To the Top : The Story of Everest - Hardcover

Venables, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0744586623 ISBN 13: 9780744586626

Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2003

Synopsis

Physical description; 96 p. : ill. (some col.), 1 col. map, ports. (some col.) ; 24 cm. Subject; Mountaineering - Everest, Mount (China and Nepal) - History - Juvenile literature.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Venables is one of the most renowned mountain climbers in the world today. In 1988, he was part of an expedition attempting to pioneer a new route to the summit of Everest and was the only member of the team to make it all the way to the top. Trapped at 8,800 metres, without oxygen, exposed to the elements and with no shelter, Venables survived a harrowing night on the mountain - an experience he retells in this book. His climbs have been filmed by National Geographic, and he was one of three expert climbers featured in the IMAX film Shackleton's Ice Adventure. Stephen Venables is also an author of books for adults and has won the prestigious Boardman Tasker Award and the Grand Prize at the Banff Festival for Mountain Literature. This is his first book for Walker.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-In this brief, beautiful book, Venables celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first successful climb to the summit. Drawing on the Royal Geographic Society's archives, familiar photos are mixed with some haunting, never-before-published images to illustrate the informed and evocative text. Sandwiched between the cliff-hanging introduction and the triumphant final chapter is the author's account of his own harrowing experience as a member of a three-person team to the summit in 1988. From a glance at the geology that formed the Himalayas through the well-integrated details about the changing roles of the Sherpas and the mountaineering industry's impact on the Tibetan/Nepalese cultures, the book recounts a century of intense physical, scientific, and political efforts focused on Everest. In addition, the climbers and the technological improvements that continually drive the sport to new heights are described. End matter includes route maps, a brief glossary, and a note about the RGS. The design sells this book: a blue-tinted endpaper photo of the Everest massif, gorgeous double-page photos, and dark blue pages with white print snowed onto the page will not let readers forget the frigid, blue/black sky or the incredibly vast scale of this rare, essential, high world.
Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0744586623
• ISBN 13: 9780744586626
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Illus. With Photos
• Edition number: 1