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2421 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2012 : 2:58 PM
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Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest
Wade Davis, Knopf Canada, 2011
Okay, we all know how it turns out. Mallory and Irvine try to be the first to climb Everest. They fail, and they die. 80 years later, a body turns up and reignites interest in the story.
At the start of the book, Davis does a great job of setting the scene, of explaining why there was so much interest in the conquest of Everest. More importantly, he explores the history of the men in the party, and digs right into why people like Mallory would want to escape from their memories of the trenches of WW I and go instead to the freedom and purity of the mountains.
The next section covers the preparation for the ascent, the approach, and the exploratory probes to find possible routes to the top. Here, Davis goes into a lot of detail, perhaps of interest to other climbers considering the climb, but rather long-winded and overly detailed. While his dedication to accuracy is laudable, the story turns in to a slog reminiscent of the long climb to the base camp.
Given that, there are good anecdotes of Sherpas swept away in avalanches, harsh conditions, and 'tiffin' on the mountainside in the best upper-class British tradition. Great photos of the people, equipment, and routes. It's all there.
Then the climax, as Davis describes the ascents and theorizes about what happened after the climbers vanished in the clouds. Much of it is entirely plausible, but it is of course guesswork. Wade Davis knows something about climbing, and again, he's done his research. The routes, the hazards and the eventual outcome are explained very well.
Unfortunately, I found the story to be bogged down by the lengthy descriptions of locations and routes, by too much technical information, and the often unnecessary references to Tibetan spirituality or the state of mind of the men in the party. It felt like Davis was as much exploring his own personal relationship to the saga as he was telling a story.
If you've ever considered climbing Everest, or even going to Everest Base Camp, you'll find a lot here, but you'll have to work for it.
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Edited by - peter1955 on 01/25/2012 10:55 AM
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 Best grilled cheese maker ever
Whitehorse, YUKON
Canada
2142 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2012 : 11:27 AM
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I was thinking of writing a review of this book myself, but glad someone else did.
I can understand Peter's points, but I'm gonna have to disagree on a few.
First off, Davis' interest in the story was ignited before they found the body. He was already at work on the book when the body was found, and he actually offered to return his advance to the publisher once the body was found because he thought they may not want the book.
Second, it's the extremely long descriptions of the routes that I really enjoyed in this book. The logistics of the trips were insane, so the long-winded descriptions are necessary to lay out the extreme difficulties that they had in finding a route. (Spoiler: a Canadian finds the route!)
The "unnecessary references to Tibetan spirituality" are what Wade Davis is all about. The dude is an ethnobotanist/anthropologist with some serious knowledge of indigenous cultures, so the spiritual stuff is right up his alley. A book without it would be odd. He's traveled extensively in the region, and his descriptions are wonderful.
Two things Im hoping come out of this book:
1) In the notes, Davis mentions that he received Wheeler's detailed notebook from a family member, and that he's hoping to eventually have it published. This would be rad, as Wheeler was beyond instrumental in finding a route for Mallory and the others.
2) Two documentaries were made following the attempts, and I can't track them down. If someone knows where I can borrow, buy, or steal them from, that would be wonderful.
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2421 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2012 : 12:23 PM
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A few points:
- My review is just my opinion, so I don't disagree with how Darren found the book to be. Personal taste is personal. I thought it was a bit hard to get through, but that might have had something to do with reading part of it on a long plane ride. 
- I didn't say that Davis started writing the book because of the body; in fact it seems that he has a personal, family connection to the story. But the story came to public attention because of it which might have given Knopf some impetus to publish the book.
- I've never been fond of the psuedo-religious allusions in Davis' writings. Personally, I find them too introspective and again, I'm looking for a readable story, not spiritual enlightenment. For me, like the long approach descriptions they are just a distraction, but others might enjoy them.
That being said, it's not a bad book by any means, and it brings to light a new perspective of an old, but important, piece of mountaineering history.
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876 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2012 : 12:55 PM
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Two documentaries were made following the attempts, and I can't track them down. If someone knows where I can borrow, buy, or steal them from, that would be wonderful.
I saw "The Wildest Dream" at the Banff Film Festival a couple years ago, is this one of the ones you're thinking about?
http://movies.nationalgeographic.com/movies/the-wildest-dream/ |
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vancouver, bc
Canada
42 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2012 : 4:27 PM
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Im about half way through. (Begining of the 1922)
I do have to agree it is work to get through (almost passed out mid-reading) but in the end
I always thoroughly enjoy the tough reads. I've read my fair share of bio's (Mao: the untold story......OOOOOOOMMMMMMGGGGGGGGG) but really enjoyable! |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7093 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2012 : 4:40 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by dav1481
quote:
Two documentaries were made following the attempts, and I can't track them down. If someone knows where I can borrow, buy, or steal them from, that would be wonderful.
I saw "The Wildest Dream" at the Banff Film Festival a couple years ago, is this one of the ones you're thinking about?
http://movies.nationalgeographic.com/movies/the-wildest-dream/
I must watch this, looks great, and narrated by Liam Neeson. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7093 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2012 : 02:10 AM
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| The movie "The Wildest Dream" was awesome, thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it. |
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Best grilled cheese maker ever
Whitehorse, YUKON
Canada
2142 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2012 : 07:19 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by dav1481
quote:
Two documentaries were made following the attempts, and I can't track them down. If someone knows where I can borrow, buy, or steal them from, that would be wonderful.
I saw "The Wildest Dream" at the Banff Film Festival a couple years ago, is this one of the ones you're thinking about?
http://movies.nationalgeographic.com/movies/the-wildest-dream/
I just saw this now. Unfortunately, this isn't the one I'm talking about. The ones I'm talking about were made back in the 20s. That one you mention does look great though.
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Hope, BC
Canada
7093 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2012 : 4:49 PM
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| Yes it is very cool, the climber in the movie finds Mallory's body and does not find a photo of Mallorys' wife in his pockets, which left to question, did he in fact leave it on the top of the peak? Mallory promised his wife he would leave her photo on the top. Perhaps he failed getting to the top and the wind may of blown it away or perhaps he planted the photo on top. When he found Mallory's body he duplicated the gear worn by Mallory, and climbed the mountain using the same gear Mallory did back in the day. Can't tell you too much as I don't want to spoil the film. |
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Maple Ridge, BC
Canada
344 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2012 : 10:56 AM
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Originally posted by darren
I just saw this now. Unfortunately, this isn't the one I'm talking about. The ones I'm talking about were made back in the 20s. That one you mention does look great though.
Do you have names? I could do some digging. If they are from the 20s they should be public domain and that opens up a few leads that people miss.
The one mentioned there is pretty good, but really falls flat in a lot of ways. It was kind of interesting to see them try to climb in gear of the time.
Also, it's cool **SPOILER ALERT** to see him climb the 5.9ish Hillary Step at 8,000 meters (after removing the ladder). But his melodramatic personality I found irritating at times and, of course, the problem with this story is it ends in unsatisfying speculation every time.
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Edited by - Cherry Pirate on 04/04/2012 10:57 AM |
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Finally stopping that crazy suffering that is ice, climbing to concentrate on great ski tours!
3502 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2012 : 11:39 AM
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| We met Conrad Anker, and he seemed very different from the melodramatic voice over in the movie. Very humble about the climbing and his other accomplishments. My daughter was excited to meet him, but ranked him below Barry Blanchard for her favourite "celebrity" meetings... |
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Best grilled cheese maker ever
Whitehorse, YUKON
Canada
2142 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2012 : 2:09 PM
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One movie is The Epic of Everest (1924), and the other is Climbing Mount Everest (1922). Both by John Noell.
In other news, those who read the book will be stoked to know that Wade Davis is in the process of getting Oliver Wheeler's jounrnals published. I met Davis a few weeks ago at a book signing, and I asked him about the potential of the diaries being published. He said it's totally happening in the nect few years. |
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Into the Silence
