2003, 1st edition. 96 pp, many color and b/w photos. Grade 4 Up-In this brief, beautiful book, Venables celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first successful climb to the summit. Drawing on the Royal Geographic Society's archives, familiar photos are mixed with some haunting, never-before-published images to illustrate the informed and evocative text. Sandwiched between the cliff-hanging introduction and the triumphant final chapter is the author's account of his own harrowing experience as a member of a three-person team to the summit in 1988.
From a glance at the geology that formed the Himalayas through the well-integrated details about the changing roles of the Sherpas and the mountaineering industry's impact on the Tibetan/Nepalese cultures, the book recounts a century of intense physical, scientific, and political efforts focused on Everest. In addition, the climbers and the technological improvements that continually drive the sport to new heights are described. End matter includes route maps, a brief glossary, and a note about the RGS. The design sells this book: a blue-tinted endpaper photo of the Everest massif, gorgeous double-page photos, and dark blue pages with white print snowed onto the page will not let readers forget the frigid, blue/black sky or the incredibly vast scale of this rare, essential, high world. Hardcover, DJ, New.
