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A review by readingthestars
The Third Pole: Mystery, Obsession, and Death on Mount Everest by Mark Synnott
4.0
I’m a sucker for anything mountain related, and ESPECIALLY SO when that mountain is Everest.
If you’re an avid fan like me, then some of the facts in this book may not be new to you. A family member read it before me, and essentially quizzed me on various facts she had learned while reading this - all of which I already knew the answer to. That doesn’t mean that this book has nothing to offer - it does. I learned a few new things, and liked reading more about the early expeditions. It’s wild to me how little people knew about the mountain and how determined they were to climb it with their (now) rudimentary equipment!
This book starts very strong, but slows down a bit after half way through. I liked learning more in depth details about “the day that Everest broke” - when there were long lines to reach the summit, leading to multiple deaths - but at a certain point, the focus was not on Mallory and Irvine anymore. And it only came back into focus after the author summits and then observes the spot that the whole expedition was arranged to see. I know that results aren’t always guaranteed with expeditions like this, but in writing it felt like there was a huge build up and then it was only wrapped up in like two pages.
Besides that, I really enjoyed this. I actually watched the documentary (Lost in Everest, available on Disney+) like a month before reading this - so I already knew the outcome of this expedition. Anyone interested should check out the documentary for some really cool photos, videos, and interviews.
If you’re an avid fan like me, then some of the facts in this book may not be new to you. A family member read it before me, and essentially quizzed me on various facts she had learned while reading this - all of which I already knew the answer to. That doesn’t mean that this book has nothing to offer - it does. I learned a few new things, and liked reading more about the early expeditions. It’s wild to me how little people knew about the mountain and how determined they were to climb it with their (now) rudimentary equipment!
This book starts very strong, but slows down a bit after half way through. I liked learning more in depth details about “the day that Everest broke” - when there were long lines to reach the summit, leading to multiple deaths - but at a certain point, the focus was not on Mallory and Irvine anymore. And it only came back into focus after the author summits and then observes the spot that the whole expedition was arranged to see. I know that results aren’t always guaranteed with expeditions like this, but in writing it felt like there was a huge build up and then it was only wrapped up in like two pages.
Besides that, I really enjoyed this. I actually watched the documentary (Lost in Everest, available on Disney+) like a month before reading this - so I already knew the outcome of this expedition. Anyone interested should check out the documentary for some really cool photos, videos, and interviews.