This is a collection of 13 true adventure stories based around the desire to conquer Mount Everest. The stories are of remarkable, sometimes foolhardy, but always fascinating, journeys. They do not always end in triumph. For every success story, there is an equally tragic story. The stories are of courage, stupidity, ambition and misfortune and are arranged chronologically.
The opening chapter gives the reader background information about Everest, the highest mountain in the world. It discusses the geography and the general history and also includes maps to help illustrate the text.
You learn that 15 different routes have been used to climb Everest and that frozen bodies can be a frequent sight as it difficult to bring the dead back down.
The last story is of an expedition of a trek in 1999, to bring back the bodies of George Mallory (35) and Sandy Irvine (22), who went missing on the mountain in 1924. The story of Mallory's last climb was told earlier in the book.
Everest is still being climbed today. It is still dangerous and there are other dangers besides death. Many climbers are injured or suffer frostbite during their climbs. ( )