The author has had a lifelong obsession with George Mallory's three attempts to, in his hero's own words, "catch the summit by surprise"—in 1921, 1922 and on the 1924 quest from which he never returned. In this homage, Messner (My Quest for the Yeti) draws from Mallory's own journal entries to relive those three expeditions, fleshing them out for the reader with his own heroic experiences in climbing Everest. Avid mountaineers will be especially intrigued by the step-by-step detail Messner shares, enabling his readers to see the mountain as Mallory did. What is even more important to Messner is to celebrate Mallory's legacy and "the disappearance of the spirit of amateurism that drove him." Although he believes that Mallory never reached Everest's summit, Messner is adamant that all who came after this pioneer owe him a great debt. Employing Mallory's spirit, the author recounts subsequent expeditions, imagining what Mallory would say about each: the 1933 trip by Wager and Harris, who found an ice ax that could have been left behind only by Mallory or his colleague Irvine nine years before; Hillary and Tensing's triumphant climb in 1953; the expedition sponsored by the Chinese government in 1960 and the subsequent trek in 1975, which was the first time that "artificial climbing aids" (in contrast to Mallory's tweed jacket, hobnailed boots and a book by Keats) were used and have been so ever since; and, finally, the 1999 expedition during which Mallory's remains were found and ceremoniously buried. This tribute will resonate most strongly with veteran climbers, but even armchair enthusiasts will be gripped by Messner's seductive and uplifting narrative. 30 b&w photos; 6 maps. (Apr.)
