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A review by pippa_w
Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
3.0
But (John Noel's) eyes were drawn to those in khaki, perhaps thirty or more scattered throughout the audience, soldiers like him who had endured the slaughter, the coughing of the guns, the bones and the barbed wire, the white faces of the dead. Only they could possibly know what the vision of Everest had become, at least for him: a sentinel in the sky, a place and destination of hope and redemption, a symbol of continuity in a world gone mad.
Into the Silence reads like it is a labour of love, a passion project, written over many, many years. Indeed, that is precisely what it is - Wade Davis is an anthropologist and amateur mountaineer himself, who was specifically asked to write a book on George Mallory because there was demand for a book by Wade Davis about George Mallory. So he spent ten years on it. And that perspective whispers through every page of the main book, and practically screams from the SIXTY-SEVEN PAGE annotated bibliography.
There are positives and negatives to this. On the plus side, Davis really knows his topic, and that expertise shines without flash throughout. And Davis is an exquisite writer, so despite the fact that this book is saturated with information practically to dripping, each detail is beautifully and lovingly presented. The author really cares about his topic, and about the legacies of the climbers, and it shows.
But, well... let's say, at Christmastime, a fruit-packed plum pudding absolutely drowning in rum comes to mind. It sounds delicious at first, and the first few bites suit you fine, but you find yourself kind of wishing someone had stayed the baker's hand as they were adding dried fruit and drizzling booze. No matter how lovingly these stories are told, there are only so many highly detailed World War I experiences, only so many outfits described right down to the buttons and contents of pockets, you can read through. This story is incredible, but this book is dense, and I should have cared way more about the fates of the climbers by the end of the book than I did. I suppose it didn't help either that they were largely snooty English gentlemen being affectionately humoured by the author. Sure, he's critical, but also these men would probably have loved to know that such close attention was needlessly being paid to every food item they brought on every expedition.
This book wasn't really written for me. People who love Everest expedition stories love this book. So if that topic is your topic, you'll want this on your reading list. If not... well, it's not the worst way to drudge through multiple weeks?
'We expect no mercy from Everest.' - George Mallory, May 1924
Into the Silence reads like it is a labour of love, a passion project, written over many, many years. Indeed, that is precisely what it is - Wade Davis is an anthropologist and amateur mountaineer himself, who was specifically asked to write a book on George Mallory because there was demand for a book by Wade Davis about George Mallory. So he spent ten years on it. And that perspective whispers through every page of the main book, and practically screams from the SIXTY-SEVEN PAGE annotated bibliography.
There are positives and negatives to this. On the plus side, Davis really knows his topic, and that expertise shines without flash throughout. And Davis is an exquisite writer, so despite the fact that this book is saturated with information practically to dripping, each detail is beautifully and lovingly presented. The author really cares about his topic, and about the legacies of the climbers, and it shows.
But, well... let's say, at Christmastime, a fruit-packed plum pudding absolutely drowning in rum comes to mind. It sounds delicious at first, and the first few bites suit you fine, but you find yourself kind of wishing someone had stayed the baker's hand as they were adding dried fruit and drizzling booze. No matter how lovingly these stories are told, there are only so many highly detailed World War I experiences, only so many outfits described right down to the buttons and contents of pockets, you can read through. This story is incredible, but this book is dense, and I should have cared way more about the fates of the climbers by the end of the book than I did. I suppose it didn't help either that they were largely snooty English gentlemen being affectionately humoured by the author. Sure, he's critical, but also these men would probably have loved to know that such close attention was needlessly being paid to every food item they brought on every expedition.
This book wasn't really written for me. People who love Everest expedition stories love this book. So if that topic is your topic, you'll want this on your reading list. If not... well, it's not the worst way to drudge through multiple weeks?
'We expect no mercy from Everest.' - George Mallory, May 1924