If you're interested in Mount Everest, as I am (philosophically, at least -- I haven't the slightest desire to actually climb it), then this little anthology will give you a pretty good idea of its mountaineering history. Beginning with the fabled and mystery-shrouded Mallory expedition and ending, fittingly, with the quest to discover Mallory's fate on the mountain, the excerpts collected here tell the tales of success and tragedy, and the drive some adventurers feel to conquer the world's tallest peak, as well as the abilities and limitations of human effort. I feared it may have been repetitious, but the editor chose well, showing the great variety of Everest experiences that have been documented over nearly a century. The tragic season captured by Jon Krakauer in his book Into Thin Air is deliberately left out. ( )