The second death of George Mallory : the enigma and spirit of Mount Everest 

Citation

Messner, Reinhold. The second death of George Mallory: the enigma and spirit of Mount Everest, Macmillan, 2001.

Annotation

George Mallory made 3 attempts to “catch the summit by surprise” in 1921, 1922 and on the 1924 quest to Everest in which he never returned. In this atmospheric adventure tale Messener draws from Mallory’s own journal entries to relive those 3 expeditions as well as using his own suspenseful heroic experiences in climbing Everest to enable the reader to see the mountain as Mallory did. This compelling mountaineering tale celebrates the spirit of amateur adventure that has long disappeared. Mallory hiked with only a tweed jacket, hobnailed boots and a book by Keats, as was later found with his body that was discovered in 1999, and then given a ceremonious burial. It is a gripping tribute to a pioneering mountaineering spirit who is believed never to have made it to the Everest summit …and with only a simple ice axe and a tweed jacket. Stark contrast to the changes in motivation and attitudes toward climbing over the years to the current ‘artificial climbing aids’, bottled oxygen and all that gear!!! and all that money!!!

This book comes with 30 black and white photos and 6 maps, which can be pored over in your travellers’ armchair.

1921 Mallory photo