Into the Thin Air of Everest

When George Leigh Mallory--one of the early victims claimed by Chomolungma, better known as Mt. Everest--was asked why he climbed the mountain, he replied "because it's there." That laconic response doesn't really even scratch the surface of the lure of Everest: since mountaineers first began their ascents in 1921 up through the disastrous 1996 climbing season (harrowingly chronicled in Jon Krakauer's outstanding Into Thin Air), Everest has killed an average of one in five climbers (or 20%). This handsomely boxed 3-video set tracks the history of those men and women who attempted to stand on the "roof of the world"; the winners, such as Sir Edmund Hillary who first successfully scaled the 29,028 ft. summit in 1953 and the losers, including the ill-fated 1996 expeditions (given brief treatment here). Oddly, it is the final volume, the Oscar-nominated 1953 documentary The Conquest of Everest, which most closely captures the spirit and danger of Krakauer's writing, as it follows the arduous climb and eventual triumph of Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Taken as a whole, the set is a remarkable deal, and is sure to be tremendously popular. Enthusiastically recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)