Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Topic, But Ultimately Tedious
Review: The descriptions of the `24 expidition were terrific. However the accounts of the `99 trip were down right tedious up until the story reaches the First Camp. In the first part of the book, tales of getting the gear, the sponsors, getting thru customs and the various slight ailments of the various climbers are neither interesting nor compelling. After that, it builds.Not a bad book, but the first half really could have used some editing.
Rating:
Summary: A Lesson on How Money is Replacing Adventure
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: An enthralling account of the power of mind and body
Review: This book carried me back in time to 1924 and put me on the treacherous slopes of Mt. Everest with Mallory and Irvine! It is a splendid juxtaposition of the 1924 and 1999 expeditions. My palms became sweaty as I turned each page, eager to find the answers to the mystery of Mallory and Irvine. Ghosts of Everest inspires one to experience life to its fullest as the explorers of 1924 and 1999 so eloquently have shown us. I thoroughly recommend this well written, beautifully photographed masterpiece of history, mystery and inspiration!
Rating: 
Summary: Mallory and Irvine Theory according to America
Review: This book is a great read especially to anyone one day thinking about an assault of Everest. A very detailed and accurate account of the calender of events leading up to the early days in June. I must point out as other customer reviews mention that their is a huge negative slant put on the BBC and the British in general. All I can gather from these degrading inputs is a huge amount of jealousy from the American side. Let's face it the British have been great at exploration in the last few century's with wonderful stories of fame, fortune and disaster. I believe there is a lot of envy from the Americans because the Brits were there first. Actually the true hero was New Zealander - Sir Edmund Hillary.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Real-Life Detective Story/Adventure
Review: This book is not just for those interested in mountain climbing. It is a well-written, beautifully photographed, reverent accounting of the 1999 expedition to find any evidence of George Mallory's (probable) summit in 1924, along with a concurrent account, through old photographs, journal entries, and interviews, of Mallory's 1924 expedition. The author's possible scenarios on what happened during that fateful trip from which Mallory and Irvine never returned make sense, supported by the fact that these theories were offered by expert mountain-climbers. Did they solve the mystery? I think so...read it, and make your own decision! Perhaps Sir Edmund Hillary wasn't the first man to summit Everest (in 1953) after all...
Rating:
Summary: Superb, Yet Haunting
Review: This book is truly transcendentally remarkable, in both spiritual and metaphysical form. It has inspired me to reach even greater heights in all that I do. From the story of two brave outdoorsmen who valiantly put their fates on the line, one can have the introspective to self-examine themself and see what it is that they are missing out on in their own life. This book could make anyone gung-ho in the pursuit of adventure. Grab a copy today!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Topic, But Ultimately Tedious
Review: This book is two stories for the price of one. Alternate chapters deal with the 1924 attempted ascent of everest by mallory and irvine, and the 1999 mallory and irvine research expedition. The 1924 story is clear and factually correct in its content, and the standard of photography is high. The 1999 expedition has the highlight of the finding of George Mallory's body on the north face of everest. It is an incredible chapter culminating in a photo of the great man still in self arrest position. And thats about it. Large sections of the book are ghost written and have a distant feel, written in third person or taking extracts of interviews that distance the reader. The last chapter gives Jochen Hemmleb, a German M & I researcher his chance to give four possible endings to the tale of mallory and irvine. Very good, but I didnt want conjecture, just the documented story of the finding of a great explorer. It is clear that Mr Hemmleb knows his stuff but he has as much evidence for his hypotheses as Tom Holzel has for his in the book "The search for mallory and irvine", ie- very little solid evidence. The climbing team that made up the 1999 M & I expedition are back on the mountain at present. Good luck to them, and I hope they find Andrew Irvines body and camera. Otherwise we may well be treated to another unnecessary mix of travelog and conjecture this year. Its not bad, but it could have been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: ghost writings
Review: This book is two stories for the price of one. Alternate chapters deal with the 1924 attempted ascent of everest by mallory and irvine, and the 1999 mallory and irvine research expedition. The 1924 story is clear and factually correct in its content, and the standard of photography is high. The 1999 expedition has the highlight of the finding of George Mallory's body on the north face of everest. It is an incredible chapter culminating in a photo of the great man still in self arrest position. And thats about it. Large sections of the book are ghost written and have a distant feel, written in third person or taking extracts of interviews that distance the reader. The last chapter gives Jochen Hemmleb, a German M & I researcher his chance to give four possible endings to the tale of mallory and irvine. Very good, but I didnt want conjecture, just the documented story of the finding of a great explorer. It is clear that Mr Hemmleb knows his stuff but he has as much evidence for his hypotheses as Tom Holzel has for his in the book "The search for mallory and irvine", ie- very little solid evidence. The climbing team that made up the 1999 M & I expedition are back on the mountain at present. Good luck to them, and I hope they find Andrew Irvines body and camera. Otherwise we may well be treated to another unnecessary mix of travelog and conjecture this year. Its not bad, but it could have been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Like climbing a mountain worth climbing!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: DID THEY OR DIDN'T THEY...?
Review: This is a beautifully and lavishly illustrated, textually rich book. Its heavy, glossy 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.
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