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Overview
A dramatic inside account by the 1999 expedition team of their high-profile search for the bodies of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on Everest, interwoven with a complete history of the Mallory/Irvine expedition.
- Complete coverage of one of the most highly publicized expeditions of the century
- New theories based on years of research shed new light on mountaineering's ultimate mystery
- Fully illustrated with photos of the recent expedition plus intriguing archival photos.
History was made on Mount Everest when the 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition discovered George Mallory's body and took a giant step toward unraveling mountaineering's greatest mystery -- the fate of the 1924 Mallory/Irvine expedition. Ghosts of Everest is the inside story of the 1999 expedition from team leader Eric Simonson, team historian Jochen Hemmleb, and expedition coordinator Larry Johnson, plus contributions from all of the team members.
Set against the backdrop of the 1924 expedition and historical clues from subsequent expeditions, Ghosts of Everest brings to life the events surrounding the ill-fated Mallory/Irvine climb, while following the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition team as it retraces the route up the North Col and makes a discovery that rocks the world -- George Mallory's body at 27,000 feet.
Ghosts of Everest is a riveting recounting of a story that is capturing the world's attention, three-quarters of a century after the mystery began. What happened to Everest climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on June 8, 1924, the day they set out on their summit bid only to disappear without any evidence of their fate or possible achievement? Were these two brave pioneers, whose determination has inspired generations of climbers, the first to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? How did they perish? Seventy-five years later, do we now have the answers?
From early preparations to the day-by-day, blow-by-blow events of both expeditions, the narrative weaves through time bringing together past and present to create a seamless adventure narrative that captures the voices and the action as it unfolds on the mountain. This modern-day drama of discovery is coupled both with a sense of grand exploration and the lurking danger these climbers face at high altitude in treacherous conditions.
Meticulously researched and with new evidence and artifacts found on the mountain, this narrative promises to shed a revealing light on the seventy-five-year-old Mallory/Irvine mystery and two of the greatest heroes of our time.
Editorials
Boulder Camera Review
These three members of the expedition that recovered Mallory's remains have put their stories in the hands of Seattle writer Bill Nothdruft, who does a good job weaving facts about Mallory with detail from last spring's expedition. But this book gets extra bonus points: Ignoring protests that surfaced immediately following the discovery of Mallory's preserved body, Ghosts of Everest has the temerity to publish detailed color photos of the find. One can argue whether publishing photos of the corpse is somehow "disrespectful," but let's be honest: That body—which eventually was left in its icy granite grave—is the only reason these books have been written. Besides, the photos themselves are not only respectful, but eerily beautiful.Canoe
The book is a thorough chronicle, rich in background detail, of both the 1999 research expedition and ill-fated 1924 adventure, and contains superb photographs from both eras.Democrat and Chronicle
Ghosts of Everest is the story behind of climbing's bigger stories.— Rochester, NYDiane Daniel
Ghost of Everest alternates between the unfolding of both the 1999 and the 1924 expeditions, and both stories are riveting - The book contains photographs of breathtaking scenery, 1924 artifacts, and climbing shots from both trips, as well as bone-chilling photographs of Mallory's body on the day it was found.—Boston Globe, November 8, 1999
Everett Herald
A lavishly illustrated book.Joel Connelly
Ghosts of Everest settles the stomach a bit. The climber-researchers appear to have a deep appreciation for the man whose remains they sought. They respected the body even while searching for evidence to determine whether Mallory and Irvine made the summit before falling to their deaths.... He [Mallory] created a mystery not solved even by the discovery of his corpse. The pictures of his corpse may be appalling, but the text of Ghosts of Everest—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Library Journal
A truly amazing account…a good read for adventure lovers and a historical standout among the escalating numbers of Everest climbing books.Maura Lerner
The book offers different views on whether Mallory and Irvine reached the summit. Ghosts of Everest, a glossy, gripping and stunningly photographed account by Simonson and others, argues that there's good chance they did.—Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 3, 1999
Metro Sports
Compelling ... Ghosts of Everest does an excellent job of recounting one of exploration's greatest mysteries. It provides thorough accounts of both the 1924 and 1999 expeditions and gives an extremely intriguing account of Mallory and Irvine's final hours... Although we will probably never know the truth about what happened to Mallory and Irvine, Ghosts of Everest takes you as close to it as you can get.— (Boston)Mike McPhee
Details of the climb, including a very clear, concise account of Mallory's expedition, the origins of the search party, the emotional discovery of Mallory and an intriguing analysis by the team after they returned to base camp, are beautifully presented in the book Ghosts of Everest...Ghost of Everest is filled with text as clear and rhythmic as a mountain stream. Nothdruft knows when to speed the pace along and when to dawdle over detail.—Denver Post
Sund
Ghosts of Everest is the bigger work in every sense. For the authors, the mission to find Mallory was clearly a labour of love, not just another scalp in their belts. Their master detective was Hemmelb, a 26-year-old walking encyclopedia on the 1924 expedition who cut through one of the century's last enigma's with forensic skill ... What is striking about the discovery is the climber's reverence and the tenderness with which they buried the body. To them, Mallory was not just another plucky explorer.Tampa Tribune-Times
As this story shifts back and forth between the expeditions, it blends the real and imagined into one dramatic narrative, a well-researched and well-written book that reports the largely successful findings of a dangerous expedition.The Globe and Mail
A compelling detective story a gorgeous book exquisitely photographed.—Toronto, OntarioTim McNulty
For those wanting the definitive record of the Mallory story to date, Ghosts of Everest is the book to have.—Seattle Times, November 7, 1999
Washington Post Book World
Makes for fascinating reading, and, with its well-chosen illustrations and handsome design, The Ghosts of Everest is the standout among other books.Publishers Weekly
One of the great mysteries of modern exploration and adventure is whether British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine reached Mount Everest's summit on their pioneering 1924 expedition in which both men vanished. Were they the first to scale the world's highest spot, decades before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made their successful ascent in 1953? On the 75th anniversary of the ill-fated duo's disappearance, a 1999 Everest expedition--with Simonson as team leader, Hemmleb as historical adviser and Johnson as team coordinator--attempted to retrace Mallory and Irvine's probable route and solve the mystery. Incredibly, they discovered Mallory's body--remarkably intact, badly bruised and with a broken leg--frozen in the snow. In a taut narrative that skillfully jump-cuts between the 1924 Mallory/Irvine expedition and their own, the authors make a compelling case that Mallory fell to his death and that he appears to have been roped to Irvine, who also fell and was injured. (Irvine's body was reportedly sighted by a Chinese climber in 1975, but this awaits further proof.) Did Mallory and Irvine make it to Everest's summit? "It is more likely than had previously been thought that they did make it--but it is still far from certain," conclude the authors. They base their analysis on their findings atop Everest, including personal letters and an inventory of oxygen tanks they found in Mallory's pockets. Their report, a work of historic importance that reads like a detective thriller, includes a moving foreword by Mallory's daughter, Clare Mallory Millikan, plus 100 photographs (80 in color, 20 sepia) illustrating both the 1999 search expedition and Mallory's 1924 attempt. First serial to Outside; author tour. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
This is a truly amazing account of how a group of well-prepared modern mountain climbers made an effort to solve the mystery of a 75-year-old attempt to summit Mt. Everest. Others had tried and failed to locate the frozen remains of English mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. The two perished atop the mountain in 1924, but their bodies were never recovered, leaving it unclear whether or not they had reached the top nearly three decades before Sir Edmund Hillary. While the recent team never solved the question of Mallory and Irvine's summiting, in May they did discover Mallory's frozen body on the North Col in an amazing state of preservation. Along with describing the preparations and personnel of their own team, the authors provide a detailed account of the activities of the 1924 expedition. The new group (which included Larry Johnson, who gave up his publicity job at Stackpole Books to make the climb) was astounded at what Mallory and Irvine were able to accomplish with what by today's standards seemed like very primitive equipment. A good read for adventure lovers and a historical standout among the escalating numbers of Everest climbing books. [With accompanying articles in Outside, New York Times, and Vanity Fair.--Ed.]--Robert F. Greenfield, formerly with Baltimore Cty. P.L. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.School Library Journal
YA-Here is the inside story of the search for the long-lost British mountaineer. Mallory, one of the most accomplished high-altitude climbers of his time, and his companion disappeared from the slopes of Mount Everest in 1924 when they were close to becoming the first humans to reach the highest spot on Earth. In this skillfully crafted story, readers learn how Hemmleb, the young German graduate student and historiographer of Everest expeditions, linked up with Larry Johnson, another Everest enthusiast, and high-altitude expedition leader Eric Simonson in 1999 to put to rest the mystery of what became of Mallory. Stories of the original trek are intertwined with details of the modern research expedition. This beautifully composed, slightly oversized volume with heavy glossy pages has copious, lustrous photographs, including many from the earlier expedition, and several maps that perfectly support the text. This absorbing book evokes a reverence for Mallory and all those high-altitude mountaineers who have succeeded him in the climb to the roof of the world.-Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|Book Details
Published
October 1, 1999
Publisher
Seattle, WA : Mountaineers Books, 1999.
Pages
208
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780898866995