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The Hunt For Mount Everest by Craig Storti
Nov. 6th, 2021 05:21 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
The height of Mount Everest was first measured in 1850, but the closest any westerner got to Everest during the next 71 years, until 1921, was 40 miles. The Hunt For Mount Everest tells the story of the 71-year quest to find the world’s highest mountain. It’s a tale of high drama, of larger-than-life-characters - George Everest, Francis Younghusband, George Mallory, Lord Curzon, Edward Whymper - and a first quiet heroes - Alexander Kelly’s, the 13th Dalia Lama, and Charles Bell.
A story that traverses the Alps, the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet, the British Empire (especially British India and the Raj), the Anglo-Russian rivalry known as The Great Game, the disastrous First Afghan War, and the phenomenal Survey of India - it is far bigger than simply the tallest mountain in the world. Encountering spies, war, political intrigues, and hundreds of mules, camels, bullocks, yaks, and two zebrules, Craig Storti uncovers the fascinating and still largely overlooked saga of all that led up to that moment in late June of 1921 when two English climbers, George Mallory and Guy Bullock, became the first westerners - and almost certainly the first human beings - to set foot on Mount Everest and thereby claimed the last remaining major prize in the history of exploration.
With 2021 bringing the 100th anniversary of that year, most Everest chronicles have dealt with the climbing history of the mountain, with all that happened after 1921. The Hunt For Mount Everest is the seldom-told story of all that happened before.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Craig Storti is a consultant and trainer in inter-cultural communications. This engrossing book deals with the discovery (by Westerners) of Mount Everest, tracking the efforts made to identify where it was and its height up until the first expedition to scale it in 1921 and taking in Britain’s imperialist interests in India and the wider region (including its rivalry with Russia) and the emergence of mountaineering as a sport.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The height of Mount Everest was first measured in 1850, but the closest any westerner got to Everest during the next 71 years, until 1921, was 40 miles. The Hunt For Mount Everest tells the story of the 71-year quest to find the world’s highest mountain. It’s a tale of high drama, of larger-than-life-characters - George Everest, Francis Younghusband, George Mallory, Lord Curzon, Edward Whymper - and a first quiet heroes - Alexander Kelly’s, the 13th Dalia Lama, and Charles Bell.
A story that traverses the Alps, the Himalayas, Nepal and Tibet, the British Empire (especially British India and the Raj), the Anglo-Russian rivalry known as The Great Game, the disastrous First Afghan War, and the phenomenal Survey of India - it is far bigger than simply the tallest mountain in the world. Encountering spies, war, political intrigues, and hundreds of mules, camels, bullocks, yaks, and two zebrules, Craig Storti uncovers the fascinating and still largely overlooked saga of all that led up to that moment in late June of 1921 when two English climbers, George Mallory and Guy Bullock, became the first westerners - and almost certainly the first human beings - to set foot on Mount Everest and thereby claimed the last remaining major prize in the history of exploration.
With 2021 bringing the 100th anniversary of that year, most Everest chronicles have dealt with the climbing history of the mountain, with all that happened after 1921. The Hunt For Mount Everest is the seldom-told story of all that happened before.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Craig Storti is a consultant and trainer in inter-cultural communications. This engrossing book deals with the discovery (by Westerners) of Mount Everest, tracking the efforts made to identify where it was and its height up until the first expedition to scale it in 1921 and taking in Britain’s imperialist interests in India and the wider region (including its rivalry with Russia) and the emergence of mountaineering as a sport.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
