Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN OLDIE...BUT A GOODIE..., 8 Mar 2003
This is a wonderfully written book of the events surrounding the historic Everest expedition of 1953 which saw Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest. It was written by special correspondent for The London Times, James Morris, who accompanied the expedition and first broke the news to the world of the successful summit. The news fortuitously reached England on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's the II coronation of June 2, 1953, and was the cause for much nationalistic pride. Hence, the name of the book.The book is reflective of the time in which it was written and evokes a feeling of an era long gone. Therein lies its charm. Nostalgia buffs will love it, as will those readers looking to consume anything about Everest. It will not disappoint, though the book is not about the climb to the summit in the strictest sense. The book chronicles in great detail the author's journey to Everest, as well as his personal experiences and observations while at Everest, waiting to break the story of the end result of the historic climb to the summit. It also chronicles the cloak and dagger methodology which he employed in order maintain exclusivity for The London Times. It should be noted in the interest of clarity and to avoid confusion, that times do indeed change. The author, James Morris, underwent a gender change subsequent to the original 1958 publication of this book. When the book was released again, however, the publisher did so under the name which the author had since adopted, Jan Morris. James or Jan, the author is a hell of a writer, and the book is well worth reading.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE..., 24 May 2003
This is a wonderfully written book of the events surrounding the historic Everest expedition of 1953 which saw Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest. It was written by special correspondent for The London Times, James Morris, who accompanied the expedition and first broke the news to the world of the successful summit. The news fortuitously reached England on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's the II coronation of June 2, 1953, and was the cause for much nationalistic pride. Hence, the name of the book.The book is reflective of the time in which it was written and evokes a feeling of an era long gone. Therein lies its charm. Nostalgia buffs will love it, as will those readers looking to consume anything about Everest. It will not disappoint, though the book is not about the climb to the summit in the strictest sense. The book chronicles in great detail the author's journey to Everest, as well as his personal experiences and observations while at Everest, waiting to break the story of the end result of the historic climb to the summit. It also chronicles the cloak and dagger methodology which he employed in order maintain exclusivity for The London Times. It should be noted in the interest of clarity and to avoid confusion, that times do indeed change. The author, James Morris is a hell of a writer, and the book is well worth reading.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE..., 20 Sep 2001
This is a wonderfully written book of the events surrounding the historic Everest expedition of 1953, which saw Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summit Mount Everest. It was written by special correspondent for the New York Times, James Morris, who accompanied the expedition and first broke the news to the world of the successful summit. The news fortuitously reached England on the eve of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and was the source of much nationalistic pride...hence, the name of the book.The book is reflective of the time in which it was written and evokes a feeling of an era long gone. Therein lies its chatm. Nostalgia buffs will love it, as will those readers looking to consume anything about Everest. It will not disappoint, though the book is not about the climb to the summit in the strictest sense. The book chronicles in great detail the author's journey to Everest, as well as his personal experiences and observations while at Everest, waiting to break the news of the end result of the historic climb to the summit. It also chronicles the cloak and dagger methodology that he employed in order to maintain exclusivity for The London Times. It should be noted in the interest of clarity and to avoid confusion, that the times do indeed change. The author, James Morris, underwent a gender change, subsequent to the original 1958 publication of this book. When the book was released again, however, the publisher added the name that the author had since adopted, Jan Morris. James or Jan, the author is a hell of a writer, and this jewel of a book is well worth reading.
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