Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest Paperback – Illustrated, October 2, 2012

Great book.

I felt compelled to comment on this book for several reasons, the first of which is rather humorous. I was reading well into Davis' introductions of the men involved in the 1921 efforts and was spellbound by their protean and majestic talents, their characters and achievements. While doing this, I was idly awaiting a local weather report on the TV. Changing channels, I stumbled across a nauseating daytime TV "reality show" run by some shameless instigator named Jerry Springer. Here were arrayed a collection of lower-class hippopotami, all building up to the anticipated denoument of actual physical conflict. Apparently, many of these situations involve DNA testing of some potential---or living---illegitimi. Having never seen the show before, I was half out of my chair in disbelief. In my lap was Davis' paean to these peerless English heroes of the previous century---while on the screen was the end-product (one would hope) of decades of cultural and genetic dumpster-diving. I left the TV room and chose Davis over Springer---who in their right mind would not? My forecast was for light snow---in comparison to the hurricane-born squalls and blizzards facing the pioneers of Everest, I faced few hours of shovelling. We may, if things continue to spiral down towards the lowest cultural denominator, never see the likes of a Mallory, an Irvine, a Bruce, Norton, Finch, Morshead or Somervell again. An anguisihing thought, but an unavoidable one, given the times in which we live.Reflecting on these men, I knew WW I was indeed ghastly, but it was also the forge of heroes---especially in the form these uncommon men. Both my uncle and my father served in WW I, the uncle actually a volunteer in 1915, years before his country entered the war. For that reason I knew of the squalor, despair and unavoidable fates of those entrenched. These men Davis defines for us were indeed Homeric demi-gods. It seems each of them was an accomplished scholar, indefatigable mountaineer, and a poet, musician, doctor, warrior, writer, or artist to boot. Despite the quirks and passions they displayed, each was a model of achievement, certitude and colossal gifts. My aforementioned uncle had been born in 1895 and my own father in 1899---and they were, if not mountaineers, at least exceedingly accomplished and admirable men.I deemed Davis' book a "semester course" because even its annotated bibliography is a book in itself. The amount of his research is simply Everestan, truly stupifying . I recommend it to all who want a grounding and a base-camp for further reading on the "Third Pole" as it is sometimes called.The only portion which stuck in my craw was Davis' seemingly gratuitous trashing of Americans in the party which actually discovered Mallory's body. On page 569, he accurately (and to him at least) fairly demeans the Americans by referring to their "singularly inarticulate" musings, which included the words "awesome", "totally cool" and "bummer". Davis is indeed being accurate by citing these lamentable linguistic lapses. The latter are a sure earmark of the failure of American education to elucidate and inspire, but it just felt a little gratuitous. My solution would be for Wade Davis, on one of his trips to Europe, to spend an hour or so in the American graveyard at Coleville-sur-Mer. Therein lie thousands of Americans who, like Mallory and Irvine, will remain "forever young" as they say, by dint of sacrificing themselves in the major wars of the previous century. We Americans may be lurching toward Jerry Springer Nation status, but some of us know, some of us read, and some of us reach for the heights, if only by reading superb books such as this. Highly, highly recommended!

Everest was the last great challenge after the race to the poles had ended. This is the story of the young British men who having survived the horrors of the First World War sought solace and accomplishment in the attempt to reach the "top of the world". What makes this book different from standard climbing accounts is that it aims to put those efforts in a broader context of what it was like to survive the Great War and how it affected those who came through it. The author also goes to some pains to show the cultural differences between the English climbers and that of the Tibetans who lived around Everest who could barely comprehend why anyone would risk their lives simply to climb a mountain.For some the detailed descriptions of the horrific battles of the war will be a bit much. Davis clearly feels that the waste of that war drove these climbers and includes graphic descriptions to help the reader understand that horror. If you want a book about the glory of battle, this is not for you.The details of the expeditions are voluminous and at times perhaps more detailed than interesting. The level of scholarship here is amazing, but there are times you just want to get to the climbing. That said, the climbing is fascinating and the author's conclusions about the psyches of the climbers seem well supported. The impending sense of doom as men throw themselves into the death zone with what we would see as primitive equipment is palpable and while we know historically that the efforts will fail, at the end there is still a feeling of amazement at what was accomplished and horror at the cost. This book is not perfect but it is interesting and involving and a detailed description of a world that no longer exists.

The Wall Street Journal declared this book to be "A kaleidoscope account..." which it surely is. This book is a deep and detailed look into Britain's role in WWI. The beginning chapter provide the context for George Mallory's historic attempts on Mt. Everest. As the author establishes the context, he tells a powerful story of men who fought in this painful war. Sad, the history lesson was needed for me. Reading about the conditions and the events that those men saw during their service was painful to read. One cannot imagine the suffering those men went through. The early chapters evoke strong emotions. The chapters are well written, and do more than give facts, rather the chapters are written like a artist, painting the picture of suffering. The book moves forward to providing the history of the Everest team coming together. All of the players are taken into account. As the book continues it hones in on Mallory. There is this overwhelming desire to climb this mountain for the glory of Britain. Mallory becomes a national icon, but before he goes into the history books as a hero, he really lived a difficult life. There really was nothing glorious about his world. It was a man trying to accomplish a goal that was mostly impossible during that era of history. You feel the pain of his going back to the mountain over and over again. It was a obsession. Everyone knows that he ultimately dies in this goal. Many years past, finally the mountain is climbed, but there was always speculation on whether or not he topped out on Everest. Even the end of the book talks about the theories on this. Even Hillary who was the first man to climb Everest would not touch this debate, all he would say was that there is something in climbing it and coming back. After many years, finally Mallory's body was found. The discovery was not as glorious as one hoped. The nation was disappointed by those who found the body, and the way that they treated it. Mallory's legend grew through time, and taking pictures and stealing some of his clothes was the ultimate disrespect to this hero of the nation during a time in which it needed heroes the most. This is a great book for those who love history and mountaineering, but because of the detail, you have to truly love it to read it.