Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine [Hardcover]

Jochen Hemmleb (Author), Larry A. Johnson (Author), Eric R. Simonson (Author), William E. Nothdurft (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

One of the great mysteries of modern exploration and adventure is whether British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached Mount Everest's summit on their pioneering 1924 expedition in which both men vanished. Were they the first to scale the world's highest spot, decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made their successful ascent in 1953? On the 75th anniversary of the ill-fated duo's disappearance, a 1999 Everest expeditionAwith Simonson as team leader, Hemmleb as historical adviser and Johnson as team coordinatorAattempted to retrace Mallory and Irvine's probable route and solve the mystery. Incredibly, they discovered Mallory's bodyAremarkably intact, badly bruised and with a broken legAfrozen in the snow. In a taut narrative that skillfully jump-cuts between the 1924 Mallory/Irvine expedition and their own, the authors make a compelling case that Mallory fell to his death and that he appears to have been roped to Irvine, who also fell and was injured. (Irvine's body was reportedly sighted by a Chinese climber in 1975, but this awaits further proof.) Did Mallory and Irvine make it to Everest's summit? "It is more likely than had previously been thought that they did make itAbut it is still far from certain," conclude the authors. They base their analysis on their findings atop Everest, including personal letters and an inventory of oxygen tanks they found in Mallory's pockets. Their report, a work of historic importance that reads like a detective thriller, includes a moving foreword by Mallory's daughter, Clare Mallory Millikan, plus 100 photographs (80 in color, 20 sepia) illustrating both the 1999 search expedition and Mallory's 1924 attempt. First serial to Outside; author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; Stated First Edition edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898866995
• ISBN-13: 978-0898866995
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #305,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #13 in

  Books > History > Asia > Nepal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is a superbly written and illustrated book., November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine (Hardcover)

I thought it had all been said about this expedition and Everest in general until I read this book. The accounts published by the authors in magazines such as National Geographic, and Outside are good but pale in comparison to the quality of the presentation of this book. The photos of the primitive equipment Mallory, Irvine and their colleagues used almost 100 years ago tell a compelling story. I cannot imagine achieving the heights they achieved with the hobnail boots. I had never seen a pair up close. The photos of the mountain from each expedition are remarkable and unique. This book is more than just a climbing tale. The author does a superb job of portraying the people on the 1924 and 1999 expeditions, and the cultures in which they immersed themselves. Mountaineers Books also did an outstanding job of producing the best quality Everest book I have seen to date. It is beautifully designed and executed. It is one of those rare books that I hated to finish and will no doubt refer to and savor again. You will want a quality hardback copy for your library or coffee table.

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem of a story, well-written!, November 10, 1999

By	Betsy R. Armstrong (Boulder, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful look back in time to the amazing geographic curiosity of the British in the 1920s. Coupled with it is the incredible and true story of another group of curious American explorers who set out in 1999 to accomplish the impossible by attempting to find traces of the 1920s expedition.

That all these characters are mountain climbers is only part of the story. That the 1999 team DID find the body of a member of the 1924 expedition is also only part of the story. The real story is the human drama of both eras. The 1999 team does a great job in this book of paying their tribute to heroes of a by-gone era of exploration, while demonstrating that the will to seek and find new truth and explore new horizons is still alive and well in some of us. The rest of us can live it vicariously through great books like this one!

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read!, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory & Irvine (Hardcover)

The authors of Ghosts of Everest manage to gracefully pull off the telling of two fascinating stories at the same time: one about the historic 1924 expedition of Mallory and Irvine, and the other about the authors' own expedition in 1999 to search for clues and pay homage to the 1924 climbers. The two stories work wonderfully together and are set within the context of interesting and appropriate photos and poignant quotes from Mallory himself. The whole work flows flawlessly and is not only a "must read" for Everest afficionados, but also for the broader reading public sharing admiration and interest in the human spirit of adventure. The spirit of risk and adventure and human grit demonstrated within this book is truly compelling. Of special note also is the tasteful way in which the authors present a few photos of the body of Mallory as found on Everest 75 years after his disappearance. Despite early public criticisms for the publishing of these photos, I saw them as a deeply moving, almost breathtaking, but absolutely necessary part of the story. Without them, the impact of the team's find, the sights and the moments they shared upon the discovery, would be lost to the reader. No words can begin to tell us what those men experienced with Mallory up there that day. The reverence toward Mallory has been well documented, and the photos of Mallory's final resting pose do him justice. All in all, a research job well done, a book well written, a story well told!