Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by liznutting
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
4.0
Most books about mountain climbing are written by climbers. As such, they tend to be a bit self-referential and lacking in context outside of the small world of climbing. You may get a book about the history of climbing as an activity or the history of attempts on a particular mountain, but most of the time, little to no attention is paid to the events of the wider world that may be influencing what happens on the mountain.
That's what makes Wade Davis' Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest such an unusual and fascinating book. It tells the story of one of the most iconic adventures in the history of climbing--the early attempts to climb Mt. Everest and the mysterious disappearance of Mallory and Irvine on the third attempt in 1924. But it roots this adventure firmly in the larger world of the time, specifically the conflagration of World War I and the last gasps of the British Raj. Davis shows the expeditions to Everest as a balm to a war-weary Britain, something to lift spirits and inspire hope, while also demonstrating their serious political and diplomatic ramifications for the Empire's grasp on India and the future of Tibet's independence. At the same time, the expeditions themselves were microcosms of the larger societal and cultural conflict between the old guard of British imperialism and the new generation made cynical by their experiences in the trenches. Even the innovative use of oxygen on the heights was resisted by the older generation as "unsporting," a position that was arguably responsible for the cluster f*** of the final climb that led to Mallory's and Irvine's deaths.
Especially in recent years as climbing Everest has become an amusement park ride for the very rich and it takes a gimmick like being blind or 10 years old to raise raise a climb, albeit briefly, to the consciousness of any but a small handful of diehards, it's fascinating to see how Mallory's story resonated with a nation, and even a world. Anyone with an interest in the history of The Great War or The Great Game would find this a great read. At nearly 700 pages, it could definitely have used some editing, especially in the almost minute by minute descriptions of the expeditions themselves. But it is a testament to Davis' writing style that even there the book is readable and never dry. (But the need for editing is why I'm "only" giving it four stars.)
That's what makes Wade Davis' Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest such an unusual and fascinating book. It tells the story of one of the most iconic adventures in the history of climbing--the early attempts to climb Mt. Everest and the mysterious disappearance of Mallory and Irvine on the third attempt in 1924. But it roots this adventure firmly in the larger world of the time, specifically the conflagration of World War I and the last gasps of the British Raj. Davis shows the expeditions to Everest as a balm to a war-weary Britain, something to lift spirits and inspire hope, while also demonstrating their serious political and diplomatic ramifications for the Empire's grasp on India and the future of Tibet's independence. At the same time, the expeditions themselves were microcosms of the larger societal and cultural conflict between the old guard of British imperialism and the new generation made cynical by their experiences in the trenches. Even the innovative use of oxygen on the heights was resisted by the older generation as "unsporting," a position that was arguably responsible for the cluster f*** of the final climb that led to Mallory's and Irvine's deaths.
Especially in recent years as climbing Everest has become an amusement park ride for the very rich and it takes a gimmick like being blind or 10 years old to raise raise a climb, albeit briefly, to the consciousness of any but a small handful of diehards, it's fascinating to see how Mallory's story resonated with a nation, and even a world. Anyone with an interest in the history of The Great War or The Great Game would find this a great read. At nearly 700 pages, it could definitely have used some editing, especially in the almost minute by minute descriptions of the expeditions themselves. But it is a testament to Davis' writing style that even there the book is readable and never dry. (But the need for editing is why I'm "only" giving it four stars.)