True Stories Everest Adventures

Usborne Young Reading Series 4

by Paul Dowswell

A collection of real-life stories: extreme cold, perilous danger and daring exploration, including several stories of tragedy the mountain's slopes. Includes maps, a glossary of mountaineering words; further resources - including photos, video clips and a virtual climb of Mount Everest - are available via Usborne Quicklinks.

Genres: Adventure, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Paul Dowswell is a British writer of nonfiction and young adult novels who has written over 70 books for British publishers. He was a senior editor at Usborne Publishing, then went freelance in 1999.

Reviews

[Elijah (Not all those who wander are lost) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! 4.5

[John Lauricella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read. Learning about all the incredible journeys to climb Everest was amazing. The challenges the climbers faced seemed endless - from blizzards to thunderstorms to oxygen to the freezing climate. It is unbelievable the things these daring people overcome to merely say they've climbed the tallest mountain in the world. They put their lives in harm's way to make it to the top. This book really shows people that you have to be very audacious and brave to take on something as inhospitable as Everest. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves quick reads and awesome adventures.

[Deakin Wimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that I read in February was True Stories of Everest Adventures, by Paul Dowswell. I really enjoyed this book I am fascinated by the “unconquerable” mountain that is Everest and for me to read about these adventures is a very cool experience. My favorite character was the Sherpa named Tenzing, a sherpa is a person who helps tourist climbers climb these major mountains. Tenzing was a very good friend to all of the people who gave him work, also he was one of the first people to ever reach the summit of Everest. The quote that inspired me in this book was when one of the journalists said “The unconquerable has been conquered” if you can figure out solutions and come out with plans that can make you successful then you are more likely to be successful. The theme from this book is risks are worth taking. Two major risks that were taking in these stories were when some of the pioneers decided to climb the mysterious South Col and when another pioneer used Hillary’s steps to get to the summit. I recommend this book.

[Samantha Issa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good compilation on the real life expeditions to Mt Everest leading up to Hillary and Norgay's ascent, as well as the 1999 one to find Mallory and Irvine. As I lived in Nepal for 6 years, this was pretty nostalgic and makes me wanna go back and also attempt the base camp. It's a good intro to those expeditions too - I've never actually read about how the first successful summit happened. I think the book would benefit from more maps so the reader can better visualize what routes the climbers took. Nevertheless, I also liked how the climbers were inspiringly characterized and the Sherpas were also given due credit. I'd recommend this to any adventure-loving person and someone who likes history.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really commendably done look at the history of Mount Everest, up to and (sort of) beyond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. It's the kind of go-getting British Boy's Own adventure stuff schools have dropped because wokeness, anti-imperialism and all that, but it should be in the curriculum and this is a decent way to present the basic timeline. It's non-fiction but very sweetly narrative, and also covers Maurice Wilson, a guy with more ideas of greatness than most, who gets left out of a lot of similarly-themed books for adults. The chance this will teach many lucky browsers something they didn't know probably means it deserves full marks.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it a lot!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful coverage of climbs in 20th century. Amazing stories of bravery as well as arrogance. Good for any age.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very educational & informative. I didn't know much about Everest before reading this book, even though I had seen the 2015 movie "Everest" about the 1996 tragedies. I also read a brief bio of Edmund Hillary in another book "Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die?". But before reading this book I didn't realize just how difficult climbing Everest really was. They even said that putting a man on the moon was less costly in terms of human lives than getting someone to summit Everest (even though funding for putting a man on the moon was more expensive).

I liked that some different chapters had maps drawn of different routes people took. I would've liked to see a few leaflet pages in the middle containing a photograph section of especially the earlier expeditions, or the people involved in them. The back of the book included a glossary of definitions (I had never heard the Welsh word "cwm" before this book, which describes a bowl-like area surrounded by faces of mountains, & I still don't know how to pronounce it) in the back, as well as some weblinks and other books for further reading.

[Kaitlin Younger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few nonfiction books about climbs on Everest. This one definitely compares and has great information on the early climbs that finally lead to the first successful summit... and then a few more summit stories after. Definitely learned a lot, and would be more than fantastic for a younger age group.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool stories

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

What perspective it gives you of the hugeness of Everest and nature. Motivational specially if you are into climbing and trekking

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and educational.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about Mount Everest and this was an interesting and enjoyable read.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of accounts about climbing a mountain.

Overall I found this book a bit dull.

Reading time around ninety minutes.

[Neetu Srusti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and interesting. Makes me like my warm bed much more!!

[Vikas Jadon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and well written book.