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Foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. First American edition, first printing. Illustrated with 56 photographic plates, 8 in color and 48 in black and white, on coated stock. Signed by 1953 British Mount Everest expedition member Michael Ward on front free endpaper, with Ward's bookplate to front pastedown. Additionally signed and inscribed prior to publication by E. P. Dutton & Co. president Elliott B. Macrae to Ward on front free endpaper. Publisher's cream cloth-backed blue boards with mountain design to front board, pale blue titles label to spine lettered in dark blue; in the original wraparound pictorial dust jacket with photo of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, lettered in black and red. Near fine book, with two bumps to front board (top edge and bottom edge), and light spotting to rear board; good or better unclipped dust jacket, with shallow chipping to spine ends, light edgewear including a couple of shallow chips to bottom edge of front panel, minimal spotting to rear panel, considerable separation along left spine fold, and significant tape reinforcement to jacket verso (primarily to the spine). Overall, a great association copy that presents very well. The Conquest of Everest (first published in the UK under the title "The Ascent of Everest") is the story of the 1953 British Mount Everest expedition's successful climb of the mountain, recounted by the leader of the expedition, Colonel John Hunt. This expedition, the eighth attempt in 30 years to make mountaineering history, employed two sets of climbers; the first pair finished just short of the summit, but provided enough extra resources and information to enable the second pair, comprised of New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Tenzing Norgay, to successfully reach Everest's summit. The Conquest of Everest is divided into six sections that mirror the stages of the expedition: "Part I: Background," "Part II: Planning," "Part III: Approach," "Part IV: Build-Up," "Part V: Assault," and "Part VI: Aftermath." While the bulk of the text was written by Hunt, Sir Edmund Hillary authored Chapter 16, "The Summit." Interestingly, Hunt wrote this account in only one month to meet public demand for an account of the epic expedition. This copy is from the library of Michael Ward, the official doctor of the 1953 expedition. Two years earlier, Ward made a key contribution to the 1953 climb by discovering an alternate route up Everest through his study of a trove of aerial photographs at the Royal Geographical Society. He and Hillary were part of a 1951 expedition that confirmed his theory about the viability of the alternate route. Ward's research into the importance of oxygenation and hydration, especially near the summit of Everest, also contributed to the success of the 1953 ascent. Ward wrote a number of books, including the landmark work Mountain Medicine: a Clinical Study of Cold and High Altitude (1975), and was appointed a CBE from the British Empire in 1983. Elliott B. Macrae was the third president of E. P. Dutton & Co., serving in that capacity from 1944 to his death in 1968. At Dutton, Macrae's interest in mountaineering led him to publish many books on the subject, including John Hunt's The Conquest of Everest (1954), Maurice Herzog's Annapurna (1953), and Rébuffat's Starlight and Storm (1957). He also published works by authors like Lawrence Durrell, Mickey Spillane, and longtime friend A. A. Milne.
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