Member Review
Review by
Aravind R, Reviewer
Standing tall—taller than everything else on the planet—and aloof, there was a mountain, mighty and majestic, unknown to the humans for the best part of their history. It still stands tall—in fact a bit taller than before—but is no longer left alone; besieged by thousands of people willing to risk their lives just to set foot on its summit, Mount Everest is the most famous mountain on earth today. The Hunt for Mount Everest by Craig Storti tells the story of this transformation from obscurity to renown, from the moment when some British surveyors on the hills near Darjeeling in British India trained their theodolites on this blotch on the horizon a hundred-odd miles away, up to the day seventy-one years later when a group of mountaineers and explorers stood at the foot on this colossus.
Situated on the Tibet-Nepal border, Mount Everest was inaccessible to the western explorers—particularly to the British rulers of the neighbouring India—due to political considerations. But that did not deter some enterprising individuals, drawn by the irresistible allure of the mountain, from doing all that was possible to find it, reach it and climb it. The account of these efforts is full of absorbing drama, political intrigue and espionage, wars and treaties, acts of cleverness and foolishness, feats of determination and endurance, and a lot of breath-taking adventure. Spanning across several decades and featuring an eclectic cast of characters—some well-known, like Sir Francis Younghusband, Lord Curzon and George Mallory, and some unsung, like Alexander Kellas, Sir Charles Bell and Guy Bullock—The Hunt for Mount Everest is a magnificent picture set on the immense canvass of the Himalayas.
While much has been written about Mount Everest and the attempts to climb it, beginning with the first attempt in 1921, there is little publicised information about the decades prior to that, and this book fills that void pretty nicely. In addition to telling the Everest story, the author generously touches upon the history of mountaineering itself—beginning with alpine climbing in late eighteenth century—providing a detailed background to the core of this book.
Backed by meticulous research and written in an appealing prose, The Hunt for Mount Everest is an essential read for all those who love mountains, mountaineering and adventure in general. My heartfelt thanks to Craig Storti, Nicholas Brealy Publishing and NetGalley, for the privilege to read and review the e-ARC of this engaging and enlightening work.
Situated on the Tibet-Nepal border, Mount Everest was inaccessible to the western explorers—particularly to the British rulers of the neighbouring India—due to political considerations. But that did not deter some enterprising individuals, drawn by the irresistible allure of the mountain, from doing all that was possible to find it, reach it and climb it. The account of these efforts is full of absorbing drama, political intrigue and espionage, wars and treaties, acts of cleverness and foolishness, feats of determination and endurance, and a lot of breath-taking adventure. Spanning across several decades and featuring an eclectic cast of characters—some well-known, like Sir Francis Younghusband, Lord Curzon and George Mallory, and some unsung, like Alexander Kellas, Sir Charles Bell and Guy Bullock—The Hunt for Mount Everest is a magnificent picture set on the immense canvass of the Himalayas.
While much has been written about Mount Everest and the attempts to climb it, beginning with the first attempt in 1921, there is little publicised information about the decades prior to that, and this book fills that void pretty nicely. In addition to telling the Everest story, the author generously touches upon the history of mountaineering itself—beginning with alpine climbing in late eighteenth century—providing a detailed background to the core of this book.
Backed by meticulous research and written in an appealing prose, The Hunt for Mount Everest is an essential read for all those who love mountains, mountaineering and adventure in general. My heartfelt thanks to Craig Storti, Nicholas Brealy Publishing and NetGalley, for the privilege to read and review the e-ARC of this engaging and enlightening work.
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
