George Mallory wrote those words in May 1924, just days before he and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine made their final attempt to summit Mount Everest. They disappeared on June 8, 1924, and mystery has swirled around them ever since. Did they reach the summit, 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary?

The recovery of Mallory's body in May 1999 provoked more questions than it answered. Clearly Mallory fell and then died of exposure. But was he on his way up or down? David Breashears (of IMAX Everest fame) and mountaineering historian Audrey Salkeld devote a thoughtful chapter to the discovery, examining the clues found with Mallory and speculating on his experiences on that fateful day. As is to be expected, however, Breashears and Salkeld leave it to others (including Conrad Anker and Jochen Hemmleb) to make conclusions; their book is about much more than Mallory's disappearance. Last Climb is an affectionate biography of Mallory, his fellow climbers, and their three Everest expeditions. Diaries and letters written by expedition members bring their voices into the present, while the authors' considerable Everest expertise ensures historical accuracy. Dozens of vintage photographs taken by Mallory and the other expedition members illustrate the text, revealing a time when "gentlemen mountaineers climbed in leather boots and tweeds"--their gear better suited to a bright day in the Scottish highlands than the slopes of Everest.

The morbid-minded may be disappointed that the only photograph of Mallory's remains is of his hobnailed boot, but others may see this as a mark of respect for the great climber. Beautifully presented and carefully written, Last Climb is easily the classiest book on the Mallory mystery. --Sunny Delaney [close]