Letters From Everest , George Lowe

Beautiful.

This is both a beautiful book physically  , A5 in size,  hardcover, a tactile textured cover with a simple yet striking graphic – but also a beautifully written book.

What’s surprising is that it’s not prose  – it’s letters from George Lowe himself chronicling that successful 1953 ascent from first meetings with Hillary , through expedition planning , test of equipment (different types of oxygen systems for example) to the final successful summit and the return to civilisation as hero’s.

Highs and lows all written in  immediate, vibrant, emotional but well thought out missives from the man himself. Funny and thought provoking and short enough to read in one sitting (give it a couple of hours) this is truly one of my favourite books  of all time (both on mountaineering and not).

I give this a massive thumbs up.

176 pages, Hardcover. Also available on kindle via Amazon

What Amazon says –

“Sixty years after the first ascent of Mount Everest, this unique book of letters celebrates, in a very personal way, this most majestic of mountains. With exclusive access to the private archives of pioneering New Zealand climber George Lowe, this is a welcome tribute to an unsung hero. The conquest of Everest in the summer of 1953 was one of the twentieth-century’s greatest triumphs of exploration. George Lowe’s exploits on the mountain would become legendary. He was one of the lead climbers, forging the route up Everest’s Lhotse Face without oxygen, and later cutting steps for his partners up the summit ridge. In this touching book, a trove of unpublished letters from the Lowe collection are brought together for the first time, to describe the day-by-day moments of this historic expedition as never before. In clear and elegant prose, this is a unique testimony of a superlative human achievement.”

 

What others say –

…a poignant, funny, beautifully written glimpse into that fabled [1953] expedition. –The Financial Times

Book of the Month: George Lowe provides a fascinating first-hand insight into one of the triumph s of human exploration … If you picked up this book 20 times you would still get a kick out of the reading. Splendid. Wonderful stuff.’ –Geographical Magazine, June 2013

‘A satisfying, beautifully-presented collection. These missives have a breathless immediacy to them that really pulls the reader into the here-and-now of the expedition. – The Scotsman ‘A most handsome, welcome edition.’ – The Times ‘Superbly produced, inspiring.’ – Country Life –The Scotsman, The Times & Country Life