As the title suggests this is a history of the industry of guides bringing people up Everest. It is an interesting evolution of the business. The first people were guided up the mountain in 1982. Which I was kind of surprised about, since I would have thought it would have happened much earlier. Before that it was private adventurers and national teams that would attempt Everest. It is also interesting that after Tenzing Norgay summited Everest with Hillary, he never went up the mountain again. The first companies that would take clients up the mountain, and other Himalaya peeks, were western owned, but employed many native Sherpa to carry loads and set rope. Over the years that evolved into a situation that now most of the companies guiding people in the Himalaya are native Nepalese owned businesses.
There is also a lot in this book about how Everest is viewed in the world and presented in the press. The many failed attempts and deaths on the mountain and the more dramatic moments that receive a lot of publicity. But also presented are the statistics that show that it is not as dangerous as the reputation that it has.
