UK, Tempus, 2005, 1st UK ed. 192 pp, b/w photos. Used hardcover with dust jacket. Fine.
An enigmatic character to the last, the life - or to be more specific the death - of George Mallory contains one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century. According to the record books, the greatest mountain on Earth was finally conquered by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1958. However, there remains the enigma of the attempt by the mercurial Mallory and his assistant Andrew Irvine over three decades earlier from the other side of Everest.
After a prolonged absence and adverse weather conditions it was assumed that the climbers had perished during the attempt. Recently however Mallory's body was discovered on the North side of the summit - a mere 2,000 feet from the top, opening speculation as to whether they died on the way up or the way down (the search goes on for the camera - in the freezing conditions the film would not have perished; if the summit was reached, a picture would surely have been taken?).
The puzzle as to whether Mallory was the first man to conquer Everest is brilliantly presented - for the first time in a book of this kind since the discovery of the body. Containing many images of both Mallory and Everest that have not been featured in a mainstream title before, this will be a significant contribution to what is an evocative theme.
