigh Mallory was not homosexual. I feel very sad for Ruth as her life turned out to be one of suffering. She lost her mother so early, then her husband and finally, just when she found happiness again, she does not get to live it out.
I am puzzled by how easily the authors dismiss Mallory's technical abilities as insufficient for having made it to the top. While these first climbers may have certainly been inadequately dressed for the environment, I don't believe for a minute that these men were not fit or accomplished enough compared to today's climbers. Weeks on a boat, then travelling essentially on foot and horses made them fit enough (probably also by being able to acclimatize themselves for a much longer period than today)for any crack at the summit. This is a book about a man who dared to live his wildest dream against - finally - all odds and this story is worth being told.
Excellent read.......2000-09-15
Being someone with no interest in rock climbing, I doubted that I'd enjoy this book. Thank goodness I took the plunge anyway. Even if you have never seen a rock, this biography on George Mallory is a riviting read. Much emphasis is given to his early life as a school teacher, feminist, and friend to such luminaries as Duncan Grant, Robert Frost and Maynard Keynes. I cannot say enough about this lovely book.
"The" bio of Mallory.......2000-08-30
The subtitle bills this book as "THE" Biography of Mallory, implying that it's intended to be definitive, and it is. The authors are especially thorough in their discussion of Mallory's sexuality, a subject that other biographies either ignore (like the proverbial elephant in the living room) or equivocate on. Their study of letters of the Bloomsbury set (including Mallory's own) pretty much settles the issue: the cover photograph is perhaps a hint of the revelations to come. The book concentrates on Mallory's personal life more than on the details of his last climb (readers interested in the vexed debate over whether he made the summit or not will be better served by Anker and Robert's or Hemmleb's books), but one couldn't ask for a better treatment of Mallory's character. One oddity: the index entries relating to pages 20-40 are jumbled (see, e.g. the entry for Graham Irving), perhaps indicating that major changes were made in this section after the book was in page proof? A puzzlement!
Amazon.com
For three quarters of a century, adventure enthusiasts around the globe have speculated about the fate of British mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Did they reach the peak of Mount Everest before disappearing on June 6, 1924? How did they die? What was their fatal mistake? In 1999, the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition set out to answer these questions by retracing the steps of the doomed climbers, and in The Ghosts of Everest, they share their findings. William Nothdurft has gracefully woven the testimonies of expedition members Jochen Hemmleb, Eric Simonson, and Larry Johnson, all the while counterpointing the modern ascent with a captivating reconstruction of what befell the earlier one. There are also stunning photographs, which manage to be inspiring and beautiful and gruesome--occasionally all at once. And while it's impossible to establish exactly what happened to Mallory and Irvine, this account is persuasive enough to fascinate rock climbers and couch potatoes alike. --Melissa Asher
Book Description
GHOSTS OF EVEREST unravels one of the most puzzling and compelling adventure mysteries of all time. On June 6, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Comyn Irvine were only a few hundred feet short of becoming the first men to reach the highest spot on earth when they simply walked into the mist, never to be seen again. Did they reach the summit of Mount Everest - nearly three decades before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? This is the meticulous report of both the 1924 British Expedition and the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition which found George Mallory's body and answers to the questions that have plagued historians and mountaineers alike: Did they make it? And, if they did, what happened to them?
"...a work of historic importance that reads like a detective thriller..." (Publishers Weekly)
Customer Reviews:
Giving Up the Ghosts.......2007-09-04
We were only expecting a crude documentary about the Mallory/Irvine climb and subsequent search. However, the authors provided a quality read - well organized and supported by quality color photographs. Respectability was added to the events from this book, offering varying possibilities of what might have happened on the mountain, minus the normal excitability surrounding Mallory/Irvine. We'll keep this as a good reference; almost coffee table quality.
A Celebration of Great Daring With Woeful Resources.......2007-01-20
With their splendid book "Ghosts of Everest," the authors have taken up the gauntlet of attempting to determine whether or not Mallory & Irvine reached the summit of Mt. Everest on June 8th, 1924, before perishing on the descent. The authors provide a fascinating and hugely-detailed description of the fatal climb, and of the Simonson expedition which discovered Mallory. The layout, photography, graphical and sheer physical qualities of the book are to the highest standards.
The front half of the book describes the 1999 expedition, a tale that begins like many of this genre. The difference in Ghosts becomes quickly apparent. This is not your bunch of good old boys undertaking a task of simple conquest. Instead, they are only the second expedition since WW-II launched expressly to find the body and camera of the two British climbers, with the intent of finding out how far they got. The authors do their best, as have other researchers (including this reviewer) to put M&I on the summit. Historians--and scientists--are more like trial lawyers than we like to admit. In order to investigate anything complex, it is far more fruitful to assume an answer and try to prove it, than to disguise ones passion under the guise of unrealizable objectivity. Once your claims are out in the open, you hope they will prove sound. But there is no need to worry--there will always be plenty of critics who will try to deflate what they may see as overreaching theories.
In order for anyone to put M&I on the summit, three essential aspects of their climb must be proven, or at least shown to be reasonably possible:
1. Mallory & Irvine had to have taken three bottles of oxygen, otherwise they would not have had enough time to reach the top. On this all climbers, pro or con, agree, including the authors. At high attitudes oxygen doubles or triples climbing speed, and on the long route of their summit assault, they would have needed all of the twelve-hours of oxygen three bottles of their system was capable of delivering. While modern climbers have reached the summit without oxygen this, like the four-minute mile, is a recent feat, achieved by highly-trained and physically rare climbers in peak condition, fully hydrated, carrying/wearing the most modern equipment and--most importantly--following a known route that is roped over the difficult sections.
2. They had to be able to attain the summit pyramid, either by climbing the difficult Second Step, or via the Great Couloir and then to the summit during a bitter two-hour long snow squall, and then descent at night without lights or climbing hardware, using only their 100-ft rope in order to reach the site of their fall-Irvine's ice ax.
3. They had to be physically, mentally and materially capable of achieving this tremendously arduous task. According to this scenario, the entire climb would have taken at least 15 hours (~6 AM start, ~5 PM summit, ~9 PM fall)--and likely much longer--by climbers who were horribly under-equipped. Under-equipped not so much in the sense of inadequate preparation (although there was that), but so desperately under-equipped in the terrible paucity of their equipment--inadequate clothing against the frigid wind, chronically dehydrated due to pathetically inadequate stoves, all the while forging an uncharted route with no climbing aids other than rope and ice axes. During their climb they would have encountered a bitter two-hour snow squall and had to avoid getting lost in spite of having left their compass, flares and lights behind.
Put this way, and based on what the Simonson Expedition learned of the character of the Mallory route, it is difficult for today's Everesters to see how any arrangement of the known facts can be realistically arranged to put the men on top, but the authors have made a heavily researched attempt to do just that. They have done so by applying Jochen Hemmleb's encyclopedic store of knowledge and research about the early Everest climbs, and combined that with the new facts learned from the discovery of Mallory's body. Their technique is to take every possibility, no matter how faint or unlikely that is necessary for the two to have reached the top, and muster evidence to show that that is what could have happened. By cutting and pasting these snippets to fit their chosen scenario, they have painted a beguiling picture of possible success. Wisely, they publicly suggest only that the two may have made it to the top, or that they had every opportunity to have made it to the top. But their true belief is tipped when they assert:
"Is there any evidence to suggest that Mallory and Irvine reached the summit of Everest in 1924? And the answer was : No. What seemed to have escaped the attention of many observers, however, was that there was another equally salient question with an equally unequivocal answer: Is there any evidence to suggest that M&I did not reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924? The answer here too was: No."
Unfortunately, this type of reasoning--claiming as success the inability to disprove a negative--colors much of the authors' evidence. They sincerely believe that anything that would have helped M&I to the summit could have happen--because they could have got to the summit! By this means, The authors have constructed a complicated house of cards that crumbles when the missing and overwhelming reality of the mountain is restored to their blueprint.
The maddening thing is that in spite of all the new information so ably depicted in "Ghosts," the most the experts can say is that, if before the discovery it was only unlikely Mallory & Irvine made it to the top, now it seems unlikely in the extreme. Only the discovery of 1924 artifacts well above the Second Step could revive this slim possibility. Since the first oxygen bottle was purposefully wedged in a rock clef to be found as a marker of their progress, it seems more than likely that the two would have stashed their large oxygen carrying frame at the point these were abandoned--if such a lodgment were available. On the route Breashears suggests, there may have been no such outcropping. But given how desperately under-equipped they were, unless the oxygen apparatus' are found on the summit ridge itself, the chances of their having reached the summit seem very low indeed.
Before the discovery of the body and its confirmation that the two climbers were roped (and thus did not split up to give Mallory a better solo chance), one could surmise a 25% to 50% chance that at least one of them made it. Mallory gave himself only a 50 to 1 chance against success. With the discovery of the body and the confirmation that the two remained roped, and with the first objective calibration of the technical difficulty of the Second Step terrain determined, one is obliged by a clear and straightforward assessment of these hard facts to conclude, most reluctantly, that their chances for success were no better than 1000 to 1 against. Such a pity.
A Lesson on How Money is Replacing Adventure.......2004-02-16
This book allowed me to analyse why I have not read too many books on Mtn Climbing in the past few years. I am a climber and the genre was important to me for a big part of my life. Reading through this book made me realise how much climbing has not only changed from the days of Mallory, but even from the old siege operations in the 70s. Today the emphasis on gaining money and the machinations and business tactics that go into getting the dosh to go, take up not only the majority of the time making the ascent, but also the majority of the time (and lines of writing) in most mountain literature published these days.
Gone is the old style adventure: 1) adventure-for-the-sheer-fun-of-it, Joe Brown, Don Whillans; 2) adventure-of-the-tortured-soul, Eric Shipton, Joe Simpson; 3) adventure for Imperial gain, Capt Noel, Sven Hedin, or the early British Expeditions to Everest, (though to be fair, it is hard to ressurect this particular genre) and; even the 4) adventure-to-be-the-first-to-do-something, Bonnington and Hertzog, is relegated to second place -- now adventure takes second place to how much money and designer deals for broadcast rights and publisher exclusives can be done before, during and after the point when all the adventure takes place.
As such this book is very symptomatic of this new genre. There is all sorts of vignettes of the evil BBC and it reps and the business concerns of all the others who made crucial decisions tying their business fates to this expedition --- too much of this and too little detail both of the original British Expeditions the search expedition this books puports to write about. There is also precious little route description, how the route was put up and the actual "thrill" of the hunt to find Mallory. Fully one-third of the book deals with these machinations.
Even the people that the authors palpably do not like get off lightly. All of the people they like are usually gifted with some god-like aspect of physical prowess --- eg. barrel-chested, large arms etc. For those who have read Chris Bonnington's books on any of his expeditions, the slow burning personality problems that manifest themselves on so many of these expeditions are conspicuous by their absence in this book.
In sum I liked the book. The good parts are two, and only two in my estimation: 1) the find of Mallory's body and 2) the ascent of the last ridge by the search party members. It is no coincidence that these two subjects are raw adventure and have nothing to do with gaining money or searching to personally skewer someone's personality.
I am glad I read it. But as an inspiration for further reading in the contemporary mountaineering genre, this book is symptomatic of how far the adventure genre has fallen, particularly in the past 10 yrs or so. Maybe you will like it. Maybe you will not. I am the kind of person who trekked the subsidiary valleys around Mt. Everest, but I would not go to Everest base camp --too many people, too much garbage and too many people following the populistic mantra of what passes for adventure writing these days... like the valleys around Everest these days, this genre has been tamed, beaten into submission, and transformed into a pablum for mass consumption. Better to settle down and re-read the Hertzog or Bonnington Classics.
INSPIRING STORY OF A MAN'S DREAM, MYSTERY OF HIS FATE.......2003-03-23
The book is focused on the search conducted to find out what happened to Mallory and Irvine, the two British climbers who disappeared on Everest in the 1930s. Mallory is basically a legend in mountaineering.
The authors tell the story of their own search expedition by making it parallel to Mallory's. For example, we see the logistics it took this expedition in 1999 to get everyhitng to Everest base camp. In contrast, we see the long trek the expedition in the 1930s had to face, with sickness and much more difficult terrain and logistics. It was amazing that they had the energy to climb once they got to base camp.
The book switches between a technical archeology mystery and the history known of the expedition. It is very interesting to see the 1999 expedition trace back the steps of the earlier one. We see the tremendous difficulties they went through in the 1930s, with clothing that was hardly appropriate and the best equipment at the time.
Ultimately, the authors find Mallory's body, but it is still not clear if he reached the summit before falling. He fell and broke a knee, which is a death sentence at that altitude. Irvine was not found. The book ends with the authors making their own summit bid, and only two of them making it.
This is one of the best mountaineering books, especially as it brings in the mystery of what happened. I highly recommend it for the armchair mountaineer.
Like climbing a mountain worth climbing!.......2003-01-27
This effort starts out a bit lackluster and overweighted with
facts, statistics and hyper technically overloaded with how the research expedition got started, who ate what and who arranged for this and that. Once the authors put the reader "on the mountain" with pictures and text, the book and the adventure makes it all worth the effort to have stayed with the book. It is a bit like climbing a mountain...it can't all be a spectacular view from the summit! For those interested in the history of climbing in the Himalaya this is worthy of your interest and should be read.
Book Description
On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared somewhere near the summit of Mount Everest, leaving open the tantalizing question of whether they had reached the summit of Everest twenty-nine years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. In 1999, climber Conrad Anker discovered Mallory's body on Everest and helped solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of adventure and exploration. In The Lost Explorer, Anker and historian David Roberts craft a dramatic account of the expeditions of 1924 and 1999, and ultimately capture the passion and spirit of two men driven to test themselves against nature at its most brutal.
Download Description
On June 8, 1924, George Leigh Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine were last seen climbing toward the summit of Mt. Everest. Clouds soon closed around them, and they vanished into history. Ever since, mountaineers have wondered whether they reached the summit, twenty-nine years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. On May 1, 1999, Conrad Anker, one of the world's strongest mountaineers, discovered Mallory's body, frozen and naturally mummified at 27,000 feet on Everest's north face. The condition of the body, as well as the "artifacts" found with Mallory, are important clues in determining his fate. Seventeen days later Anker free-climbed the Second Step, a ninety-foot sheer cliff that is the single hardest obstacle on the north ridge. Anker's climb was the first test since Mallory's of the cliff's true difficulty. From the Second Step, Anker led teammate Dave Hahn to the summit under treacherous conditions. Reflecting on the climb, Anker explains why he thinks Mallory and Irvine failed to make the summit, but also expresses his awe for Mallory's achievement with the primitive equipment of the time. Handsome, charismatic, and a climber of legendary gracefulness, Mallory continues to fascinate mountaineers today. The Lost Explorer is the remarkable story of this extraordinary man, and of the equally talented modern climber who spearheaded a discovery that may help solve the mystery of Mallory's disappearance.
Customer Reviews:
As Close to the Real Truth as One Could Imagine.......2006-06-14
This story is told in a dual format style; Anker uses the 1st person and Roberts the third, recounting the history of the 1924 British expedition, and the loss of Mallory and Irvine. The backgrounds of both these hardy early climbers is investigated in great detail, including several earlier scouting expeditions.
The book was a fabulous read and I finished it in two sittings. I was interested in the subject, having seen the BBC/NOVA TV production and heard the comments of other climbers on the discovery of the lost Mallory.
I was impressed on the multi-points-of-view taken by both co-authors, and the discussions of what the range of possibilities were for the results that were discovered. At the same time, there are many interesting yarns recounted by both writers, themselves very strong and sensitive adventurers.
If you are going to read only one book on the subject, let it be this one!!
Concise and fascinating.......2006-02-25
This is an interesting, concise account of the 1999 discovery of George Mallory, possibly the first to climb Mt. Everest.
In 1924 Everest veteran Mallory and his promising junior partner Andrew Irvine famously disappeared some 1000 feet below the summit. Did they reach it before they perished, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? In 1999, Conrad Anker of the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition found Mallory. Yet the great question remains.
In this book Anker and fellow climber David Roberts discuss Mallory's life, the discovery, what Mallory and Irvine mean to them. Anker recounts his attempt to replicate a key part of Mallory's climb. Roberts' biography of Mallory alternates with Anker's account of the events of 1999.
After finding Mallory, Anker's team removed key items he was carrying, which were both clues and historic artifacts. They also published photographs of part of the body. Some called this desecration. Anker responds.
Interestingly, Anker and his collegues all initially thought they had found Irvine.
Mallory's camera was absent, much to everyone's disappointment. A few days later, Anker and his partners assisted in a rescue. Afterwards, fresh snow obscured the search region, scrapping a planned search for Irvine and the camera.
Roberts discusses Mallory's somewhat bohemian youth, his attitudes about bottled oxygen, his prior climbing achievements, and his famous quote: "Because it's there". A full chapter is devoted to the 1924 expedition, discussing why Mallory chose to climb with Irvine, Teddy Norton and David Somervell's record climb just before Mallory's attempt, and Noel Odell's tantalizing last sight of the lost pair.
The book concludes with Anker's account of his own summit climb, his near-disastrous descent, and his best speculation about George Mallory and Andrew Irvine's fate. His reluctant conclusion: the key obstacle called the Second Step was most likely unclimbable under 1924 conditions, the two turned back there if not earlier, and they fell to their deaths descending as fresh snow fell.
This fascinating book is dedicated to Mallory and Irvine, who both authors greatly admire regardless of the exact events of June 8, 1924.
Even better to HEAR Anker tell it..........2003-06-04
They found George Mallory's body on Everest. I had the pleasure of hearing this story- before I read the book- from Conrad Anker himself at a Wilderness Medical Conference this past year. What an amazing story. Some have been critical of the handling of the remains and possessions but there is no doubt in my mind after meeting the man that the intention was to 'do the right thing'. It's just that the right thing isn't so clear in this situation. What do you do when you find the remains of a legend in an environment as inhospitable as Mt. Everest? The profits or a portion thereof of book sales at the conference were donated to charity-the Alex Lowe foundation and the possessions recovered, as I recall, were turned over to family members or historical societies- it's not like Anker is selling them on Ebay. Also, maybe there is some pride or ego in the discovery but rightfully so. I think it would be hard to accurately describe the events without sounding a little boastful, although again, Mr. Anker seems like quite an unassuming man and I didn't get that impression in person. The book is interesting and a quick easy read to gain historical perspective about George Mallory, Sandy Irvine and company and the early exploration of Everest and about the discovery of Mallory's body which is monumental in mountaineering circles. In fact, I think I'm going to go read it again.
...just some thoughts, not a full review of the book...
The Lost Explorer.......2002-03-23
Quite recently I picked up a book titled "Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine." A fascinating book, extensively documented, the story Mallory's final attempt upon Everest caught my imagination, as did the man himself.
While "Lost Explorer" may not have all of the details about the 1924 expedition, or lengthy lists of sponsors for the expeditions, it has something that I found lacking in "Ghosts of Everest." Anker, while maybe not the most eloquent of writers, provides readers with an intensely personal view of his experiences. His version of the story seems altogether more truthful and honest than "Ghosts of Everest" which takes a more picturesque view of the events. Anker goes on to tell about a harrowing, high-altitude rescue and his own summit of Everest. Also, "Lost Explorer", though David Roberts's writing, provides the reader with a more intimate view of Mallory's life.
"Lost Explorer" is a passionate, fascinating, and, most importantly, personal story about extraordinary men (both past and present) and their journey on the same mountain.
Grave Robbers In Thin Air.......2002-03-16
This book has 2 distinct stories. The story by David Roberts is that of Mallory the person...his life, times, and accomplishments. Sure Irvine is presented here, but it is always as a supporting and replaceable character. Roberts does an excellent job of showing the 3 Everest expeditions that Mallory undertook and how each was monumental in its own way.
Conrad Anker's story of the discovery of Mallory's body is appalling. You soon realize that these people had no idea what they were going to do if they did find Mallory or Irvine's body. When they found Mallory's body (they were looking for Irvine's) they immediately took to removing anything of even the remotest value they could from the corpse. I can understand taking some tissue samples and a few personal items (perhaps the letters and scarf), but why a knife? Why beef lozenges or a safety pin or pieces of twine? There were very few items that could show if the duo summited or lend a clue as to when they died (camera, altimeter, watch), so why steal the other items to put on display in a museum in Washington state? At least they had the decency to cover up the corpse. But they came back a few days later, unearthed the corpse, used a metal detector to find more items, then pried Mallory's face out of the ground for no reason other than that they could. Then Anker has the gall to complain endlessly about who had the rights to broadcast news of the discovery. If Irvine's body is ever found, we can only hope it will be treated with more respect than what these grave robbers showed to Mallory.
Anker goes on to talk of his summit attempt and other expeditions on the mountain. This is typical Everest fare with people doing stupid things and needing rescued. Conrad makes the summit and since he wasn't able to free climb the 2nd step assumes that Mallory couldn't either.
If there's anything to learn from this book, it's to fall all the way off the mountain or into a deep crevasse. Anything less risks being found by buffoons and picked clean.
Customer Reviews:
Terrific reading for fifth and sixth graders.......2005-08-20
This National Geographic photobiography of George Mallory's life and the mystery surrounding his death on Mount Everest conveys the sense of adventure explorers like him had in the early part of the 20th century. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be inspired to pursue his or her own adventures.
Children's book.......2003-08-23
This really is a children's book. It is very short. The pictures are horrible-- washed out black and white, more akin to a pale blue.
A Tale of Everest.......2002-06-06
The book Mystery on Everest is about renowned English mountain climber George Mallory and his disappearance during his three attempts at climbing the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. His one reason to try for Everest was "Because Its There". To this day, nothing is known of him if he made it to the summit or not after his third attempt. This photo biography tells the tale of his life in childhood, during the war, his family, and his hobby, mountain climbing. Educated at Cambridge, Mallory was always adventurous, but it wasn't until later on in life that he found his new love in the English hills, mountain climbing. He soon married his first wife and started a family. During World War One, he manned howitzers that pounded German positions behind enemy lines. After the war, he went back to his family. His desire for mountain climbing drew him to join expeditions to Everest in 1921, 1922, and 1924. A team of mountain climbers found Mallory's body in 1999, opening up a vast stockpile of questions that have not been able to be answered since his death. Did Mallory reach the summit 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary ?
This photo biography is filled with many interesting pictures that explain more than words. I saw this book on the bookshelf and was instantly drawn to it. This book is very easy to read and had many black and white pictures. I greatly recommend this book to anybody that is interested in mountains, human will, or mystery.
Book Description
As a boy, climbing legend Reinhold Messner was inspired by another legend: George Mallory's tragic final ascent of Mount Everest in 1924. To Messner, and to thousands of others, Mallory's attempt-whether or not it succeeded-remains the greatest exploit in the annals of mountain climbing. Though Mallory's body was finally found, we have lost, Messner believes, the spirit that guided him; summiting Everest has become merely a corporate challenge and a matter of technology, not a rendezvous with destiny.Using the British climber's journals and letters, Messner thrillingly re-creates Mallory's three assaults on Everest, including his final ascent. Here is both an investigation into the death of George Mallory and a deeply felt homage-to a mountain, to the spirit of an age, and to the man who inspired those who followed in his footsteps.
Customer Reviews:
A unique approach.......2004-05-18
Messner's book on Mallory's attempts to climb Everest and his death on the mountain in 1924 takes a unique approach. He combines Mallory's journal entries, writings of Mallory's contemporaries, Messner's own analysis of events, and reconstructions of Mallory's thoughts and post-mortem reactions to trends in mountaineering.
If you already know the history of Everest and the early British expeditions, this is an interesting book, as it discusses the context of Mallory and Everest. Of course, you get Messner's views on the matter, but it seems to me that in such a book, he is entitled to do this. If you want to know the history itself, read The Lost Explorer by C. Anker and D. Roberts or Everest by W. Unsworth (get the latest edition with many updates).
The writing/translation is crisp and interesting as well.
A remarkable book from the Very Best of the Best!.......2004-02-09
Reinhold Messner is universally considered one of the greatest climbers who ever lived if not the greatest. When I asked for a copy of this book at the bookstore I was in, the clerk behind the counter replied to me "You know, Messner is God!" I was not taken aback. I have always been amazed at his abilities and determination. His sheer determinations are awe-inspiring. These qualities are not lost in his writings. I found this book to be very interesting and probing. Messner always raises the bar. I believe he did so in this book. Messner's talents do not restrict themselves to climbing. He is an excellent writer. This book is necessary read for anyone interested in George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. Sadly, I do not believe they reached the summit. I am sorry that they did not. However, that is an unpleasant fact. Until proven otherwise. Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary (not Sir Edmund Hillary alone) reached the summit together. This does not take away from George Mallory by any means. He, if truth be told, was a noble but inconsistent man. His inconsistency is generally considered to be his choice of Sandy Irvine who in time had he lived might have conquered the mountain. However, his experience was inadequate for the task. However, we may never really know what happened. Did Mr. Mallory fall or did Mr. Irvine? At this point, most evidence points to Mr. Mallory falling on the mountain. However, no one knows why. In my opinion, Mr. Messner's book is a real page-turner.
The worst book on Mallory ever written.......2001-11-09
Quick. Who was the first to climb Mt. Everest? If you answered Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 then you stayed awake in class. But what your teachers did not tell you was that Mt. Everest may have been climbed in 1924 by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine during the last of the three British pre war expeditions. Last seen about 800 feet from the top they disappeared into the mist and into legend. Mallory was considered the finest British climber of his day and Mt. Everest was seen as his mountain. No climber has personified Mt. Everest as Mallory and his desire to conquer the summit is legendary. The mystery of whether Mallory and Irvine summited Everest in 1924 has endured for over 75 years and reached a climax when in 1999, Mallory's body was found at about 27,000 feet on the north side of Everest. This find and the ensuing speculation as to his and Irvine's fate has fueled countless books by everyone involved and some not so involved. The find has not solved the mystery and the debate still rages on. As I write this review there is now an expedition on Everest to find Irvine and the camera they were known to have taken with them. Images found in the camera could prove the pair made the summit before perishing.
Reinhold Messner was the first person to scale Mt. Everest solo and without oxygen giving him a place as one of the greatest mountaineers ever and a unique insight into the feelings that drove Mallory to fight to the end to summit Mt. Everest. It is with his new book " The Second Death of George Mallory" that Messner intends to pay tribute to the high ideals of Mallory and the death of those ideals in respect to today's mountain climbers. Unfortunately his attempt falls completely flat on it's face in a way that make's Conrad Anker's book "The Lost Explorer" look positively groundbreaking. Messner almost entirely fills the book with journal entries by Mallory w/ little to no insight from Messner. Anybody reading this article could have done that. The book should have co-author credit to Mallory. The book is a bland retelling of the well known story of Mallory's two Everest attempts in 1921, 1922 and ultimately, the fatal final climb of 1924 w/ Andrew Irvine. There are many fine books that do a much better job of detailing Mallory's expeditions to Everest, most notably: "The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine" by Tom Holzel and Audrey Salkeld. If this review in any way piques your interest in the mystery this book is the place to start. When Messner does attempt to throw out a theory or idea it is unconvincing and tinged by the attitude prevalent of today's climbers that "we could have done it but not those poor old chaps." Messner may be forgiven for maybe not being as talented a writer as a climber but I became absolutely sick to my stomach when I noticed he provided commentary from "Mallory" as if from beyond the grave!! And who would have guessed Mallory has something bad to say about everyone except Messner. Mallory from beyond earth's mortal plane bad mouths everyone from the men who discovered his body to the Chinese climbers and others. And wouldn't you know that's exactly how Messner feels as well? I still can't believe anyone would include this utter nonsense in their book. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made their final attempt on the summit in tweed jackets and leather hobnailed boots. They were fully aware if they faltered they would die. With little resources but unimaginable courage they walked off the map into the unknown. Maybe it is better that we never know if they conquered the summit. Maybe their story is more compelling that way. But it is a story that deserves better than Reinhold Messner was able to deliver. One thing he did get right was his admitting no matter what Mallory and Irvine did accomplish on Everest, it eclipses every other mountaineering achievements including his own. Personally I believe Mallory and Irvine did summit Everest in 1924. It was a Mallory family belief that George carried a picture of his beloved wife Ruth to place on the summit. Articles found on his body included letters from relatives and friends but no picture or letter from his wife. Where are they if not buried in the summit snow?
messner's mallory.......2001-10-15
There is no doubt Reinhold Messner knows mountains.
Despite losing his younger brother on his first notable Himalayan ascent, Messner went on to become the first man to scale all 14 of the world's mountains exceeding 8000 metres.
In 1980, he made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without the use of bottled oxygen, and his feats in crossing Greenland and Antarctica on foot have made him the stuff of modern adventuring legend.
Yet he draws his inspiration from the man most notable for not making the summit of the world's highest mountain - English mountaineer George Mallory.
But did Mallory actually die on way down? It's a question that has fired the imagination of climbers worldwide, particularly since Mallory's body was found by an American expedition in May 1999.
Only the discovery of Mallory's camera will settle the argument, but Messner has made a quite extraordinary step toward solving the mystery himself in THE SECOND DEATH OF GEORGE MALLORY.
Using Mallory's own journals and letters, Messner recreates his two reconnaissance climbs, and his final, fatal 1924 assault on Everest.
But fans of Hollywood mountaineering blockbusters should not expect an adrenaline-fuelled page-turner filled with crumbling crevasses and rumbling avalanches - this is a nostalgic, bittersweet recreation of the mental challenge and constant heartbreak that are as much a hurdle for climbers as the mountains themselves.
In tracing Mallory's journey, Messner pays homage to the forgotten glory days of ``amateur'' climbing - when men challenged the mountain armed with little more than a pick, a sturdy pair of hobnailed boots and seven jumpers.
He also takes a quite extraordinary step in assuming the dead voice of Mallory himself, to give a personal account of his own fateful attempt, as well as pass judgement on the efforts of those climbers who followed after him.
It doesn't always work - ``Mallory's'' criticism of the Chinese attempts is more than a little irresponsible - but after 14 mountaineering books, Messner cannot be blamed for wanting to mix it up a bit.
Nevertheless, THE SECOND DEATH OF GEORGE MALLORY is still an inspiring and moving read, which also goes a long way toward helping those less-adventurous among us understand what drives people to risk their lives for a good view.
Disappointed.......2001-08-22
I thought this book was terrible, and I was glad I checked it out at the library and hadn't wasted any money buying it. Messner publishes selected journal entries of Mallory's, strings them together in a barely coherent fashion and calls it a book. To that he adds his own fantasies about what Mallory might have been thinking at given points in time.
It doesn't work. So many of Mallory's entries are left out that one misses the sense of having heard the whole story. Messner's additions do not really help to complete the story. In fact, if I hadn't already read a lot about Everest expeditions and Mallory's in particular in other books I would have had trouble following Messner's.
In addition, Messner does not really give the reader very much added information that might be useful. How about an in depth comparison of climbing clothing today versus then, altitude sickness and it's effects, dehydration issues at altitude, etc. Instead, he includes an entire chapter on the Chinese ascents of Everest which he fails to make even remotely interesting.
I'm sorry I wasted my time reading this, and am only happy I didn't waste my money too.
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Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine
