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Paths of Glory

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 5,327 ratings · 600 reviews

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals.

But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his...more

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published March 3rd 2009 by St. Martin's Press (first published January 1st 2009)

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Jun 16, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: everest-1920s, historical-fiction

This book was pretty atrocious. To be fair, the author does state at the beginning that it is a work of fiction, so perhaps it isn't fair to take issue with the extremely wide latitude Archer takes with the historical facts. Paths of Glory is a fictionalized account of the life of George Mallory and the British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s. Some of Archer's fabrications are obviously for dramatic effect. While ridiculous, stories such as having George Mallory climb up the outside of...more

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May 31, 2011 Jyoti Babel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer is based on a true story. It is the story of George Mallory who dreamed of conquering the Everest and perished on his third attempt. On searching about it in Google, I found that his body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit. He was last seen six hundred feet from the top.

Story Summary from the book:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be gua...more Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer is based on a true story. It is the story of George Mallory who dreamed of conquering the Everest and perished on his third attempt. On searching about it in Google, I found that his body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit. He was last seen six hundred feet from the top.

Story Summary from the book:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals. But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?

Paths of Glory, is the story of such a man. But only after you’ve turned the last page of this extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to the list of legends, in which case another name would have to be removed.
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The book summary speaks pretty much a lot about the content of the book. The cover page of the book also said, 'He loved two women and the second one killed him'. That was intriguing at first, but soon I figured out who this second lady was.

The book starts with George Mallory and how even as a kid, he showed his natural talent for climbing. He is married to the love of his life and is blessed with two daughters and a son. After his education is finished he takes up a job as a school master. But his passion for climbing never dims or dies. The novel also touches on the horrors of World War I and how life of common people were affected by it. What, I liked about the novel was the love Mallory had for his wife and how they wrote letters to each other when Mallory was off to his Everest expeditions. In fact, a good part of the novel is told in the letters they write to each other. But, in the end Mt. Everest proved to be tough lady to please and whether Mallory reached the top or not remained a mystery and a controversy. But, in the end, Archer made clear what he felt the truth was.

The writing style is average and Mallory is portrayed as a hero throughout even though there are other fellow climbers who seem quite good. There are some shallow details about the adversaries of nature on high altitudes, the preparation involved in mountaineering and the perils involved but all that did not make the story more convincing for me. To me it sounded more fictional than real.When you read something involving adventures, it should make you excited as well. This book failed to ignite that excitement. The book is different from all the other books I have read of the author. It is kind of rather slow paced than I would like it to be.
I was not amazed or annoyed by it. For me it falls into the average quick read.
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Jul 06, 2011 Debby rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a novel based on a historical event whose outcome is unknown.
George Mallory loved climbing mountains and he had a lifelong dream of climbing to the summit of Mt. Everest - 29,002 ft. He also wanted to be the first man to do so. He promised his wife he would only attempt the climb once and if it wasn't successful, he'd be content to let that "lover" go.
Funded by the Royal Geographic Society of Great Britain, the first expedition led by Mallory in 1921 wasn't successful. A few years late...more

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Apr 09, 2009 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although I enjoyed this book, as I do all Jeffrey Archer books, I was not compelled to read it every day. It was almost a chore to sit down to read this so it could get back to the library on time. Not my favourite of his.

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Apr 09, 2013 Aoi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: hf-england

'Paths of Glory' is a fictionalised account of George Leigh Mallory's life upto his final disappearance attempting to summit Everest. I was concerned about losing my affinity to non-romance novels, but as it turns out, this was definitely the wrong Archer to pick.

Reading about a great man attempting great deeds, I was curiously left untouched and uninspired. The problem isn't the average writing; rather, it was the failure to get a glimpse into Mallory's psyche. From the get-go, the young Mallor...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Perrin Pring rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, wwi

Paths of Glory is Jeffery Archer's fictionalized account of George Mallory's life. George Mallory, for those who don't know, was the premere climber in the west durning the early 1900's. Mallory was also perhaps the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, although he didn't make it back down.

This book really got interesting after the first 6 CD's. (The entire unabridged version is 9 disks total). The first 2/3's of the story is packed with pretty minute/boring details of what Mallory's...more Paths of Glory is Jeffery Archer's fictionalized account of George Mallory's life. George Mallory, for those who don't know, was the premere climber in the west durning the early 1900's. Mallory was also perhaps the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, although he didn't make it back down.

This book really got interesting after the first 6 CD's. (The entire unabridged version is 9 disks total). The first 2/3's of the story is packed with pretty minute/boring details of what Mallory's life was supposedly like leading up to his first attempt on Everest. Archer also adds a lot of fictionalized dialogue which gets pretty hard to handle after a while. Not only is everyone calling each other 'old boy' and 'old chap' every other line, but if I ever hear anyone refer to climbing a mountain as 'making an assault on a fickle mistress' again, I might just stab the person with an ice axe.

The last 3 disks, however, are pretty interesting. Perhaps it was because I knew the book was ending, and I knew how it was going to end (the first chapter of the book is Conrad Anchor finding Mallory's body in 1999). I actually was pretty sad at the end, despite knowing he was going to die.

After finishing the book I looked up more of the Mallory story. Apparently, Mallory and his partner, Irving, had a camera with them the day they disappeared. It wasn't on Mallory's body, so it is assumed it is on Irving's, but his remains have yet to be found. Mallory and Irving could have reached the summit of Everest, however, it is generally believed they probably didn't, based on the conditions and the gear they had in 1924.

I did like that Archer wrote the book as if Mallory and Irving had made it to the top. The story is sad, so it was nice to have a silver lining.

Overall, I think if I had to read this book again, I might pick up a biography about Mallory instead of Paths of Glory. I like having facts, rather than fictionalized facts. I do appreciate that I am now interested in Mallory because of this book though. Maybe I'll pick up that biography anyway.

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Apr 03, 2013 Dale rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sometimes exciting, sometimes tedious

This is my first Archer book. I used to work in a bookstore and we would sell quite a few of his books so I was looking forwards to experiencing both a rousing adventure and an Archer book. But, based on this work, I doubt I will be looking for more by Archer.

The book is about the man who may have been the first person to to get to the top of Mount Everest, George Mallory and who is, perhaps, most famous for saying, "because it is there" when he was asked w...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Iceman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Evareste…

Desde que o mundo tomou conhecimento, em 1856 por intermédio do Procurador-Geral da Coroa Britânica, Sir George Evareste (daí o nome ocidentalizado), o monte Sigarmatha (deusa mãe da Terra) ou Chomolangma, fica situada na cadeia montanhosa dos Himalaias e é a montanha mais alta do planeta (8848 mts).

Embora venerada pelos habitantes locais que a temem e evitam, os ocidentais desde logo objectivaram a sua escalada enviando para isso várias expedições. A primeira expedição oficial data de...more Evareste…

Desde que o mundo tomou conhecimento, em 1856 por intermédio do Procurador-Geral da Coroa Britânica, Sir George Evareste (daí o nome ocidentalizado), o monte Sigarmatha (deusa mãe da Terra) ou Chomolangma, fica situada na cadeia montanhosa dos Himalaias e é a montanha mais alta do planeta (8848 mts).

Embora venerada pelos habitantes locais que a temem e evitam, os ocidentais desde logo objectivaram a sua escalada enviando para isso várias expedições. A primeira expedição oficial data de 1921 e seria chefiada por George Mallory.

George Mallory não foi um homem comum.

Dono de uma vontade férrea, de uma mentalidade forte e um carácter persistente, desde criança que a aventura e a escalada foram uma paixão e algo mais do que um hobbie. Desde cedo se apaixonou por escaladas perigosas e daí a começar a escalar os montes mais altos da Grã-Bretanha foi um pequeno passo, até que, já após os 30 anos, lhe surge a oportunidade de uma vida, a mais alta pretensão de um alpinista: chefiar uma expedição ao Evareste e ter a possibilidade de ser o primeiro Ser Humano a chegar ao seu topo.

Se conseguiu ou não, nesse ano ou noutro, é algo que compete ao leitor decidir…

Confesso que o livro me comoveu.

Embora romanceado, é a História real de alguém que demonstrou uma força e um carácter enorme. Desde logo me compatibilizei com Mallory e percebi o quão difícil e quase inteligível seria o seu objectivo. A sua conduta, o seu código de honra também me tocaram fundo, sobretudo por viver numa era onde a palavra pouco valor tem e onde, a cada “esquina” vejo pessoas que pouca honra têm e que não demonstram carácter nem atitude, para além disso o rigor de Mallory, o seu enorme coração permitiu-lhe ser Grande.

A História colocou Mallory num plano secundário. Na minha opinião muito injustamente. Uma breve pesquisa na internet percebemos que cometeu um enorme feito, 29 anos antes de alguém, oficialmente, ter cumprido o objectivo Evareste...

Leiam este fascinante livro e descubram que feito foi esse.

No entanto este é também uma obra que fala de amor. Dois grandes amores que sublinham e fortalecem o ditado “por detrás de um grande homem está uma grande mulher”,

Gostei também da escrita de Jeffrey Archer e da estrutura do livro. Capítulos curtos, bem objectivos, escrita simples denotando algum conhecimento do terreno e do tema abordado. Para além da pesquisa, fiquei com a ideia que o autor foi conhecer o terreno de forma a poder narrar, com conhecimento de causa, as difíceis condições em altitude.(less)

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Sep 06, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

I will try not to be too hard on this one, because it did provide several hours of summer-reading pleasure, and piqued my interest enough in George Mallory to inspire another hour of enjoyable wikipedia exploration. The book is light, well-paced, and entertaining for the most part.

However, if you are hoping for Archer to bring the kind of depth, sophistication, research, and general awesomeness of a Laura Hillenbrand, Mark Frost, or Erik Larson to George Mallory... look elsewhere. This is defin...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Haider rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book focuses on his point of view as a young boy to this death on Everest at the age of 37. He was born to climb as indicated, not just by his climbs of famous mountains, but climbing the facades of buildings at Cambridge, Venice and New York City.

I don’t know how much is factual and how much is entirely made-up. I have no way of knowing and don’t care. I enjoyed the story right from the start. I didn’t want to put the book down but since I’m a slow reader, had to.

As I read, I kept asking my...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Bertrand Brasil rated it 5 of 5 stars

Algumas pessoas têm sonhos tão extraordinários que, quando conseguem realizá-los, ganham lugar na história. Mas e se um homem tiver um sonho assim e, após concretizá-lo, não houver prova de que o alcançou? As Trilhas da Glória, de Jeffrey Archer, apresenta a história romanceada de um desses homens: o alpinista George Mallory.

Baseado numa história real cujo resultado até hoje é desconhecido, o livro traz George Mallory e seu grande sonho: ser o primeiro homem a alcançar o topo do Monte Everest. C...more

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Jul 20, 2012 James Piper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-non, 2-non, 3-fiction, 4-novel, 5-adventure

The book is a fictional biography of the life of George Mallory.

As someone who has read a bit about Mt. Everest, I knew the name, but didn’t know much about his life. He was British. Tried to be the first to summit Everest but died in the process. Some years later, his body was discovered to confirm that he had died on the mountain, but the mystery of whether he reached the top of world wasn’t solved.

The book focuses on his point of view as a young boy to this death on Everest at the age of 37....more

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Jun 22, 2012 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

I have been a fan of Jeffrey Archer since reading Kane and Abel many years ago. I just finished his novel, Paths of Glory, the story of the 1924 "failed" attempt to climb Mt. Everest by George Mallory. Though I am not typically a fan of man against nature themes along the lines of Jon Krakauer, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. First of all, it is not exactly a classic example of Archer's work. The plot is less sophisticated, the character's humbler, the writing simpler, resulting in a much less e...more

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May 18, 2012 Rohit Jaini rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Paths of glory" is a book for the common and passionate. Though this statement is seemingly ambivalent, its entirely pertinent when it comes to this piece by Jeffrey Archer.
There has been ample mention as to how this book succeeds to be a befitting biography of the mountaineering legend George Mallory. Well, in my opinion that is just the icing on the cake, the underlying depicts how uncannily ordinary the life of an extraordinary can be.
Often we find ourselves at crucial or I must say "ru...more

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May 10, 2012 Sundarraj Kaushik rated it 3 of 5 stars

The author takes one to Himalayan heights. The book is about the mountaineer George Mallory who made the first attempt to scale Mount Everest.
Nobody knows for sure if he made it, but in the book he and his partner make it to the top of the world. On the way back both die a tragic death and so the secret remains with them.
The book starts with the early life of George Mallory and his tryst with mountains which start in the Scottish hills. He then hones his climbing skills in the Alps where he does...more The author takes one to Himalayan heights. The book is about the mountaineer George Mallory who made the first attempt to scale Mount Everest.
Nobody knows for sure if he made it, but in the book he and his partner make it to the top of the world. On the way back both die a tragic death and so the secret remains with them.
The book starts with the early life of George Mallory and his tryst with mountains which start in the Scottish hills. He then hones his climbing skills in the Alps where he does Matterhorn and Mount Blanc the tallest in Europe.
He sets his eyes on scaling Mount Everest but it takes a while before the Empire can get a permission from the Tibetan authorities to enter their territory for somebody to make an attempt.
In this first attempt he goes with his closest rival an Australian. His rival insists on usage of Oxygen, but George and his colleagues are opposed to it. In a discussion they have in the Himalayas, George argues that use of Oxygen amounts to cheating as it is use of artificial aid to climb and that it does not test the human endurance limits. Finch argues that by that count the boots, the gloves, the warm clothes all amount to cheating. This talk and his own experience when they go past the 27000 feet mark convinces George that Finch has a point. They have to return as the monsoons begin and they are unable to make it to the top.
After that George promises that he will not make another attempt. But he finds that his coffers are empty. His attempt at earning dough by addressing the public also fails as he is not able to draw enough audience. In the meantime his wife is convinced by one of his friends to prod him to make the second attempt. So his wife reluctantly prods him and he jumps at the prod and goes enthusiastically preparing about for the second attempt.
In the second attempt he fails to secure a place with his rival and partner Finch whose activities have enraged the National Geographic Society which is sponsoring the trip and instead he has to settle for a young inexperienced partner as one of his climbing partner in addition to his usual team.
This time they make it to the 23000 feet without much issues. But then the first team to make an attempt fails as they go without the aid of Oxygen tanks.
The second attempt is made by George and the young lad who seems to have adjusted to the heights pretty well and is open to using Oxygen. Both of them set out with another old partner of George they progress without much ado to 27000 feet. There they realize that it will be possible to accommodate only two people on that ledge and so the old partner goes back to the camp lower down.
George and his young companion start their ascent and after overcoming great difficultly they reach the summit where George places the photograph of this wife which he has carried with him all along the trip.
But they do not make it back and leave the whole world in suspense.
All in a good read from Jeffrey Archer. A slightly different book from the author.(less)

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Oct 01, 2010 Steven Kent rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: features-an-evil-republican, nonfiction, stuff-that-s-good-to-konw, unneeded-knowledge

Paths to Glory is a stylized history of the legendary mountain climber George Mallory, told in novel form and taking incredible liberties.

Let's begin by discussing George Mallory and why readers might care about him. Mallory was the British mountaineer who, when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, stated, "Because it's there." He failed in his first attempt to climb the mountain and vanished on his second--a mystery which was not solved for 75 years.

Mallory's life and death are the stuff...more

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May 13, 2010 Charmaine Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is not a book I would normally read but someone in my book club wanted to review it and I was lent a copy so I decided to give it a go. I must say it surprised me. I liked it a great deal. I have never read Jeffery Archer before. His writing is not flowery but crisp, fast paced and human. I wasn’t familiar with the story of George Mallroy, who made the first attempts to climb Everest. Archer painted a picture of Mallroy as a man that was driven, honorable, loving, a climbers climber from th...more

This is not a book I would normally read but someone in my book club wanted to review it and I was lent a copy so I decided to give it a go. I must say it surprised me. I liked it a great deal. I have never read Jeffery Archer before. His writing is not flowery but crisp, fast paced and human. I wasn’t familiar with the story of George Mallroy, who made the first attempts to climb Everest. Archer painted a picture of Mallroy as a man that was driven, honorable, loving, a climbers climber from the time he was a small child and self confident, perhaps to a fault. But the real story and perhaps the one that kept me in was his relationship to his wife. He wrote her every day when they were apart, even from a tent at the 40 below heights of Everest. They had three children together and he seemed to thrive on his family life. He was a bit scattered, usually late and disorganized. He ended up teaching school when he couldn’t get into a PHD program at Cambridge. His wife Ruth came from a wealthy family. Her father wanted to keep them in a life style in which she was accustomed. They weren’t socialites but appeared to be dedicated to home and family.

George climbed everything, including the Eiffel Tower (he spent time in a French jail for this) and the Basilica in the Pizza San Marco in Venice. (to impress Ruth before they were a couple) He narrowly escaped from the Italian Police. When you have climbed everything there is nothing left but Everest, especially when no one has ever done it before. After the first failed attempt when he had a sense of how foolhardy it was, how unpredictable the weather was, how difficult the breathing was at that altitude, how devastating it was to lose men in avalanches, how could he go back when he knew the dangers? It seemed selfish to me for him to jeopardize his life at the expense of his children and a woman who he professed so great a love. I chalk it up to self-confidence gone awry, especially since he was in uncharted territory. He thought he was subject to different rules because of his great strength and abilities. I believe he also got caught up in the push from others who wanted him to succeed and thought he could. I recommend it even to skeptics of Everest stories.

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Apr 01, 2010 Monica Chin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 9th-grade-advisory

I really liked this book! It kept me anxious for whatever came next, and the book was like a magnet, keeping me glued onto its pages especially towards the thrilling end; I remmeber staying up till three o'clock in the morning (this morning) finishing the last page! It was hard to understand because it seemed like there were many characters at once entering the page and the writing was sophisticated for me; but I got used to it as I continued reading.
This book is a true story about an englishma...more

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Mar 04, 2010 Anjali rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, good-ending, read-in-2009

Paths of Glory is a fictionalized account of George Mallory, a mountaineer who tried to conquer the Mount Everest in 1924, but nobody knows whether he succeeded because he died during that attempt. It is not confirmed whether Mallory died on the way down (which makes him the first man to have scaled Mount Everest) or on the way up. Many people believe that Mallory died before he climbed the highest point. Jeffrey Archer thinks otherwise. A newspaper in New Zealand called Archer’s book an insult...more

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Jan 14, 2010 Joanna Mieso rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. About 10 years ago National Geographic published photos of a body found on Mt. Everest - it was found laying face down, and the photos depicted the torso and arms in tattered clothes. What astonished me was the state of preservation: the body looked like pure alabaster. The article was fascinating, describing the 1924 English expedition to reach the summit of Everest. The body was that of George Mallory, a history teacher and noted climber who'd attempted Everest before; that previous expedition...more

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Jul 27, 2009 Mom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Here's another great book I listened to in the car as I do errands, etc. It was very hard to leave it in the car after not very long. This is not your usual Jeffery Archer with a twist, but more of a historical novel. I now want to see the movie that the guy who climbed with them made.

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. People like Christopher Columbus, Isaac Newton, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, N...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Chandra Nataraja rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you are a mountain climber or a serious trekking enthusiast, this book is a must read. (especially if you have tasted the Himalayas and sighted the Everest. Know more about Chomolungma by reading this book.
I still believe that Mr.Mallory did climb the world's tallest peak ahead of the great Hillary though I cant prove it. At the end, my eyes were filled with emotion, appreciation, awe and sheer guts of the great man and the mighty mountain. After 6 months of finishing the read, I still cannot...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jeffrey Archer is a terrific writer! At his hands, even the stuff you have the least interest in become interesting. (e.g. the newspaper industry, politics, mountaineering) He just has a way of dramatizing everything, of taking all the little details and telling you what could quite plausibly have occured, and you'd believe his story, fictional or non-fictional. He has a way of showing you what happens, leading you along and you don't question anything (much), because you're afraid that if you d...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bought this book at LHR for an easy read during my flight to Minneapolis (to be there when Laura bought her wedding dress!) It served its purpose very well as Jeffrey Archer usually spins a good yarn but I was pleasantly surprised in that this novel wasn't like his others. For one thing, it's based upon fact (mountaineer George Mallory and the enigma as to whether it was in fact he who was the very first to reach the summit of Everest) and for another, it was a 'gentle' book rather than the pacy...more

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Jan 01, 2012 CekMoNSter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: motivation, english

So this is my first Jeffrey Archer`s book..It was said somewhere on the cover that he was one of the best writer, and I couldn`t agree more..

This is an inspirational story about George Mallory, an English climber who attempt to climb the Mt. EVerest on 1920-s, long before Sir Edmund Hillary succeed in doing so in 1954. His last attempt on 1924 however caused his life, with his climbing partner, Irvine. No one really knows if he succeed or not to reach the peak, until 1999 later, they found his f...more

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Aug 29, 2010 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. Having been a fan of Jeffrey Archer's books for a long time, I just picked this one up and started reading it because I didn't really have a plan in mind for anything else at the moment. Boy was I surprised!

This book is a fictional biography of George Mallory, arguably the first human being to climb Mount Everest. And that's sort of what this story is about. But it really turns out to be oh so much more than a simple recanting of history.

Told in a fictional way and inte...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Betsy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This easy summertime read will feel comfortable for any Jeffrey Archer fan; his writing style is intact, and the story is epic (his favorite kind). Unlike other recent Archer novels, this one breaks with his formula and feels fresher, thanks to the premise of exploring the life of James Mallory, whom many believe to be the first man to climb Mount Everest. Mallory disappeared during his last attempt to climb the mountain in the 1920's, and his body was later recovered in 1999 about 600 feet from...more

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Dec 13, 2009 Roger rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have been fascinated by Mt. Everest since I came back from a conference that had as its motivation speaker who was a survivor of the 1996 Mt. Everest disasters that were chronicled by Jon Kraukauer in his classic book-"Into Thin Air." This is when I was first introduced to George Leigh Mallory. Did he make it to the top of Mt. Everest in 1924? Jeffery Archer did a great job in telling Mallory's life story in this fictionalize historical novel and of Mallory's life long dream of conquering Ever...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Manu Prasad rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: review

Every time I start an Archer book, I expect to be entertained and to be made to think, and it always happens so. This one is no different. I simply loved the humour that Archer retains throughout the book.

But it is a bit different in on another front. It is based on a true story, but one as nail biting as the works of fiction that Archer has written in the past.

Set in an age of adventure and explorations, when men had not yet reached the South Pole and the Himalayas, it is the story of George...more

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May 03, 2011 Pawan rated it 5 of 5 stars

http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/
I have been fan of Jeffrey Archer’s writings from college days when I first read “Kane and Abel”. I must have read all his books and some of them multiple times. Even his short stories are amazing with great twists and turns. When I picked up “Paths of Glory”, I was expecting a similar experience. But this book literally and figuratively took me to the greatest heights of Mount Everest. The book is a fictionalized account of mountaineer George Mallory who made mult...more http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/
I have been fan of Jeffrey Archer’s writings from college days when I first read “Kane and Abel”. I must have read all his books and some of them multiple times. Even his short stories are amazing with great twists and turns. When I picked up “Paths of Glory”, I was expecting a similar experience. But this book literally and figuratively took me to the greatest heights of Mount Everest. The book is a fictionalized account of mountaineer George Mallory who made multiple attempts to scale Everest and in his last attempt he died after slipping off a ridge in 1924. Whether he slipped before or after scaling the Everest is still a mystery.

According to Archer’s book, Mallory slipped after scaling Everest in 1924, that is 29 years before Hillary conquered it and came back alive. His story is based on the premise that Mallory had promised his wife that if he scales the Everest, he will leave his and his wife’s photograph on the peak. He used to carry the photograph in the pocket of his jacket. When Mallory’s body was found in 1999, there was no photograph with him even though other papers were found in his clothes.

Whether Mallory conquered it or not is probably of less significance to me but his attempts to scale Everest itself are legendary. This is a book that really highlights the grit and determination of Mallory and his team at a time when they did not have much technology to support them. The description of multiple attempts that his team made have been written really well and you get a feel of hardships that these people faced to stand on the top of the Earth. Just the fact that somebody did conquer it but it took them 29 more years itself shows the feat that Mallory achieved.

Of course, the style in which Archer has written the book adds to the fun. His way of writing almost makes it look like a romantic and heroic at the same time. This is not a regular Archer book but it is one of his best even if we leave the controversy aside.
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People are willing to dream but not pay the price for their dreams. What do you think?	3	10	Dec 20, 2012 09:23am
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About Jeffrey Archer

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English author and former politician.

He was a Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, and became a life peer in 1992. His political career, having suffered several controversies, ended after a conviction for perverting the course of justice and his subsequent imprisonment. He is married...more

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“It's one of the ironies of mountaineering,' said Young, 'that grown men are happy to spend months preparing for a climb, weeks rehearsing and honing their skills, and at least a day attempting to reach the summit. And then, having achieved their goal, they spend just a few moments enjoying the experience, along with one or two equally certifiable companions who have little in common other than wanting to do it all again, but a little higher.” — 6 people liked it

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