This is one of the best adventure books I’ve ever read. But get this my friends, this book is DENSE. In a good way. Into the Silence by Wade Davis details the potentially failed 1924 Everest summit attempt that claimed the lives of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine. Mallory, considered THE climber of his generation, was a total badass. Irvine, young and inexperienced but wildly talented was a relative unknown. But let me back up. This book tells a much longer, much broader story going back to the first world war. Let me just say this. These men were incredible. I mean INCREDIBLE. What they achieved in their lives prior to Everest is beyond comprehension. Not to mention they survived the war which in itself is remarkable.
These were men who mastered languages, explored unknown regions, suffered massive and unending hardships, lost friends in battle and kept coming back for more. I read this book and my continual thought was “Jesus Milnor, you haven’t done shit.” And I have no ability to complain about anything for the rest of my life. Imagine being sent to explore and map a 40,000 square mile piece of Earth. After being captured, forced into slavery only to escape, finish your project and return home to realize you been gone so long all the “leadership” who assigned you the project is dead and gone. “Who are you?” “Where have you been?” “Why?” “Sorry old chap, no record of your sorry ass.”
The group mounted expeditions to Everest in 1921, 1922 and 1924. Just getting to the region was a multi-month endeavor. Boats, trains and on foot for weeks at a time. Their equipment was less than stellar. In fact, these guys climbed Everest in clothing I would wear to a party in Hollywood. Leather boots, scarves, sweater and maybe some fleece pants. Yep, 29,000 feet, no problem. Their tents were canvas. No real technical climbing gear outside of Irvine’s advanced designed oxygen delivery system. And very little understanding of mountain sickness, rest and recovery, etc.
Last summer, at 49-years of age, I did a 14-mile summit of Santa Fe Baldy. By myself. Four hours and fifteen minutes. I thought I was flying. And for me I was, but what these guys did for a morning warmup was beyond anything I’ve ever done in my life. I had high-tech gear, a 4×4 to get me to the trailhead and high tech food and drinks for maximum Danno capability. These guys were eating tinned beef and crackers and went DAYS without water at extreme elevation.
I can’t stress enough what a wonderful book this is. I don’t know Wade Davis, but I know he is the beneficiary of the Age of Correspondence. The era these expeditions took place was an era when people took time to write, and I mean REALLY write. They kept journals, notes and wrote copious amounts of letters. These letters were handed off to runners who took them across the wilds of India, then to trains then boats and then finally on to England. The men were receiving mail on the side of the mountain. Another remarkable aspect of this story is the detail in which Davis is able to share this story. There is something I should state, however. This era was also the time when the English thought they were the Earth’s supreme beings. Consequently, their treatment and considerations toward local people and customs were, at times, horrendous. Heck, even what they wrote about each other was, at times, pretty darn horrendous.
Get it, read it.
Comments 11
Currently reading Preston’s Cities of Gold. You’re too fast for us Uncle Dan but keep those marvels coming on shifter!
Thanks again.
Author
Reiner,
Great book!
Putting this one on the 2019 To Be Read list. (BTW, pick up November Road if you can. Fantastic novel.)
Loved this book! And it gave me an understand of WWI as well as this British age of expiration. the first third or so of the book describes these men’s wartime lives, which the author connects to their motivation to explore and climb.
Author
Hey Nancy,
Me too!
Too bad you’re not in the Bay Area this weekend. Wade Davis is speaking in Walnut Creek. https://lesherartscenter.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1119
He’s almost as impressive himself as the men he writes about in this book.
I’ll try to get tickets tomorrow morning with the box office opens.
Author
Nancy,
Bummer. I’ll be up in February. Maybe he will get stranded?
Tickets were $$$ — a fund-raiser for Lindsay Wildlife Museum. I’d rather spend the money on his books!
“Davis is the author of 15 books, including The Serpent and the Rainbow, One River, and The Wayfinders. His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series produced for National Geographic. In 2009, he received the Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for his contributions to anthropology and conservation, and he is the 2011 recipient of the Explorers Medal, the highest award of the Explorers Club, and the 2012 recipient of the Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration.”
Just finished the audiobook. Amazing book and subjects. Gripping, beautifully written, and well read. The segments on the great war were horrifying. I came away with a much better understanding of the sensibilities, attitudes, and the motivations of the times. Thanks for recommending this book. I probably never would have found it on my own.
Author
Hey Joe,
Welcome. I love that book and will probably read again at some point. Just read another beautiful book I’ll be posting in the next few days.