The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent

This beautiful volume commemorates the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary's 1953 Everest expedition, when he became the first man to scale the world's highest mountain. Historian of exploration Lewis-Jones produced a text as stunning as the pictures provided by Lowe%E2%80%94Hillary's lifelong friend and climbing partner, and the photographer during that ascent. The story is movingly recounted from Lowe and Hillary's accidental first meeting as two New Zealanders enthralled by mountains. Every emotion is plumbed, from joy to fear to self-sacrifice, in an amazing tale of a company of climbers whose unflagging support of each other resulted in a successful quest for fame and glory. Lowe shares the story, but other notable figures and mountaineering legends chime in with an eclectic array of reflections%E2%80%94including the son of Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who took the summit with Hillary, who offers memories from his father. The story is riveting and the photographs are unparalleled%E2%80%94particularly a color spread of a sunset with the moon in the background, and another of two men crossing a frightening crevasse bridged by a narrow log%E2%80%94but nearly every shot is a manifestation of an extraordinary undertaking. 167 illus. (May)