To the Top: The Story of Mount Everest - Hardcover

Venables, Stephen

3.79

33 ratings by Goodreads

9780763621155: To the Top: The Story of Mount Everest

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763621153 ISBN 13: 9780763621155

Publisher: Candlewick, 2003

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Breathtaking photos and an intriguing narrative capture the allure of the world’s highest mountain - and the spirit of the many adventurous souls who have dared to attempt the ultimate climb.

What compels human beings to risk their lives scaling the world’s tallest peak? What challenges do they encounter along the way? Who are the Sherpas, whose guidance and skill keep foreign mountaineers safe? What does it feel like to stand atop Mount Everest, high above Tibet and Nepal?

Esteemed author and climber Stephen Venables answers these questions and many more in a fascinating narrative, accompanied by spectacular photographs from the Royal Geographical Society in London. With a special focus on the first successful climb by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, this magnificent book touches also on the history of the mountain, earlier failed missions, and the effect that growing Himalayan tourism has had on local people and on the mysterious Mount Everest itself.

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About the Author:

Stephen Venables, one of the best-known mountaineers of his generation, was the first Briton to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen. He is also a highly successful photographer, public speaker, and writer. The author of several books about Mount Everest, the Himalayas, and other mountaineering sites, Stephen Venables received a master’s in English from Oxford University, where he studied under such mentors as John Bayley and Christopher Tolkien.
The Royal Geographic Society is a world-renowned organization that was founded in 1830 to advance geographical awareness through study and exploration. It sponsors research, education, training, and adventure expedition programs throughout the world. The Royal Geographical Society’s library contains one of the most extensive collections of Everest lore and photography in the world.

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.

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