Home	Table of Contents	Introduction	Overviews & Commentaries	Book List
Periodicals	Annotated Bibliography	Time-Line	Dramatis Personae	Lexicon

Books on History and Exploration, with a focus on:

Central Asia: the territories of and around the Greater Himalaya, Tibet, Afghanistan, India, Pamirs, Hindu-Kush, & High Tartary
The History of Climbing and Mountaineering: especially in the Himalaya and Karakoram Ranges
The Fur Trade in Canada

Bill Buxton

Last updated August 9th, 2008

The following has grown out of my fascination with books on mountaineering, climbing, exploration and the history of central Asia. The page has two main parts. First, there is a series of essays or overviews, covering aspects of the literature that are of particular interest to me. These essays are works in progress, and are revised constantly as I read and learn more. Second, there is a simple list, sorted by author, of the books that I have, followed by a more complete annotated bibliography of those same books. Besides simply helping me organize my own thoughts on this material, my hope is that this document will be of interest and a guide to others who share this particular passion.

The topics of the overviews, can be found in the Table of Contents. Clicking on any entry will take you to the indicated section.

I have recently begun to construct two companion pages. The first is: The Greater Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamirs, Hindu-Kush, Tibet & High Tartary: Dramatis Personae. As its name suggests, this page is a directory to the main characters who played roles in the history covered in my book collection. In order to keep it manageable, this "dramatis personae" covers only those active prior to the first Everest expedition, which took place in 1921. The second is: The Greater Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamirs, Hindu-Kush, Tibet & High Tartary: Historical Time-line. Again, as its name suggests, this is an attempt to build up a time-line of significant events in the history and exploration of the indicated areas. I am attempting to construct cross-links among entries in the various pages such that, for example, clicking on a name in the time-line will take you to the biographical note in the Dramatis Personae, and clicking on a reference title on that page will take you to the appropriate bibliographic reference on this page. Again, all of this is a work in progress, and should be considered "open source". That is, contributions, suggestions and corrections by interested parties are solicited.

It is only correct that I acknowledge my friend Piers Handling, who has had a great influence on both my reading and, through our discussions, the formation of my thoughts on much of what is written below. I also want to thank Daren Fawkes, of Melbourne, who invested a significant effort in proof reading, correcting and improving what I have written.

Those interested in the literature are referred to Neate's, Mountaineering and Its Literature, which is a fairly comprehensive annotated biography. As well, see the Alpine Club Library Catalogue 1982, Vol. 1: Books and Periodicals. Another good bibliographic source is Baume's Sivalaya, which chronicles the history of the fourteen 8,000 metre peaks in the Himalaya, with an extensive bibliography. The definitive bibliography on Everest is the too little known Climbing Mount Everest: The Bibliography (Salkeld & Boyle, 1993)

For primary sources, the interested reader is directed to the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London / Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, which are on-line at:

www.jstor.org/journals/0266626X.html

The good news that the full text of every issue, dating right back to the first in 1879, is on-line. While there is a charge to access the journal from the web site above, most good university research libraries have a license with JSTOR and provide access to the site for free, if you have a card for that library. Highly recommended.

To those interested in acquiring any of the books cited in those references, or mentioned below (including 1st or early editions and those that are hard to find or out of print), I have had a very good experience with:

http://www.abebooks.com

If you are interested in first person accounts of early explorers in Central Asia, India, the Himalaya, etc., but can't find or afford the original out-of-print books, Vedams has an outstanding collection of modern reprints at very reasonable prices:

http://www.vedamsbooks.com/his-travel.htm

These are not sponsored links. I have simply bought hundreds of books this way, and never had a problem.

Next, I would be remiss if I did not provide pointers to information on the mountains in my own country:

· The Alpine Club of Canada: A great source for information about climbing in Canada.

· Yamnuska: an alpine guiding and instructional organization who will give you a safe and great introduction to the mountains of western Canada

· The Banff Centre for Mountain Culture: Home of the Banff Mountain Film Festival, Book Festival, and all things alpine. A national and international treasure.

· Alan Kane's Peakbagger Page is a great illustrated source for information on climbing, scrambling and ski touring routes in the Rockies.

Finally, I welcome comments and suggestions about this page, the literature, etc.

Contact me via email.

II. Overviews / Commentaries

Early Exploration of Tibet, Nepal, Tartary, the Himalaya, Karakoram, ...

Introduction

Rather than provide a comprehensive history of the area or its discovery and exploration by the west, the main purpose of this section is to provide an overview that ties together my books and reading on these topics. It is as much for my own benefit as for any third party reader. It is a guide which is hopefully easier to navigate than a list of book titles.

If you want to go deeper into the history of exporation in China and Tibet, then I highly recommend the complementary pages of Matthias Claus on "Reisen und Abenteuer in China und Tibet." One page is a comprehensive annotated chronology of exploration of China and Tibet from 1243 - 1949, and the other covers the same material, but is organized alphabetically, by person. These pages are in German.

Since the topic is so broad, it is difficult to recommend any single book that covers the literature or the scope of my interests. One notable exception, however, is Cameron's 1984 volume, produced in association with the Royal Geographical Society: Mountains of the Gods: The Himalaya and the Mountains of Central Asia. If you only buy one book to cover what follows (and it is affordable), this might be it.

Chinese Travelers

More than a thousand years before Younghusband made his famous overland trip from Beijing, over the Karakoram to India, Chinese travelers had made the trip, often with far fewer resources and knowledge. In the process, they laid the foundation for what was called by the German orientalist, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, "the Silk Road." These include Zhang Qian (Chang Ch'ien), who between 138-125 BC traveled west at the request of the Han emperor in search of allies against the invading Huns. His travel established the first link between India and China. In 68 AD, Cai Yin traveled to India at the request of the Han Emperor, Mingdi. He reputedly dreamt of a golden god in the west, and dispatched Cai Yin, who returned 3 years later with images of the Buddha. Through this process Buddhism was introduced to China.

In 399 AD the Buddhist pilgrim, Faxian (Fa-hsien) traveled across to the Pamir Plateau, and through India. He returned by sea, via Ceylon and Sumatra, reaching China in 413. Another great Chinese traveler was Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsiang, Hsuan-tsang). He was a Buddhist monk who in 629 went on a 10,000 mile pilgrimage from central China to India in order to study Buddhist manuscripts in their original form. He traveled through Kyrgistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, returning in 645. His trip is covered in books by Grousset and Wriggins.

Shortly after, the diplomat Wang Xuan-ce traveled to India and Nepal, and established for the first time, the shorter but more difficult route of the passes into Nepal, rather than the longer route through the Pamirs. And, on a larger scale, in 747 the Chinese general Gao Xianzhi (Kao Hsien-chih) led an army from China into Yasin and Gilgit, where he defeated the Tibetans and checked the spread of Islam over the passes of the Pamirs.

One book which covers the culture and history of Buddhism in the 7th century is Grousset's, In the Footsteps of the Buddha. Another source for the history of the Silk Road, and travel from China, along the Silk Road, can be found in the various books by, and about, the archeaological explorations of the region. One overview of this is Hopkirk's,Foreign Devils on the Silk Road. Perhaps the best known archaeologist working in this area was Sir Aurial Stein. While I do not yet have any of his books, a list of some of the key ones can be found in the entry for him on my Dramatis Personae page. As well, his activities are well covered in the two biographies of him that I have, one by Mirsky, the other by Walker.

Early European Travelers

Perhaps the first record of a European reaching this region is Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), who reached Central Asia and India between 343-323 BC. The next great travelers, of whom a record exists, came from the East, not Europe.

After Alexander, the next European who left a record of traveling through the area, that I am aware of, is Marco Polo, whose The Adventures of Marco Polo, was first published in 1298. While some have questioned whether this book was history or fiction, or a combination of the two, what is clear is that his account was standard reading for those who followed, right through the 19th century.

Travel to Tibet

The next European to travel in Tibet, and perhaps reach Lhasa (although this is disputed, and there are no written accounts), was Oderico of Pordenone, a Franciscan friar who journeyed overland from Beijing, through Tibet in 1327. Two other early European visitors to Tibet were the Portuguese Fathers Antonio de Andrada (Andrade) and Marques, who reached Tsaparang in South West Tibet in 1624. Father Andrada returned with colleagues in 1625 and established a mission there which lasted until 1630 (along with a second one in Rudok, 150 miles further north). Two other Jesuit priests who were early travelers in Tibet were Fathers John Grueber and Albert d'Orville. In 1661 they traveled overland from Beijing to Rome. Depending on the legitimacy of the claims by Oderico of Pordenone, they were either the first or second Europeans to reach Lhasa. Regardless, there was a Capuchin mission resident in Lhasa 1707-1711, 1716-1733 and 1741-1745 (Petech, 1949). A good summary of many of these, and other, early travels can be found in, Early Jesuit Travellers in Central Asia, 1603-1721, by Wessels.

One of the travelers covered by Wessels is another early Jesuit priest, Father Desideri. He traveled into Tibet via Delhi, Kashmir, Ladakh between 1712-1727, and was inLhasabetween 1716-1721. An edited first person account of his travels can be found in, An Account of Tibet. As well, brief summary of the history of Catholic travelers and missions in Tibet can be found on-line in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Most of my reading on Tibet has to do with the early British contact and exploration. (What follows in this overview is by no means comprehensive.) This began in the 18th century, and was centred around the experiences of three men: George Bogle, who was in Tibet in 1774-5, Samuel Turner who was there in 1783-4 and Thomas Manning, who went in 1811-12. (Only Manning reached Lhasa, which is ironic, since he didn't really want to be there, he wanted to go to Beijing.) The history around these visits is covered in Woodcock's Into Tibet: The Early British Explorers, Lamb's British India and Tibet 1766-1910, and Cammann's Trade Through the Himalayas - The Early British Attempts to Open Tibet. To varying degrees, each of these books includes a general history of Tibet, however, the book by Cammann is especially well researched and concise. It also covers the Gurkha invasion of Tibet which led to Kirkpatrick's 1793 mission to Nepal. The account of this mission by Kirkpatrick, An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul ..., is an important source on the history of that country.

The next Europeans to reach Lhasa, after Manning, were the French Lazarist missionaries, Evariste Régis Huc and Joseph Gabet, who traveled to Tibet from the north, starting north of Beijing, and passing through Mongolia, arriving in Lhasa in January 1846. Their trip is described in Huc's classic 1852 narrative, Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China.

Other early British contact with Tibet included an expedition to South Western Tibet by Col. Henry Strachey in 1846 and by Col. Edmund Smyth in 1862. Much of the exploration of Western Tibet in this period, including that of Smyth, is covered in Allen's excellentA Mountain in Tibet. The American, Woodville Rockhill made two remarkable journeys into Tibet, both in disguise, in 1888 and 1889, which are described in five articles that he published in Century Magazine, as well as another article, Explorations in Mongolia and Tibet. While he did not reach Lhasa, he made a lasting contribution by his scholarship, in his written observations of the people, culture, and surveying.

Another expedition of interest is that of the Littledales in 1894-5, in which they came within 49 miles of Lhasa, before being turned away. But one of my favorite characters from this period is Henry Savage Landor whose exaggerated account of his experiences in Tibet in 1897, In the Forbidden Land, wins the prize for Victorian Age tabloid journalism.

It was a Japanese Buddhist monk, Ekai Kawaguchi, who wrote the next significant chronicle of travels in Tibet and about its culture. He was in Tibet for about three years, beginning in early 1899. He spoke and read Tibetan, and spent much of his time in Lhasa in the Sera Monastery. His account of his travels and Tibetan life are rich, and can be found in his classic, Three Years in Tibet.

The Great Game

A backdrop to much of the activity in the 19th century was what Kipling called "The Great Game." This was the jockeying for power between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. This period led to a significant amount of exploration and travel, especially in the regions of the Karakoram, Hindu-Kush, Pamirs, and Turkestan. Some excellent histories that lay a foundation for understanding the nature of this "game" are Keay's two books, When Men and Mountains Meet, and The Gilgit Game, Hopkirk's, The Great Game: On Secret Service in High Asia, and Meyer & Brysac's, Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia. One account of travels in Turkistan can be found in MacLean's, A Person From England. And Other Travellers To Turkestan. However, the two travellers who were among the main British players of this "game" were Ney Elias and Francis Younghusband. Elias wrote little himself, but his life is covered in Morgan's biography,Ney Elias. Explorer and envoy extraordinary in High Asia. Younghusband, on the other hand, was a prolific writer, and his early travels and participation in the game are especially covered in his, The Heart of a Continent.

Insofar as Tibet was concerned, the Great Game came to a head when Britain, mainly in the person of Curzon, the Viceroy of India, believed that Russia was gaining undue influence in Tibet with the intention of gaining influence over, or access to, India. This fear was largely fueled by the activities of a Russian Buddhist lama, Aagvan Dorjiev, who was an advisor to the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, and who traveled a number of times to St. Petersburg. As a result of his fears, 1903 Curzon sent Younghusband with a military force, into Tibet in order to negotiate a treaty which would counter the (as it turned out, imagined) Russian influence, and increase the security of India's northern frontier. Younghusband's account of these events are found in his bookIndia and Tibet. There are also two first person accounts from journalists who were with Younghusband. One is The Unveiling of Lhasa, by Edmund Candler, who was the corresponded for the Daily Mail. The other is The Opening of Tibet, by the Times correspondent, Perceval Landon. The Younghusband mission opened up the opportunity to survey parts of Tibet, and hence included a cartographer Captain C.G. Rawling whose experiences are captured in his book, The Great Plateau. An excellent overall history of this episode is provided in Fleming's Bayonets to Lhasa. It is also covered in the three biographies of Younghusband, by Seaver. Verrier, and the most recent one by French.

Younghusband was a fascinating man. His pioneering experiences in the Himalaya, such as described in The Heart of a Continent, and Wonders of the Himalaya, as well as his later involvement (as head of the Royal Geographical Society) in the early Everest expeditions, alone, would establish an important place for him in the history of the region.

The British were not the only ones exploring the region, however. In the period between 1893-1935 the Swede, Sven Hedin, made four trips to Tibet. In his inappropriately named book, A Conquest of Tibet, (not even Younghusband claimed to have done that!), he especially concentrates on his expeditions of 1899-1902 and 1905-1908. During the latter, he claims to have "discovered" things seen years earlier by Strachey and Smyth (see Longstaff, for example). Allen provides a good discussion of this controversy and its background.

Two other accounts of interest date from 1923. One is significant only because of the wonderful writing, Easton's An Unfrequented Highway. The other is the account by McGovern of his covert trip to Lhasa, To Lhasa in Disguise. The two are related, since Easton and McGovern met each other in Tibet on the latter's return trip to India.

Perhaps the best overall history of Tibet and description of its culture, up to the early 1900's, is give by Bell. who spoke Tibetan, lived there and in the region for years. He had a close relationship with the 13th Dalai Lama, and was a passionate student of the country, its people, culture and religion. A very different type of cultural study is offered in Schell's Virtual Tibet, which is an exceptionally well presented commentary on the West's perception of, and fascination with, Tibet. And, just for balance, perhaps the worst history of Tibet that I have read is Feigon's Demystifying Tibet.

There are two books that do a fairly good job of capturing Tibet and Lhasa in the late 1940's, just before it was changed forever by the Chinese invasion. The first is Harrer's well known Seven Years in Tibet. The second is the account of the trip in 1950 by the American broadcaster Thomas Lowell and his son Thomas. Jr., Out of this World: Across the Himalayas to Forbidden Tibet, written by Thomas Jr. The Lowells were only in Tibet for a very short time, so the depth of their understanding must be somewhat limited compared to Harrer, their book is very well researched, and is wonderfully illustrated, with over 100 photographs, 32 of which are in colour.

Finally, for a recent informed and balanced discussion of the "Tibet Question", see Goldstein's, The Snow Lion and the Dragon, Grunfeld's, The Making of Modern Tibet, Smith's, Tibetan Nation, and Shakya's, The Dragon in the Land of Snows, the last of these being a comprehensive history of Tibet since WW II. One other book that may be of interest, in this context, is Panikar's India and China.

The Rest of the Northern Frontier: Afghanistan, Chitral, Hunza, Turkestan, Sikkim, Ladakh, Kashmir ...
As any of the above-mentioned general histories of the Great Game make clear, this was not only about Tibet. The "game" was being played across all of Central Asia. A number of my books deal with the history and exploration of these other regions. One of the classic overviews is Grey's 1929, European Adventurers of Northern India, 1785-1849.

Two more recent and better researched books covering exploration in the same regions are Keay's (already mentioned), When Men and Mountains Meet - The Explorers of the Western Himalayas 1820-75 and The Gilgit Game. These are outstanding well-researched sources.

Mapping and Surveying

Much of our detailed understanding of the mountains bordering the top of the Indian sub-continent came from the great survey of India, which was begun in 1800, and carried on for about 100 years. The story of the first 50 years of the survey is told in Keay's, The Great Arc. This includes the measuring of Nanda Devi, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, and Everest. Later activities of the survey, especially in the western Himalaya and Karakoram regions, are covered in Keay's, When Men and Mountains Meet. However, perhaps the best and most accessible account of the Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) of India is Edney's, Mapping an Empire. It does not cover the later period of the survey, such as the survey of the Karakoram or Kashmir, but is an extremely well researched scholarly book on the survey, its execution, its implications and significance. Finally, there is also The Forbidden Frontiers: The Survey of India from 1765-1949 by Styles, which while of interest, is not especially good.

Mountaineering History

For an overall history of early exploration and mountaineering in the Himalaya and surrounding mountains,Mason's, Abode of Snow, and the two volumes of Kurz's, Chronique Himalayenne are the main sources.

In terms of first person accounts of early mountaineering in the Himalaya and Karakoram, the main descriptions that I have are Conway's Climbing and Exploration in the Karakoram-Himalayas, the Workmans' In the Ice World of the Himalaya, and the previously mentioned The Heart of a Continent and Wonders of the Himalaya by Younghusband. These are all accounts by pioneer explorers who were active around in the late 1800's. For two excellent sources chronicling the history of the 8000 metre peaks, see Baume's, Sivalaya and Sale & Clear's, Climbing the World's 14 Highest Mountains. Each includes the climbing history of these mountains, although the former has an outstanding bibliography, while the latter is much better illustrated.

One of the key mountaineer explorers in the first part of the 1900's was Tom Longstaff, whose expeditions are documented in his book This is my Voyage. Two other key players who were kindred spirits with Longstaff, and who built upon his exploration of Nanda Devi in the Garhwal, were Tilman and Shipton. Their collective expeditions are models for all to follow and envy. Both wrote extensively. The primary sources for Shipton are compiled in the The Six Mountain Travel Books, an anthology of his writings. Of these books, I also have the original editions of Blank on the Map, (1943), Upon that Mountain, (1952), and The Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, 1951 (1952). As for his frequent partner, Tilman, there is also an anthology, The Seven Mountain Travel Books. Of Tilman's books, I also have the original editions ofThe Ascent of Nanda Devi, (1937), Mount Everest 1938, (1948), andNepal Himalaya, (1952 ). While Tilman is often described as dry and somewhat cold, his writing is anything but. He is one of the best writers that I have read in any genre, and his dry sense of humour and gift for pointed understatement is great. These are must-read books for anyone interested in the era, the geography, or the culture of the Himalaya in the first half of the 1900's. The reader is also directed to the biography, Eric Shipton - Everest and Beyond, by Steele. This provides a good overview and provides context for both Shipton's books, and the background to his not leading the 1953 British expedition to Everest. There are two biographies of Tilman. The first is Anderson's High Mountains & Cold Seas. The second, which has recently appeared, is by Madge, The Last Hero -- Bill Tilman: A Biography of the Explorer.

There are a number of other first hand accounts documenting the early climbing expeditions, that include detailed accounts of the marches in and the reconnoitering of the mountain and its surroundings. These I discuss under other topics, and they appear in the annotated bibliography, below. For overviews, Unsworth's Everest - The Mountaineering History, is especially good. On a smaller scale is Curran's wonderfully written,K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain. This provides not just a history of K2, but also a review of the early exploration of the Karakoram region.

Most of the climbing books, which are written by westerners, are fairly one-sided in their treatment of the Sherpa and porters, who more often than not are treated as anonymous smiling happy people who carried equipment, set up tents, and brought tea. Morris, who was a journalist for the Times covering the 1953 British expedition to Everest, is an exception. He seemed as interested in painting a portrait of the the people and their culture as in describing Hillary's ascent of Everest. The Sherpa were key players in these expeditions, and yet the treatment of them frequently did not reflect this. For example, Unsworth describes some of the problems that occurred at the start of the 1953 British expedition due to their being treated like second class members of the expedition. The topic of the interaction of Sherpa with foreign climbers, and the impact on Sherpa culture is discussed wonderfully by Ortner in her anthropological study, Life and Death on Mt. Everest : Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering. Another related study is Fisher's Sherpas: Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal. And, there is von Fürer-Haimendorf, The Sherpas of Nepal, which is important as the first (but not most readable or most recommended) anthropological study of the Sherpa. Finally, in this vein, in order to get a first hand perspective from the other side, the reader is directed to the two autobiographies of Tenzing Norgay, Tiger of the Snow, and After Everest, and that of Ang Tharkay (if you can find it). These are the only three written accounts by Sherpa that I am aware of, other than,Touching My Father's Soul. the account by Tenzing's son about the 1996 Everest IMAX expedition [Coburn, Breashears], and Tashi Tenzing's Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest.

The Tenzing and Tharkay autobiographies are worth searching out.

Different countries seem to have adopted or claimed different mountains. For example, while the British had Everest, the Germans had Nanga Parbat and Kangchenjunga (see Buhl, and Messner and Hofler for an account of Buhl's first ascent of Nanga Parbat). To a lesser degree, K2 is associated with Italy. The first reconnaissance of the mountain was by the Italian Roberto Lerco in 1890, and some of the key surveying and photographing of the mountain was undertaken in 1909 by an unsuccessful expedition to climb the mountain led by the Duke of Abruzzi. For a wonderful sample of these and other photographs, see the little volume edited by Audisio, Alpinismo Italiano in Karakoram / Italian Mountaineering in the Karakoram.) For background on the Duke of Abruzzi, see Tenderini and Shandrick's biography, The Duke of Abruzzi: An Explorer's Life. See also Clark's The Splendid Hills: The Life and Photographs of Vittorio Sella. Finally, the Italian association with K2 was consolidated by the first successful summit in 1954 by an Italian team led by Ardito Desio. Two contrasting accounts of this controversial climb can be found in Bonatti's, The Mountains of my Life and the official version, Ascent of K2: Second Highest Peak In the World, by the leader, Prof. Desio.

Finally, to help understand much of the above in the context of the times, a good general history of India is James's, Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India.

Everest General

For an overview of the literature on Everest from first sighting until first summit, see my essay, From First Sight to Summit: A Guide to the Literature on Everest up to the 1953 Ascent.

For the student of Everest, the "Bible" is unquestionably Unsworth's Everest - The Mountaineering History (Third Edition). This is a monumental piece of well documented research. But what is most refreshing is how well it reads. It is a book that flows from cover to cover. I only wish that the authors of my history books in school had the same combination of passion, command of material and written language. This is a master work.

Another great history of Everest can be found in the collection of photographs, maps and first person accounts edited by Peter Gillman. This is a wonderful book covering the history of the mountain from its first "discovery" by Europeans up to the time of writing, 1992. If one wanted an overview of the mountain, and was going to buy only two books, I suspect that Unsworth and Gillman might be the best choices. They complement each other beautifully.

In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1st summit, National Geographic Magazine put out a special edition in May 2003. This issue is of interest less for the articles, than for the excellent large format map of Everest, showing the key routes. What is of additional value is that this map is available on-line, as is an interactive 3D relief map of the Mountain and surrounding region, and a 360 degrees interactive panorama view from the summit. Click here to access the site. Both the physical copy of the magazine and the online resources will likely be of interest to students of the mountain.

While I have a general interest in Everest, my focus has been mainly on the expeditions leading up to the first ascent in 1953 by Hillary and Tenzing. My collection covering this period is complete (famous last words!). See From First Sight to Summit: A Guide to the Literature on Everest up to the 1953 Ascent. (Buxton, 2005). A key part of this document is the table at the end of this section.

The European exploration of the Everest region is rooted in map making. From many perspectives, there can be no empire without maps, and Britain at the time was certainly an empire. Mapping India was no small feat. Keep in mind that from the southern tip of India to the Himalaya is about the same distance as from the southern tip of Florida to Hudson’s Bay. The mapping of India, especially with the precision at which it was done, counts as one of the great achievements of the era. It is an accomplishment which is described in a number of books, including Edney's Mapping an Empire - The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843, and the Keay's briefer, more approachable The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named.

But then, Britain was not the only empire in the region. To the north, there was China, and as Michael Ward’s wonderful recent book points out, Everest was marked on maps by (Jesuit trained) Chinese cartographers as early as 1708 and 1718!

The Chinese cartographers, however, were not climbers. Not so the British. They did much of the early climbing in the Himalaya. However, the British cartographers didn’t think of themselves so much as mountaineers. They were simply (?) men doing a job. But the latter 1800’s did see a number of, mainly British, people in the Himalaya for the ostensibly sole purpose of climbing (ostensibly, since many were British officers on leave, and this is generally interpreted as meaning that they were also doing intelligence work). Some of the early pioneers included W.W. Graham (see essays in Macleod and in Thompson et. al), W.M. Conway, Charles Bruce, and Tom Longstaff.

As early as 1885, Clinton Dent, the then president of the Alpine Club of Great Britain, wrote that he believed that Everest could be climbed. Then, in early 1893, during a mission to bestow British recognition to the new Mehtar of Chitral, the first proposal to explore Everest was probably made. Bruce claims that Younghusband made it to him, and Younghusband claims that the idea came from Bruce. The first hint of a follow-through came in 1904, when as part of the Younghusband mission to Tibet in 1904-5, Captain C G. Rawling was dispatched to map parts of Tibet, including territory as close as 60 miles from the north side of the mountain.

While Viceroy of India, (1899-1905), Curzon attempted to initiate a joint expedition to the mountain through Nepal, by the Alpine Club and the Royal Geographical Society; however, he was not able to get approval to enter Nepal (Younghusband, 1936). In 1907, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Alpine Club, there was another attempt to organize a reconnaissance expedition, this time through Tibet; however, again permission to enter the country was denied – this time by the British government, which was afraid of upsetting ongoing negotiations with Russia (Longstaff, 1950).

To this point, most of the discussion had been more about exploring the mountain, and making a reconnaissance, not climbing it. But the article, "A Consideration of the Possibility of Ascending the Loftier Himalaya, by the climber and physician", Dr. A.M. Kellas (1916), was one of the key catalysts that started shifting mountaineers thinking about the big peaks. However, the initiative for the Alpine Club and Royal Geographical Society to form the Mount Everest Committee, and launch the first expedition grew out of the discussion following a talk to the Alpine Club in 1916 by J.B.L. Noel (Noel, 1927; Younghusband, 1926, 1936).

For a good summary of the first three British expeditions to the mountain, see Younghusband's The Epic of Everest. It is a contemporary description of the expeditions of 1921, 1922 and 1924, and can be easily found since it has recently been reissued in paperback. The full text and photographs are also available on line. This book is as interesting for its style as for its content. The language is old fashioned but Younghusband's perspective on the use of oxygen and "fair means" is modern, even today. Reading this early account brings one far closer to understanding the frame of mind and attitude of the protagonists than is obtained by reading about the events in more recent second-hand accounts, such as Unsworth's, (which is not a slight on Unsworth's writing or research). In 1936 Younghusband wrote another book, Everest: The Challenge, the second edition of which summarized the Everest expeditions up to 1936. It also presented his views on high altitude mountaineering and the Himalaya. It makes for interesting reading to see how his views grew, changed, and/or remained consistent between these two volumes. Finally, for two other books that synthesize the early climbs, see Murray's The Story of Everest 1921-1952, and Shipton's, Men Against Everest (originally published in the UK as The True Book About Everest).

The primary sources for the Everest expeditions are the official accounts. Concerning the pre-war expeditions to the north side of the mountain, there are Howard-Bury's Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921, Bruce's The Assault on Mount Everest, 1922, Norton's The Fight for Everest: 1924, Ruttledge's Everest 1933, Ruttledge's Everest: The Unfinished Adventure which is the account of the 1936 expedition led by Ruttledge, and Tilman's Mount Everest 1938, an account of the last pre-war expedition, and the last in this series to the North side. The account of the 1935 reconnaissance expedition led by Shipton did not appear in book form, except almost as an aside in Ruttledge's Everest: The Unfinished Adventure. However, Shipton did publish an account of the expedition "The Mount Everest Reconnaissance, 1935", in the Himalayan Journal, in 1936. However, Tony Astill, Tony has recently published the definitive book on the expedition, Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance 1935.

The 1938 expedition led by Tilman is especially interesting in how it broke tradition with all of the previous ones, in its relatively "light weight" approach. It cost about 1/4 of any of the previous attempts. While the weather dictated that no serious assault on the summit could be made, this expedition paved the way for the even smaller expeditions that Tilman and Shipton were famous for, and led to the alpine-type approaches more common today. Again, this was essentially an expedition that did not use supplemental oxygen.

There are also first person accounts from members of these expeditions. For example,Finch, and Longstaff each include chapters that document their respective participation in the 1922 expedition. A favorite of mine is Smythe's account of the 4th British expedition in 1933, Camp Six. This is an exceptionally descriptiveaccount of both the walk in through Tibet and the climb itself. As with the earlier British expeditions, the 1933 effort got tantalizingly close. Three climbers in two assaults (Wyn Harris and Wagner in the first, and Smythe in the second) matched or exceeded Norton's 1924 high point of 8,600 metres, and did so without supplemental oxygen, and despite being plagued by bad weather. Yet another account of this 1933 expedition can be found in Shipton's early autobiography, Upon that Mountain, which also covers his experience with the expeditions of 1935, '36 and '38.

While the books that being discussed have to do with climbing the mountain, one footnote of interest is the first flight over the mountain in 1933, described by Fellowes, et. al in First over Everest, and Clydesdale & McIntyre in, The Pilots' Book of Everest. See also Etherton's The Last Strongholds andAll Over the World, as well as Douglas-Hamilton's, Roof of the World: Man's First Flight over Everest. This flight was a logistical and engineering tour de force, and resulted in the first aerial photographs of the mountain and its surroundings, which are reproduced in the books. Another interesting early flight was that of Robert Scott. In his book, God Is My Co-Pilot, he describes how he flew a P-43A in 1942, along the Brahmaputra River, into Tibet, over Lhasa (which he photographed in colour), on to Kangchenjunga, which he circled, then over Makalu and Everest.

In addition to the officially sanctioned expeditions, there was also one extraordinary 1934 covert attempt on the mountain by the EnglishmanMaurice Wilson. Wilson believed that his faith in God, and his diet, would see him to the summit, despite his complete lack of mountaineering experience. His expected success would thenprovide the world an example of the power of faith. While one cannot help but admire his spirit and determination, his judgment was lacking, and the result was that he died in his attempt. An account of his story, based largely on his extensive diaries, can be found in Roberts' I'll Climb Mount Everest Alone.

With the exception of another illicit "solo" expedition from the north, that in 1947 by the eccentric Canadian Earl Denman,the activity after W.W. II moved to the south side of the mountain - from Tibet to Nepal.

Tilman and Houston made a preliminary expedition to the Everest region in Nepal in 1950, which is one of the expeditions described in Tilman's, Nepal Himalaya. Then in 1951 Shipton led a reconnaissance expedition to the mountain, described in his Mt. Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1951, which is also discussed by Hillary (who was part of the team) in both, High Adventure and View from the Summit. They made it through the Khumbu Ice Fall to the Western Cwm, thereby establishing that the mountain would "go" from the south side.

Then it was the turn of the Swiss. This was the first time that an official expedition had been mounted to Everest by anyone but the British, who thought of the mountain as "theirs." The Swiss made two attempts from the south in 1952, both of which are covered in Forerunners to Everest, by Dittert, Chevalley and Lambert, as well as captured photographically in,Everest: The Swiss Expeditions in Photographs, compiled by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research. Tenzing Norgay, along with the Swiss climber Lambert, came very close to reaching the summit. Tenzing's account of the expedition can be found in his first autobiography, Tiger of the Snow. Two other books on the Swiss expeditions are, a collection of essays editted by Kurz, The Mountain World: Everest 1952, and Roch's beautiful book of photos and essays, Everest 1952.

The British, watched these expeditions with great anxiety. With the hope that the Swiss would not succeed, they made plans for an attempt in 1953. In order to be better prepared for this attempt, while the Swiss were active on Everest, the British (under Shipton) set out on a training expedition to Cho Oyo, which is described by Hillary in High Adventure.

While they came very close, the Swiss expeditions did fail, so the British had their chance in 1953 - a chance which they were well aware was likley to be their last before the mountain would be scaled. This expedition was led by Hunt, whose official account in, The Ascent of Everest, is dry, but nevertheless compelling. (In the USA the book was titled, The Conquest of Everest. I always find this term offensive. The concept of "conquering" a mountain is absurd, and is contrary to mountaineering as I think of it. However, given the military approach and siege tactics used, this title is not surprising.)

Hunt's book includes a chapter written by Hillary describing the final summit bid with Tenzing. It is extremelyinteresting to compare Hillary's account here with his more recent one in his View from the Summit. The latter describes things in a far more subjective and candid manner. Tenzing's account of the climb is covered in his first autobiography, Tiger of the Snow. One of the classic books on this expedition, and one of my favorites overall, is Noyce's South Col. In my opinion, this is one of the best "climber's eye view" in the literature. Another book worth reading is by Morris who was the correspondent for The Times assigned to the expedition. Rather than a description of the climb, it more a portrait of Nepal and the Sherpa people in the early 50's. It is a portrait such as I have not read elsewhere. A small book, but wonderful to read. While the Times had an exclusive on the story of the expedition, that didn't stop their competitor, The Daily Mail, from dispatching a correspondent to Everest. The story of the interloper, Ralph Izzard, (who was no mountaineer) is told in his, An Innocent on Everest.

For collections of photographs of the 1953 expedition, see Alfred Gregory's Everest, and Our Everest Adventure. I also think that Charles Evans' sketch book, Eye on Everest, is well worth seeking out, for its humour, as well as its sketches and cartoons. Other books relating to this climb are referenced in the table below. One thing worth noting, however, is that the feature-length documentary, The Conquest of Everest, shot by Tom Stobart, is available on the DVD, Into the Thin Air of Everest: Mountain of Dreams, Mountain of Doom, Goldhill DVD.

Another source of interest is Steele's book on Shipton, which gives a good second hand account of the expeditions immediately leading up to the 1953 expedition, and the controversy surrounding Hunt's appointment as leader over Shipton, who did not take part in the expedition (but continued to provide advice. This is an issue completely avoided in Hunt's book.

A link between the earlier and recent expeditions is found in three different books, each of which gives an account of the 1999 expedition that went out in search of the bodies of Mallory and Irvine: Ghosts of Everest - The Search for Mallory and Irvine, by Hemmleb, Johnson and Simonson, Lost on Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine, by Firstbrook, and The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest, by Anker & Roberts. (How this expedition justifies three books, I have no idea. Why I have all three is even a bigger mystery.) They aspire to be as much detective as climbing books, but this aspiration is somewhat diminished due to the rather shallow research that was conducted.

One of the key pieces of the puzzle that helped guide the search was the ice axe of Irvine. This had been found by Wyn Harris near the ridge, just below the First Step, during the 1933 expedition. Its discovery is described in the official account by Ruttledge, as well as in Smythe's, Camp Six. Significantly, Smythe's book includes an appendix specifically on the discovery of this axe, and what he believed it signified with respect to the fate of Mallory and Irvine. As it turns out, through the discoveries of the 1999 expedition, Smythe's conclusions appear to have been correct insofar as Mallory's body was found where he had predicted in this appendix. That Mallory died of exposure after a fall is now clear. What caused the fall and how Irvine died, are still unsolved, and almost certainly unsolvable questions. It is virtually certain that they did not get to the summit, and fell below the First Step (as suggested by Smythe). But the discovery of Mallory is an amazing story that further supports Smythe's judgment and understanding of mountaineering.

Those interested in more information on Mallory and Irvine, might look at Carr's little book, The Irvine Diaries: Andrew Irvine and the enigma of Everest 1924, as well as Peter and Leni Gillman's recent biography of Mallory, The Wildest Dream. If I was to recommend one book on Mallory it would probably be Last Climb, by Breashears and Salkeld. It is well written, researched, and beautifully produced.

Coming back to Ghosts of Everest, The Lost Explorer, and Lost on Everest, while the expedition and its findings were interesting, they warrant criticism for a number of reasons. Anyone trying to uncover the "mysteries" of the Mallory and Irvine should reasonably be expected to read everything from the 1933 expedition available, such as Shipton's Upon that Mountain, and especially the appendix in Smythe's Camp Six. After all, these were the first climbers on the ridge since the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine, they were climbers familiar with both Mallory and his approach to climbing, and the only people alive at the time who had first hand knowledge of the location and context. From the perspective of history and scholarship, my view is that the specific issues (analyses, conjectures, theories, etc.) made in the 1933 expedition report, and especially Smythe's appendix must be directly addressed. Yet, the only account that I found which cites, much less discusses, Smythe's Appendix, for example, is Breashears and Salkeld's Last Climb. Furthermore, my sense is that any serious analysis needs to reflect a balanced analysis of the various interpretations or possibilities that might be drawn from the data. Sadly, enthusiasm trumps analysis in books such as Ghosts of Everest and Detectives on Everest This is too bad, since - as I said earlier - some of the findings in these expeditions are interesting. However, in my opinion, they are worthy of a more serious analysis and presentation.

This general failure of most books on the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine suggests that, their efforts are often more of a treasure hunt, than scholarship or serious history. Hence, I have almost no interest in this huge, and growing, volume of books speculating on, and romanticizing, Mallory and Irvine. "Romantic musings," rather than "research," is generally the most appropriate description for them, and there is too much worthy literature to read to waste time on this topic, as trendy as it may be.

Now, if one does wants to find controversy, then a much better place to find it is in the American expedition of 1963, which is covered in Ullman's Americans on Everest. The ascent during that expedition of Everest's West Ridge by Willi Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein is covered in Hornbein's Everest : The West Ridge, and in the biography of Unsoeld by Leamer. The story of the other half of this expedition, the ascent via the easier South Col route (which resulted in the first American ascent by Jim Whittaker ) is described in Whittaker's autobiography, a disappointing book which sheds little light on the climb, and glosses over many of the the issues around it.

For something completely different, there is Miura and Perlman's account of Miura's 1970 attempt to ski straight down the Lhoste face. He fell most of the way, and yet lived to tell about it. Even in 1978, in The Man Who Skied Down Everest, this farce is described in some heroic context of ancient Samurai. To me, this expedition, and the resulting book and film constitute some kind of bizarre cultural artifact that just makes me shake my head in bewilderment. In some ways the book is worth reading just to have it reaffirmed that truth is stranger than fiction.

A note on the following table: all of the book references below with hyperlinks are books in my collection. Clicking on the link will take you to the full citation and a summary. The format that I have followed is based on Neate (1978).

Year	Summary of Expeditions	Chief account	Other Accounts
1885	Dent suggests that man could climb Everest	Dent (1885)
1886	Debate over name "Everest"	Walker (1886a), Freshfield (1886), Walker (1886b)
1893	Bruce and Younghusband first suggest mounting expedition to explore Everest.	Bruce (1934), Younghusband (1926)
1904	Rawling leads survey of region north of Everest.	Rawling (1905)
1913	Noel's exploration of the Tibetan Approaches	Noel (1919, 1927)	Freshfield et al. (1919)
1916	Dr. A.M. Kellas publishes study on feasibility of climbing higher Himalayan peaks.	Kellas (1916)
1921	British Reconnaissance Expedition	Howard-Bury (1922); Howard-Bury & Mallory (1991)	Gillman & Gillman (2000), Green (1990), Green (2005), Hozel & Salkeld (1986), Morshead (1982), Pye (1927), Robertson (1969), Salkeld (2000), Styles (1967), Wollaston (1933), Wollaston (2003)
1922	British Climbing Expedition	Bruce (1923)	Bridges & Tiltman (1929), Bruce (1934), Finch (1922, 1924, 1925, 1930), Gillman & Gillman (2000), Green (1990), Green (2005), Hozel & Salkeld (1986), Longstaff (1950), Morris (1960), Morshead (1982), Noel (1927), Noel (2003), Pye (1927), Robertson (1969), Salkeld (2000), Somervell (1936, 1948), Styles (1967).
1924	British Climbing Expedition. Mallory & Irvine disappear	Norton (1925)	Bridges & Tiltman (1929), Carr (1979), Gillman & Gillman (2000), Green (1990), Green (2005), Hozel & Salkeld (1986), Nicholson (1975), Noel (1927), Noel (2003), Pye (1927), Robertson (1969), Salkeld (2000), Somervell (1936, 1948), Styles (1967), Summers (2000), Swinson (1971).
1921-24	Summary of first three expeditions	Younghusband (1926)
1933	British Climbing Expedition	Ruttledge (1934)	Boustead (1971), Greene (1974), Longland (1940), Shipton (1943, 1969, 1985), Smythe (1937, 1941, 1949), Tharkay (1954)
1933	First Flight Over Summit	Fellowes et al (1933)	Clydesdale & McIntyre (1936), Douglas-Hamilton (1983), Etherton (1934; 1946)
1934	Solo Attempt by Englishman Maurice Wilson	Roberts (1957)	Russell (n.d.), Salkeld (1993), Shipton (1943)
1935	British Reconnaissance Expedition	Shipton (1936), Astill(2005)	Bryant (1953), Norgay & Ullman (1955), Ruttledge (1937), Shipton (1943, 1969, 1985), Temple (1969), Tharkay (1954)
1936	British Climbing Expedition.	Ruttledge (1937)	Morris (1960), Norgay & Ullman (1955), Shipton (1943, 1969, 1985), Tharkay (1954)
1921-36	Analysis of British Expeditions to date	Younghusband (1936)
1938	British Light Climbing Expedition	Tilman (1948)	Norgay & Ullman (1955), Shipton (1943, 1969, 1985), Tharkay (1954),
1921-38	Summary of British Expeditions		Snaith (1938), Ullman (1947)
1942	Unauthorized US Flight over Mtn.	Scott (1943)	Hagen et al. (1963), Kurz (1959)
1945	Secret flight over mountain by New Zealander, C.G. Andrews of 684 Squadron, RAF	Andrews (1947)	Hagen et al. (1963), Kurz (1959), Ward (2003)
1947	Secret flight over mountain by K.D Neame, RAF	Neame (1955)	Hagen et al. (1963), Kurz (1959), Ward (2003)
1947	Solo Attempt by Canadian Earl Denman	Denman (1954)	Kurz (1959), Norgay & Ullman (1955)
1950	Anglo-American expedition, led by Oscar Houston. First approach from Nepal by C Houston & Tilman.		Cowles (1953), Tilman (1952)
1951	Solo Attempt by Dane, R.B. Larsen		Hagen et al. (1963), Kurz (1959), Kurz (1953a), Unsworth (2000)
1951	British Reconnaissance of Western Cwm	Shipton (1952)	Bryant (1953), Hillary (1955, 1975, 1999), Murray (1953, 2002), Shipton (1955, 1966, 1969, 1985), Temple (1969), Ward (2003), Tharkay (1954)
1952	Spring Swiss Expedition, led by E. Wyss-Dunant and Fall Swiss Expedition, led by G. Chevalley.	Dittert et al (1954)	Kurz (1953b), Norgay & Ullman (1955), Roch (1952), SFAR (1954)
1952	Unsubstantiated and suspect Russian attempt from the north in fall.		Gippenreiter (1994), Kurz (1959)
1921-52	Summary of Attempts from 1921-52		Murray (1953)
1953	British First Ascent	Hunt (1953)	Band (2003), Bryant (1953), Evans (1955), Goswami (1954), Gregory (1954, 1993), Hillary (1955, 1975, 1999), Hunt (1954, 1978a; 1978b), Izzard (1954), Lowe (1959), Morris (1958, 1974), Norgay & Ullman (1955), Norgay & Barnes (1977), Noyce (1954), Noyce & Taylor (1954), Stobart (1953, 1958a, 1958b), Temple (1969), Ward (1972, 2003)
1913-1999	An anthology of first person accounts.	Lewis (2003)
1921-53	Summary of Attempts		Band (2003), Shipton (1955), Venables (2003), Ward (2003)
1921-99	The Definitive History of Everest	Unsworth (2000)

In marked contrast, in terms of mountaineering, is Bonington's Everest the Hard Way, a wonderful book describing the 1975 British expedition that made the first ascent of the South West Face.

An account of the 1976 US Bicentennial expedition can be found in Ridgeway's, The Boldest Dream.

In terms of spectacular ascents of the mountain, few can compete with Messner's 1980 solo climb of the north face, without supplemental oxygen, described in The Crystal Horizon: Everest - The First Solo Ascent. This book is extremely wellwritten. It is also very well researched, in that it goes beyond the obvious, "we climbed it, and here's how" type of account. It gives a great deal of background on the mountain, as well as Tibet and the route in.

Another expedition that did the West Ridge (via the Hornbein Couloir), approached from the north side, was the Canadian Everest Light Expedition of 1986, described in Patterson's Canadians on Everest. This expedition was interesting for its light style, climbing without Sherpa support, not taking the standard route, and for getting the first North American woman, Sharon Wood to the summit.

Perhaps the most remarkable (verging on insane) expedition was the four climber oxygenless ascent of the East (Kangshung) Face in 1988, which is described by Venables in