Rating: 
Summary: A spellbinding story of the Mallory-Irvine mystery
Review: A wonderfully written and well photograghed and illustrated account of the search for the lost explorers of Everest, culminating in the discovery of George Mallory's body. The thorough research done by Everest historian Jochen Hemmleb was fascinating and instrumental in narrowing down the search area and laying to rest many previous theories about Mallory and Irvine's disappearance.Given the toughness of these early climbers and the shear drive and determination of George Mallory, one can't help but fantasize they made it to the summit. This book is a "must read" for any Everest enthusiast and great reading for anyone who loves a true-life mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: INSPIRING STORY OF A MAN'S DREAM, MYSTERY OF HIS FATE
Review: The book is focused on the search conducted to find out what happened to Mallory and Irvine, the two British climbers who disappeared on Everest in the 1930s. Mallory is basically a legend in mountaineering. The authors tell the story of their own search expedition by making it parallel to Mallory's. For example, we see the logistics it took this expedition in 1999 to get everyhitng to Everest base camp. In contrast, we see the long trek the expedition in the 1930s had to face, with sickness and much more difficult terrain and logistics. It was amazing that they had the energy to climb once they got to base camp. The book switches between a technical archeology mystery and the history known of the expedition. It is very interesting to see the 1999 expedition trace back the steps of the earlier one. We see the tremendous difficulties they went through in the 1930s, with clothing that was hardly appropriate and the best equipment at the time. Ultimately, the authors find Mallory's body, but it is still not clear if he reached the summit before falling. He fell and broke a knee, which is a death sentence at that altitude. Irvine was not found. The book ends with the authors making their own summit bid, and only two of them making it. This is one of the best mountaineering books, especially as it brings in the mystery of what happened. I highly recommend it for the armchair mountaineer.
Rating:
Summary: Get this one !!!
Review: Look, if you're going to read one book on Everest, make it this one. The story and photos in it moved me so much. Who cares whether Mallory & Irvine made it to the top ? This is a monument to Human Endeavour. The picture of the body of Mallory still gripping the mountain after seventy years really says a thousand words...
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Topic, But Ultimately Tedious
Review: This book is two stories for the price of one. Alternate chapters deal with the 1924 attempted ascent of everest by mallory and irvine, and the 1999 mallory and irvine research expedition. The 1924 story is clear and factually correct in its content, and the standard of photography is high. The 1999 expedition has the highlight of the finding of George Mallory's body on the north face of everest. It is an incredible chapter culminating in a photo of the great man still in self arrest position. And thats about it. Large sections of the book are ghost written and have a distant feel, written in third person or taking extracts of interviews that distance the reader. The last chapter gives Jochen Hemmleb, a German M & I researcher his chance to give four possible endings to the tale of mallory and irvine. Very good, but I didnt want conjecture, just the documented story of the finding of a great explorer. It is clear that Mr Hemmleb knows his stuff but he has as much evidence for his hypotheses as Tom Holzel has for his in the book "The search for mallory and irvine", ie- very little solid evidence. The climbing team that made up the 1999 M & I expedition are back on the mountain at present. Good luck to them, and I hope they find Andrew Irvines body and camera. Otherwise we may well be treated to another unnecessary mix of travelog and conjecture this year. Its not bad, but it could have been so much better.
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