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zachnachazel's review against another edition
4.0
I can never get enough of Everest books. Loved the way the author weaved the history with their own story and adventure.
mutyat's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
gmamartha's review against another edition
4.0
Mount Everest. Looking for 1924 climbers Irvine and Mallory.
reynier's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Oh my goddddd this one is so good. I kind of side eye the ethics of how the expedition was carried out, but I also recognize the CTMA made this very difficult. Phenomenal book at any rate. Mark Synott is a surprisingly wonderful writer of history.
Also the CTMA might actually have both bodies huh. I thought that one was a dumb conspiracy theory but maybe not
Also the CTMA might actually have both bodies huh. I thought that one was a dumb conspiracy theory but maybe not
ekarpinski's review against another edition
2.0
A meandering book with a whole lot of nothing much to say: nothing you can't find on Wikipedia (and about the same level of basic summary information in his many tangents) and nothing particularly interesting. At times it feels obvious he's trying to meet a word count and is filling in content from a couple hasty Internet searches on related topics.
librarianjennifer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
4.0
maevehk23's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
4.25
This book didn’t really know what it wanted to be, but as a “catch all” Everest book, it still hit the nail on the head. A little bit of history and a little bit of the author’s adventure, I enjoyed learning and reading about the mountain.
laporziuncula's review against another edition
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Fascinating! Kind of morbid, because it recounts the many deaths from the 2019 season on Everest which was coincidentally when Synnott’s team went to look for the body of Sandy Irvine.
Other reviews complained that Synnott didn’t seem to know what type of book he was writing. Personally I enjoyed the back and forth between Mallory and Irvine’s story, and the search to find Irvine and solve the mystery of whether they summited Everest in 1924. (I think a really compelling case can be made that they did summit.)
Much of modern Everest “culture”, for lack of a better word, is incredibly off-putting to me, and the chapters on the 2019 season highlighted exactly the things that are distasteful about it (exploitation of sherpas, the commercialization of climbing the mountain, the trash left there, etc). But they were still interesting, thought provoking, and did give some perspective, especially comparing how ill-equipped Mallory, Irvine, and the other early climbers were in comparison to modern climbers.
I was captivated enough that I’m reading several other books now on Mallory & Irvine’s expeditions and the history of the Himalayas.
Other reviews complained that Synnott didn’t seem to know what type of book he was writing. Personally I enjoyed the back and forth between Mallory and Irvine’s story, and the search to find Irvine and solve the mystery of whether they summited Everest in 1924. (I think a really compelling case can be made that they did summit.)
Much of modern Everest “culture”, for lack of a better word, is incredibly off-putting to me, and the chapters on the 2019 season highlighted exactly the things that are distasteful about it (exploitation of sherpas, the commercialization of climbing the mountain, the trash left there, etc). But they were still interesting, thought provoking, and did give some perspective, especially comparing how ill-equipped Mallory, Irvine, and the other early climbers were in comparison to modern climbers.
I was captivated enough that I’m reading several other books now on Mallory & Irvine’s expeditions and the history of the Himalayas.
clareobrien92's review against another edition
5.0
Good God what a spectacular book. Beautifully weaves together the history of Everest and human stories of modern day climbers, always a healthy dollop of a fascinating historical mystery entrenched in geopolitics. There is tragedy and triumph here, and I cried both at points throughout and in the closing paragraphs just because it summed up so powerfully the journey we had been on.