This large book records the history of the mountain from the 18th century to the successful first recorded climb to the summit in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hilary. It's widely accepted that George Mallory (although not surprisingly, not in this book) probably reached the summit in 1924, but as he did not make it back the climb is not counted as a success. His body was found, perfectly preserved, at 26800 ft in 1999, minus the items he took to place on the summit.

The best part of this book is the abundance of photographs from the Royal Geographical Society's vast Everest Archives. The Society joined forces with the Alpine Club in 1920 and were able to preserve most of the early photos. A list of climbers who have reached the summit is included. Unfortunately an index was not included, it would have been useful. But the photos, old and new, are stunning. ( )