Last Climb: The Legendary Everest Expeditions of George Mallory

Great read about an era and the men who attempted the impossible. Looking at Everest today with the queues waiting to summit with their oxygen and high tech kit and the slum that base camp has become makes me wish I could time travel !!!

A wonderfully presented book. The story is fascinating and tragic. The photographs are exquisite. If you purchase one book on the quest / folly of Everest, buy this one. I highly recommend it.

Great condition historic book

This is a fitting tribute to the memory of George Mallory and Andy Irvine, who both died attempting to summit Mount Everest in 1924.The Book is nicely presented, containing plenty of background to Mallory's three Everest expeditions in 1921, 1922 and 1924, including an impressive pictorial record. Starkly, these expeditions cost eleven lives, seven in 1922 and four in 1924.The Authors make it clear that no one can be sure if Mallory or Irvine made it to the summit. If anything, the evidence presented leans towards the probability that they didn't make it.In the main, the Authors present a well researched trail of evidence, describing the events leading to the fatal 1924 summit attempt. Accounts of the previous two Everest expeditions set the scene for the heightened expectations of the World Press.The last chapter speculates as to what might have happened on the fateful day. However this is taken slightly too far in contrast to the more welcome evidence based approach of the rest of the book.More details from the 1999 Mallory Irvine Research expedition that discovered Mallory's body would have been welcome. Oddly, the famous photo of Mallory's body is absent.The Book includes a short note on the successful Everest summit in 1995 by George Mallory II, Mallory's grandson, a nice moment of closure for the Mallory family.John Mallory was three when his father died on Everest. He captures the impact of the tragic loss of his father in the introduction,"I would so much rather have known my father than to have grown up in the shadow of a legend".Somehow the tragic loss of life in attempting to scale Everest comes with a strange, siren-like allure, continuing, as it does, to claim lives every year. At the time of writing, the death toll exceeds 212 lives, yet the allure never fades.This is a good read for anyone interested in mountaineering history.

Superb quality hardback book, excellent service and the book itself an excellent read

It's a great pleasure to turn back in time. You realise that Mallory probably is the greatest explorer ever. He'll live for ever!

Love these National Geographic books on Everest. Keeping for a lifetime

What a fantastic book. I have become an armchair mountaineer since reading many books about Everest climbs. In truth, I am queasy with heights so I don't ever see myself attempting a climb like this. I have enjoyed reading and watching David Breashears's books and documentaries and this one is one of my new favorites. The story of Mallory's climb accompanied by the spectacular photographs made Mallory's climb come alive for me. Given it was done in the 1920's, the fact that these brave climbers without their North Face gear or high quality climbing gear is absolutely amazing. David put together an amazing tribute to Mr. Mallory and this is a book I know I will return to again.

Loved the photos and suspenseful text. I have been a fan of George Mallory ever since I read my first book about him. This book gives many never-before-seen photos and information about his family and descendants that I found fascinating. Highly recommend it!

Très bien , merci

Breashears has done for George Mallory what Shakleton's Forgotten Men did for Shakleton's support party - shine the light on them after the conquering heroes got all the glory. Excellent read.