Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. of this work.

This was a real pleasure to read! The true story of Maurice Wilson. An adventurer, a free-spirit. The story of someone who couldn't connect with a "normal life". Maurice Wilson fought in the Great War and flew to climb Everest. Anyone that enjoys unpredictable stories, adventure writing, travelogues will eat this up. Highly recommend!

Litercurious Partial Review for The Moth and the Mountain

CONCLUSION

The Moth and the Mountain: A True Story of Love, War, and Everest is a very good book. The author does a fantastic job describing the times, politics, and environment of the day. His descriptions of the horrendous battles leave little doubt as to the mental strain those young men endured, and later suffered from.

The author obviously researched his subject well and it is evident in the script how much he admires Maurice.

Overall, I found the book entertaining, thought provoking, and intriguing. The struggles that Maurice went through in life and his pursuit of Everest are inspiring. To overcome his post traumatic disorder, challenge himself, and embark on such a dramatic enterprise is awe inspiring.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in history, aviation, soldiers, or who will appreciate the inspiration that this man brings.

When I began reading this book, I thought it was just going to be about Maurice Wilson and his attempt to fly a plane to Everest and then summit the mountain alone. However, it was about much more than that. Caesar painted a picture of Wilson's life in detail. He was a man who suffered hardships, became a wanderer, and then overcame many obstacles to even get to the mountain. Well I tend to prefer fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this biography of Maurice Wilson. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. Three and a half stars
#NetGalley#TheMothandtheMountain#EdCaesar

I was provided a free digital copy of this book by @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
This is the fascinating true story of Maurice Wilson, a WWI vet who was enraptured by Mt. Everest and would stop at nothing to climb it. He wholeheartedly believes it can be conquered if only you want it hard enough. So he comes up with a plan to fly over (although first he has to learn to fly), land on the lower slopes, and climb to the top. Simple as that! Unless that is your government (and others) don't want to allow you, and you have no training, and you may have not gotten the right supplies... This story looks at a very little known part of history and tries to answer the question of what would make a man decide to do this against all odds?
My only complaint was a chapter (and a bit more here and there) written in second person POV. It was a bit odd and maybe it's just my rebellious side but when the story reads something like, "You heard about this story so you went to the library to research it." All I'm thinking is, "No I didn't!!" 🤣 Felt a bit disjointed when it switched POVs. But if you can get past that (as I said earlier it was really one full chapter and then odd moments here and there), as I obviously did, it's a good story! 🙂
#NetGalley #TheMothAndTheMountain

A fascinating story about Maurice Wilson, a man who refused to be conquered by anything that stood in his way, from war, to flying, to journeying to Everest with nothing by sheer optimism and will. Its a well written book that was engaging every step of the way and a breezy read. Where I have some issues with it is that I wish there weren't so many gaps in the story. I know that some things are lost in history and you can't help it, but after reading the book I just had many questions on my mind that the book didn't answer. I do like that the author made an attempt to clear up inconsistencies with research done by another author who wrote a book on the subject in the 50s. He tried to fill in the gaps with what he could. The first half of the book is great, the second half is still good but its lack of details on several moments and it's conclusion left me wondering if this was all he could dig up and if any of my questions would ever be answered. It felt like an entry point into the story of the man but not the complete story. More details would have been nice, especially if we had gotten to know his family more, heard more from one of his brothers or even Enid, who Wilson spends so much time writing to.

Thank you netgalley for an early copy of this title.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the ebook. Maurice Wilson is a World War One hero, but suffers great trauma after being shot in the back and in his left arm. Afterwards he has a great wanderlust that takes him to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America and eventually back to England. He’s settling into a life in London when the idea strikes him to fly a plane to Mount Everest, crash land into the base and climb the mountain all by himself. Wilson is a great character and the author gives you vivid accounts of trench warfare, the growing phenomenon of civilian aviation and the experience of trying to climb the highest mountain in the world. It’s a really thrilling book about a person I had never heard about.

"Because it's there," George Mallory famously described his quest to conquer the highest point on Earth. I, myself, have been hooked on all things Everest since Krakauer's magnificent "Into Thin Air." This tale of Maurice Wilson's pursuit of mountaineering glory could be titled "Fools Walk In." How else can you describe a person who sets out to climb Everest so ill-equipped that he hadn't even brought crampons? Caesar has done an excellent job of researching and writing about Wilson's extraordinary and extraordinarily sad journey to the Great White Whale, beginning with his plan to fly a "Moth" -- an early lightweight DeHavilland aircraft -- to the mountain and from there hike up the remainder of Everest as if on a Sunday stroll. Caesar occasionally digresses with superfluous padding, like the exploits of Wilsion's fellow World War I veteran older brother Victor, but this is hardly a major issue. Wilson, who exemplified bravery during his war service, added hubris to the mix for his duel with the mountain and found out how close bravery creeps to the crevasse of stupidity.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Unfortunately, I did not get to read it in time. Thank you.

Maurice Wilson was a WWI who had a dream. He wanted to fly an aircraft, the Moth, to the lower slopes of Mount Everest and proceed to solo climb to the top. This sounded like a sci-fi/ fantasy plot, but it was real. Wilson didn’t come to this idea all of a sudden. It was cumulation of his experiences and misadventures, his desire to find meaning, purpose and adventure after the War. His high hopes precluded the reality that he had no flying experience nor alpine climbing skills. Wilson thought that if he applied himself and kept positive, he would succeed.

Ed Caesar gives the reader the family background of Wilson’s youth in Yorkshire, his marriages, business attempts and the shadow of the devastation from his wartime service. Thanks for bringing this little-known story of one man’s courage and determination to print. Research and notes were well done and appreciated. Exciting, far-fetched yet true. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for providing this title for review.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!

Maurice Wilson. A legend. This book describes the story of a man who saw the atrocities of war first hand. A broken man on many levels. A man who decided one day that we wants to climb Everest. Perhaps to heal his broken mind. But before even attempting the climb, he has to fly all the Way there...solo...in a world that was attempting to prevent him for getting near Everest. By some miracle, he makes it on his moth to India. More political tensions prevent him from being able to trek legally to the mountain. That doesn’t stop Wilson. Instead, he disguised himself as a Tibetan priest and treks his way to the bottom of Everest. And then his climb begins...after a few attempts, Wilson final finds peace on the mountain he always wanted to climb. Or does he? Legend has it that his body keeps reappearing and being buried again...perhaps Wilson isn’t done with the mountain yet!

Only an Englishman could decide to fly to Everest, and then climb it - having never flown or climbed before!! The true, but astonishing, story of Maurice Wilson, a WW1 veteran who learned to fly in order to fly to Everest, and then climb it!!

A well-written adventure about a man attempting to redeem himself in the most extreme way.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in stories of people overcoming all obstacles to achieve their aim.