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Table of Contents
About The Book
An authoritative, myth-piercing study of the world-famous explorer George Mallory, who disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924.
In the years following his disappearance near the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 at the age of thirty-seven, George Mallory was elevated into a legendary international hero.
Dubbed "the Galahad of Everest,” he was lionized by the media as the greatest mountaineer of his generation—a man who had died while taking the ultimate challenge. His body was only recovered in 1999 and there is still speculation about whether he made it to the summit. Handsome, charismatic, and daring, Mallory was a skilled public speaker, athlete, technically-gifted climber, a committed Socialist, and a supremely attractive figure to both men and women. His friends ranged from the gay artists and writers of the Bloomsbury group to the best mountaineers of his era.
But that was only one side to him. Mallory was also a risk-taker who, according to his friend and first biographer David Pye, could never get behind the wheel of a car without trying to overtake the vehicle in front; a climber who pushed himself and those around him to the limits; a chaotic technophobe who was forever losing or mishandling equipment; a man who led his porters to their deaths in 1922, as well as his young climbing partner Andrew Irvine only two years later.
So who was the real Mallory? What were the forces that made him and ultimately destroyed him? Why did the man who, in 1922, denounced oxygen sets as "damnable heresy” himself perish on an oxygen-powered summit attempt two years later? And perhaps most importantly, what made him return to Everest for his third and final attempt?
Using diaries, letters, memoirs, and thousands of contemporary documents, Fallen is a gripping forensic investigation of Mallory’s last expedition that, at long last, separates the man from the myth.
In the years following his disappearance near the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 at the age of thirty-seven, George Mallory was elevated into a legendary international hero.
Dubbed "the Galahad of Everest,” he was lionized by the media as the greatest mountaineer of his generation—a man who had died while taking the ultimate challenge. His body was only recovered in 1999 and there is still speculation about whether he made it to the summit. Handsome, charismatic, and daring, Mallory was a skilled public speaker, athlete, technically-gifted climber, a committed Socialist, and a supremely attractive figure to both men and women. His friends ranged from the gay artists and writers of the Bloomsbury group to the best mountaineers of his era.
But that was only one side to him. Mallory was also a risk-taker who, according to his friend and first biographer David Pye, could never get behind the wheel of a car without trying to overtake the vehicle in front; a climber who pushed himself and those around him to the limits; a chaotic technophobe who was forever losing or mishandling equipment; a man who led his porters to their deaths in 1922, as well as his young climbing partner Andrew Irvine only two years later.
So who was the real Mallory? What were the forces that made him and ultimately destroyed him? Why did the man who, in 1922, denounced oxygen sets as "damnable heresy” himself perish on an oxygen-powered summit attempt two years later? And perhaps most importantly, what made him return to Everest for his third and final attempt?
Using diaries, letters, memoirs, and thousands of contemporary documents, Fallen is a gripping forensic investigation of Mallory’s last expedition that, at long last, separates the man from the myth.
Product Details
- Publisher: Pegasus Books (May 7, 2024)
- Length: 352 pages
- ISBN13: 9781639366354
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Raves and Reviews
"Mick Conefrey's Fallen is a marvelously researched and written story about the enigma of George Mallory and the fulfillment of his 'because it's there!'"
– Peter Hillary
"Compelling, thoroughly researched and beautifully written, Mick Conefrey’s Fallen is a biography that strives to get to the heart and mind, and not just the achievements, of one of the most famous and obsessive mountaineers in history.”
– Robert Wainwright, author of The Maverick Mountaineer
"Mallory and Irvine's 1924 attempt on Everest is a foundational mountaineering epic, and Mick Conefrey's Fallen brings the story to life in gripping style. George Mallory—imperfect and all too human, admirable and ambitious—drives the narrative as Conefrey details not only the 1924 expedition, but also its backstory and aftermath. Mallory and the mysteries surrounding his attempt on the world's highest mountain still grip the world's imagination today; Conefrey's deeply-researched and convincingly-told account shows us why. Fallen belongs on the shelf of Himalayan and Everest classics.”
– Patrick Dean, author of A Window to Heaven: The Daring First Ascent of Denali: America's Wildest Peak
Praise for Everest 1922:
"Beyond telling this overlooked story with verve and precision, Mr. Conefrey shows how the 1922 expedition anticipated many of the preoccupations of modern mountaineering. The book is a nuanced, highly readable chronicle of the first attempt on the summit 100 years ago.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“George Mallory’s first attempt to summit Mount Everest, in 1922, was more significant than the better-known 1924 expedition that took his life, according to this captivating account. Conefrey draws vivid sketches of the mountaineers and details disagreements over the expedition’s third and final attempt to reach the summit, which triggered a deadly avalanche. This immersive chronicle restores an overlooked expedition to its rightful place in mountaineering history.”
– Publishers Weekly
“An enjoyable romp through the pioneering days of Himalayan mountaineering and an engaging and sympathetic portrayal of the almost forgotten 1922 Everest expedition."
– Asian Review of Books
“The 1922 expedition was perhaps the most exciting of all Everest ventures. With his usual forensic analysis and keen eye for the previously untold anecdote, Mick Conefrey re-illuminates one of the greatest mountain adventures of all time.”
– Stephen Venables, author of Everest: Alone at the Summit and First Ascent
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