Everest and Conquest in the Himalaya: Science and Courage on the World’s Highest Mountain

by George Rodway

A century ago the summits of the world’s highest peaks, Everest included, were beyond reach. Pioneering attempts to overcome the dangers of climbing at extremely high altitudes ended in failure, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Yet today high-altitude ascents are frequent, almost commonplace. Everest can be conquered by relatively inexperienced mountaineers, and their exploits barely merit media attention – unless they go fatally wrong.

In this fascinating study of the dramatic history of Everest climbs, Richard Sale and George Rodway describe in vivid detail the struggle to conquer the mountain and the advances in scientific knowledge that made the conquest possible. Their account gives a compelling insight into the science of mountaineering as well as the physical and psychological challenges faced by individuals who choose to test themselves in some of the harshest conditions on earth.

Genres: Mountaineering

240 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2011

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell this book was written by scientists, not journalists or travel authors. It was quite a slog at times, and for me had only a small amount of new information, but for someone who hasn't read much mountain literature it would probably be more worthwhile, especially if you are focused on high altitude medicine and advancements in technology.
I was disappointed by frequent misspellings of people's names. Sometimes Indian or Nepali names can be written with various spellings due to translations, but David Breashears is not David Breashers and Wang Hong-bao isn't Wang Hang-boa.

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

What sets this apart from every other history of climbing in the Himalaya was the study of, and insights into, the effects of high altitude climbing on human physiology; very much enjoyed that, and the measured approach the authors took to the ethical minefield of modern commercialised climbing.