Thoughts

I've had this in my Audible library to listen to for quite a while, I think I picked it up in a sale at some point. I love a book about exploration, and particularly the intrigue of the people who are first at something. Everest has always captured the imagination, so I was keen to get into the detail of that legendary expedition.

We spend a good portion of the first half of the book getting the expedition together, with a particular focus on choosing a leader. I had no idea there was a bit of a battle between Eric Shipton, who had already led several missions, and John Hunt, who was ultimately successful thanks to his military experience.

It's a long time before we get anywhere near the mountain, and there plenty of chapters about the aftermath as well. The actual summit attempt is probably the smallest section. After coming back down, the team have to deal with jealousy and in-fighting... Hillary was given a knighthood, Tenzing was not. The media also played their part in raising hackles:

He was appalled to see the expedition so casually misreported. Like everyone else in the team, Hunt thought that the issue of who had stepped on the summit first was absurd but he was also irked by repeated references to Tenzing “having guided” the British team. The Everest victory was the result of teamwork and everyone had played a role.

I was expecting a book about conquering Everest and learnt a lot, but was surprised that the real intrigue lies in the organisation of the team, not in planting the flag on an untouched peak. For anyone looking for a detailed description of climbing a mountain, this is probably not the right title.

Considering what detail this goes into, the book doesn't drag or lose its pace, and it gets top marks - 5 out of 5.

Rating: 5 / 5