Everest, Inc.

Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World by Will Cockrell

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.

The Light Eaters

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger

Light eaters are plants, who through photsynthesis turn sunlight into energy. This is a well written history of how plants evolved, and how the continue to evolve to adapt to the planet. A lot of interesting bit of popular science.

The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780

The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 Book 2 of 2: The Revolution Trilogy | by Rick Atkinson

The second in his trilogy of the revolution, this very thorough history took a while to get through but was worth it. It is very dense and detailed tracking these three years of the war. He also spends a lot of time describing what is going on in Europe and England during the war, which is a different approach than a lot of people take.

Hunger Like a Thirst

Hunger Like a Thirst: From Food Stamps to Fine Dining, a Restaurant Critic Finds Her Place at the Table by Besha Rodell

Besha is a food writer with an interesting story. This memoir tracks her life and career from Australia to the US and back to Australia, and provides insight into how writing about food has its ups and downs and has been changing drastically over the last 20 years. Very entertaining.

When the Going Was Good

When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter

This is a memoir of Graydon, from his growing up in Ottawa, Canada to his career in the magazine business ending up as editor of Vanity Fair at a time when it was a major publication. Si Newhouse was major influence and guiding force that allowed him to excel at a gime when magazine's were at their height, arguably. Entertaining and personal.

Realm of Ice and Sky

Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and History's Greatest Arctic Rescue by Buddy Levy

During the first part of the 20th century, great lighter than airships were very popular and were seen as the future of aviation. This is the stroy of 2 polar explorations that used these airships to explore the arctic. The first was a ship lead by Amundson to go to the North pole. This was an italian built ship so the Italian government under Mussilini used it a propganda device, not to the liking of the Norwegian crew that were the actual explorers of this ship.

The second air ship is the Italia which was an Italian government sponsored exploration, lead by the italian Umberto Nobile who was on the first ship in a minor role, but managed to leverage his participation to lead the expedition. This second air ship had a much more ambitious arctic exploration agenda, but ended in tragedy when the ship crashed in the far north and many of the crew perished. Nobile was rescued and while he was a hero in Italy, many others blamed him for the failure of the ship and the lives lost.

Into the Ice and The Third Pole

Into the Ice: The Northwest Passage, the Polar Sun, and a 175-Year-Old Mystery and The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott

Into the Ice is the story of the author sailing a small sail boat through the Northwest Passage and all the obticles involved. Also along the way lookinig for remnants of the Franklin expedition.

The Third Pole is Everest. Once both poles has been visited Everest was seen as the last great exploring opportunity. This is the story of the author going up Everest and at the same time looking for evidence of Mallory and Irvine who disappeared on the mountain in 1924. A lot of speculation but also interesting facts about what is known about them.