Comment

Into the Silence

the Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
Apr 10, 2014KCLSLibsRecommend rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I recommend Wade Davis' book for omnivores with an interest in any of the following: uncharted exploration, larger-than-life characters, a world changing at unprecedented speed, World War I, climbing, Tibetan Buddhism, technology, politics, social class, empires rising and falling, and more. It sounds chaotic but Davis weaves it all together so well that before you tire of one topic, another rises to catch your attention. Spoiler alert on a few good stories: one of the principal Everest explorers had both legs nearly severed in World War I - his physician advised him to avoid walking uphill. Another climber previously explored the source of the Nile and averted a rhino charge by opening a pink umbrella in its face. The lucky pink umbrella also survived the trip to Tibet (they don't make 'em like that any more)