The Wildest Dream: George Mallory: The Biography of an Everest Hero

This is a splendid and highly researched book about Mallory. It fulfils what it sets out to do, which is to show the complexity of the man and the weight of the decisions he had to make. It explores the development of his character from young man to Everest hero and it sets against his "wildest dream" the sacrifices which had to be made to allow him to achieve his ambition. The writing is fine and precise. The research is impeccable.I bought this edition in late 2013 and put it away for Christmas. I didn't open the book until early January and was dismayed to discover there were no pictures within, yet there was a credit for the photographs which had been used. The photographs are an integral part of the book. I informed Amazon about this when I returned the book for a refund (which I got) but have recently discovered that they are still selling this edition without photographs. This isn't on! I have continued to protest and suggest that if you have such a copy without its photographs, send it back to Amazon and COMPLAIN! Or write to the publishers and ask them to initiate a withdrawal of this edition.

Ce livre est pour moi une grosse déception. Autant j'ai été captivée par le film "The Wildest Dream" et j'avais envie d'en savoir plus sur George Mallory, autant le livre m'a vraiment déçue. Il y a certes beaucoup d'informations et je salue le travail de recherche qui a permis de regrouper toutes ces données, mais il y en a trop. Le livre en devient pénible à lire, tant il y a une avalanche de détails inutiles pour comprendre le personnage. Moi qui rêvais d'une biographie aussi palpitante que le film, j'étais saturée en lisant quelques pages, quel dommage.

I've been fascinated by Mallory for years. I'm also fascinated by the history of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An era of great change and the start of the decline and fall of the British Empire. Although notionally a liberal, George was a still man of his times and his class with all the privileges, difficulties and obligations that their status brought to people like him. It is a story with everything: sex, love, ambition, heroism, pathos and tragedy. Well written too.

Detailed, readable, insightful and one of the best biographies about George Mallory.

Peter and Leni Gillman have produced a beautifully paced biography about one of climbing's greatest enigmas, George Mallory. Anyone who is intrigued by the first attempts to scale the world's highest mountain will be captivated by this fine work and the Gillman's genuine affection for their subject. In fact, the authors' fondness for Mallory is so obvious that it's almost as if they knew him in person: at times, they manage to paint his relationships with friends and family (particularly his wife, Ruth) in such detail that it's almost like witnessing events first-hand and it is this deep understanding and skilful narrative that makes this one of the finest biographies of Mallory yet written.If there can be a criticism, it must be of the Gillman's slightly clumsy treatment of Mallory's sexuality: it makes little difference (to me) whether Mallory was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual - it is not (or, at least, it shouldn't be) his sexual proclivities that define him. During an all too brief life, Mallory was a teacher, a warrior, and a fine mountaineer: these attributes seem more important than his choice of sleeping partner. However, given the almost obsessive interest in this aspect of George Mallory's character, it's inevitable the the Gillmans would tackle the issue: strange then that they should simply declare him "straight" after devoting a lengthy chapter to his relationships with other men at Cambridge.Nonetheless, this minor gripe should not put potential readers off: the book is a superb account of Mallory's life and his loss.