Paths of Glory - Jeffrey Archer

On May 29, 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary became the first to touch the summit of Mt. Everest - that is something most of us would remember from our school days.  Paths of Glory traces the story of another climber, George Mallory, who was the first person to have climbed Mt. Everest but no records exist as to whether or not he did touch the summit.

Paths of Glory is Jeffrey Archer's version of what happened, a novel that derives it's authenticity from George Mallory's letters to his wife, Ruth.

The son of a clergyman, George Mallory, had a talent for mountain climbing that was very obvious from a very young age.  He met Mr. Irving, who organized groups for mountain climbing on the Alps, while studying at Winchester College and that started off his moutain climbing experience in earnest.  While his heart lay in the mountains, he had to take up a teaching job to help with the finances.  He got married in 1914 to Ruth Turner and joined the war in 1915.  From 1910, Mallory participated in a lot of mountain climbing expeditions, but his final try at climbing the Mt. Everest was in 1924 from which he never returned.

When I picked up this book, I did not know that this was inspired by a true story, and neither did I know about George Mallory.  Generally, as a rule, I do not like to read detailed accounts of real-life happenings - I find them just too boring.  This book though was quite an exception.  Whether George Mallory really did touch the summit of Mt. Everest or not is a matter of speculation, but this book is more than just that.  It traces his life story, his struggles with financial difficulties while trying to carry on with his passion and his principles.  It shares the fears and the anguish of Ruth Turner and George Mallory in the letters they wrote to each other.  If he did touch the summit, there is no record to prove it, and the title stays with Sir Edmund Hillary.  The feeling I got after reading the book was that, though, he never did climb the mountains for the glory, and he never would care about his name being there in any book or record.

A well-written book, I would absolutely recommend giving this a try the next time you are wondering what to pick up at a library or a bookstore.

Wikipedia info on George Mallory here.

Other books by Jeffrey Archer:
Only Time Will Tell
False Impression