Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine

Rating:
Summary: A superb and sensitive account of the search for Mallory
Review: A well told and enthralling story of the search and eventual discovery of the body and belongings of the original Everest pioneer, and a re-examination of the "history" surrounding the fatal 1924 expedition. Seen through the eyes of Jochen Hemmler (the historian/scholar who began the "serious" search) and mountaineering legends Eric Simonson and Larry Johnson, this book is a "must read" for Everest fans, and fans of all great adventures. Well written by William Nothdruft, the book chronicles the challenges, setbacks, determination, skill and sheer luck that led to the discovery of the body of George Mallory high on Everest. The tale is spellbinding to any of us Mallory history fans, and is told with an extraordinary level of sensitivity and unconcealed respect. It is beautifully photographed and illustrated with plenty of archival photos to set the stage properly, and with excellent color photography from the expedition itself. The photographs of the body of George Mallory were thankfully few and tasteful, the sense of history rich and satisfying.

The single most striking thing about the book, for me anyway, was the overwhelming feeling of admiration and respect conveyed upon George Mallory and his achievements by the likes of Eric Simonson whose own list of accomplishments is rather lengthy and extraordinary. This really gave me a better perspective on Mallory's accomplishments, all done with appallingly primitive equipment. This was a hard-won victory for the expedition members, and most of all for Jochen Hemmleb, who, though a man of no great financial means himself, conceived, researched and sacrificed much to make this historic event happen.

One is still left with an appealing lack of confirmation whether Mallory did or did not make the first summit, maybe some stories are just better that way.

For those of us that easily recognize names like Messner, Hall, Fisher, Hornbein, Simonson, Breashears, Viesturs and Mallory, this is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing account and analysis of the existing data
Review: For those readers fascinated with Everest history this book provides an absorbing addition to the historical record of the ultimate mystery of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. Detailing the shocking and unexpected successes of this year's Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition, this intriguing account focuses also on the incredible determination and courage of the members of the early British expeditions. The proposed scenario for what actually happened seems more and more plausible considering the existing evidence.

Of course, pieces of the puzzle are still missing but I am convinced in my own mind that yes, they really did make it to the summit in 1924. If it eventually turns out otherwise, still that doesn't detract from one's admiration for the accomplishments of one of mountaineering's greatest heroes.

Rating:
Summary: Conquering The Summit of Mysteries
Review: Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson collaborate to give the reader an immensely engaging and objective account of the 1999 expedition to Everest to discover the fate of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. The superb illustrations, photography and documentation are outstanding complements to inticing mystery surrounding Mallory and Irvine's disappearance. (For those who find the typeset too close to the gutter, enjoy the story and get a life!)

The book eloquently juxtapositions the story of the 1924 British expedition with that of the 1999 team's. There is no sensationalism here. The 1999 team's sense of history and respect is profound as it discovers, documents and dedicates the remains of the great British mountaineer before making its own summit attempt.

As you climb higher on the mountain you feel the cold, the shortness of breath, the precipitous heights and personally drawn closer to the seventy year old mystery. I especially enjoyed the authors' objectivity. Pre-expedition knowledge and research is clearly presented. Evidence is placed in perspective to both 1924 and 1999 capabilities and experience. Why should you read this book? Because it takes you there!

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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: 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...