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The View from the Summit
 
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The View from the Summit (Paperback)

by Sir Edmund Hillary (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 382 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (1 Jun 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552146943
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552146944
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.2 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 200,965 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

"Somewhat vigorous activity" is how Sir Edmund Hillary summarises the first 79 years of his life, and that modest and gentlemanly appraisal sets the tone for this most understated of memoirs. It's nearly half a century since Hillary became an integral part of the last real gasp of British Commonwealth pride, when the news of his ascent of Mount Everest, with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, reached London in time for the coronation of their new young queen. That legendary achievement launches View from the Summit, but Hillary's life since has hardly been all downhill. Sir Ed has also been the impetus behind a massive building programme in Nepal, where he was his country's High Commissioner, received a knighthood and the Order of the Garter from the Queen, and ended up with that rare tribute for a man still alive--his face on the New Zealand five-dollar bill. His story is also one of personal pain, most touchingly conveyed in his simple and moving account of the tragic plane crash deaths of his first wife and 16-year-old daughter. But this is a story which is not over by a long chalk: as Hillary writes on the last page, "There is so much still to do." --Alan Stewart --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Product Description

The first man to set foot on the summit of Everest, the man who lead a team of tractors to the South Pole, the man who jetboated up the Ganges from the ocean to the sky has, for the first time, gathered all the remarkable adventures of a long life into one volume. But there is more to Ed Hillary than this. He is also the man who repaid his debt of fame to the Himalayas by inaugurating a programme of building schools, clinics, airstrips and bridges in Nepal. With his still active support, these have gone from strength to strength in the 50 years since he himself mastered the Hillary step and led his companion Tenzing Norgay up Everest's final summit ridge. "View from the Summit" is a thoughtful and honest reappraisal of a life spent pushing human ability to its limits and relishing the challenges thrown by the elements.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (2)
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars tantalisingly exhuberant - a real draw, 31 Oct 2001
a great book from a great man. being a climber i can empathise with the constant struggle to reach the top. from his youth to his thrust into limelight hillary offers us an insight into one of the more charming and honourable of the 20th century greats. Thoroughly enjoyed it and have arrived at the conclusion of offering my services to his cause in nepal on my post-graduate rtw trip next year. great stuff.

peris, n. wales

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Better than you might think..., 23 May 2002
By Simon Ramm "Simon the 2nd" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I was fairly sceptical when I started reading this book thinking that surely it can't take that long to talk about climbing a mountain but I was pleasantly surprised with the overall content. Anyone with even a passing interest in the subject of exploration and personal achievement will enjoy reading this and I am sure it is a must have for all climbers.

I have only given it three stars as clearly there are much more engrossing books on the market but if you fancy a change of direction I would definitely recommend giving this a try. Sir Edmund also talks about his journey to the South Pole in a tractor and jet boating up violent rapids so don't be put off by the thought of a single topic book.

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6 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Self-serving, egotistical, and fundamentally disappointing, 26 Aug 2000
By A Customer
Sir Edmund Hillary's autobiography could, prima facie, be a stunning read. The explorer (what better epithet to have than that ?) has pushed himself to the limit during his life in a variety of cold-climate adventures. Through a building programme in Nepal he has tried to repay his debt to the communities in the area. And he tragically lost his first wife and daughter in a plane crash in the region.

But you don't need to be either a good writer or particularly likeable person to be the first man to stand on the top of Everest. (Oh - and Hillary firmly sets the record straight on this fact: it was he not Sherpa Tenzing Norgay who reached the top first.)

What is evinced from this ultimately self-serving book is that Hillary is a fundamentally driven man and woe-be-tide anyone who gets in his way. Colleagues are dismissed with single line throw-away comments; no one apart from Hillary appears to be pulling their weight; and you get the sense that there is an element of revisionism in the telling of the tales to ensure that Hillary gets the credit for the success of each venture.

So it's ultimately a disappointing read - which is a great shame. The man has done so much in his life that it should have been a marvellous tale to tell.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A life considerably less ordinary
A wonderful book. Rags to riches is always a compelling theme, but there is no avarice or guile in Hillary's ambition. He loves to climb mountains. That's how it all started. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Iain

3.0 out of 5 stars Dull compared to other Everest climbers' tales but a fruitcake of peripheral, albeit less adventurous events
I would hardly say that the book was `unputdownable', as Sir Edmund Hillary's story of Everest is comparatively mild, and having read all about Messrs Mawson, Scott and... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Miseri57

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