I was captivated. Wade Davis has penned an exceptional book on an extraordinary generation. They do not make them like that any more. And there would always only ever be one Mallory. From the pathos of the trenches to the inevitable tragedies high on Everest this is a book deserving of awards. Monumental in its scope and conception it nevertheless remains hypnotically fascinating throughout. A wonderful story tinged with sadness.
Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void,

I was captivated. Wade Davis has penned an exceptional book on an extraordinary generation. They do not make them like that any more. And there would always only ever be one Mallory. From the pathos of the trenches to the inevitable tragedies high on Everest this is a book deserving of awards. Monumental in its scope and conception it nevertheless remains hypnotically fascinating throughout. A wonderful story tinged with sadness.
Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void,

I was captivated. Wade Davis has penned an exceptional book on an extraordinary generation. They do not make them like that any more. And there would always only ever be one Mallory. From the pathos of the trenches to the inevitable tragedies high on Everest this is a book deserving of awards. Monumental in its scope and conception it nevertheless remains hypnotically fascinating throughout. A wonderful story tinged with sadness.
Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void,

I was captivated. Wade Davis has penned an exceptional book on an extraordinary generation. From the pathos of the trenches to the inevitable tragedies high on Everest this is a book deserving of awards. Monumental in its scope and conception it nevertheless remains hypnotically fascinating throughout. A wonderful story tinged with sadness
Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void,

Wade Davis's mesmerizing telling of Mallory's fabled story gives new and revealing weight to the significance of its post-war era and to Mallory's dazzlingly accomplished and courageous companions. Into the Silence succeeds not only because Davis's research has been prodigious, but because every sentence has been struck with conviction, every image evoked with fierce reverence-for the heartbreaking twilight era, for the magnificent resilience of its survivors, for their mission, for Mallory, for his mountain. An epic worthy of its epic.
Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles,

Wade Davis's mesmerizing telling of Mallory's fabled story gives new and revealing weight to the significance of its post-war era and to Mallory's dazzlingly accomplished and courageous companions. Into the Silence succeeds not only because Davis's research has been prodigious, but because every sentence has been struck with conviction, every image evoked with fierce reverence-for the heartbreaking twilight era, for the magnificent resilience of its survivors, for their mission, for Mallory, for his mountain. An epic worthy of its epic.
Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles,

Wade Davis's mesmerizing telling of Mallory's fabled story gives new and revealing weight to the significance of its post-war era and to Mallory's dazzlingly accomplished and courageous companions. Into the Silence succeeds not only because Davis's research has been prodigious, but because every sentence has been struck with conviction, every image evoked with fierce reverence-for the heartbreaking twilight era, for the magnificent resilience of its survivors, for their mission, for Mallory, for his mountain. An epic worthy of its epic.
Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles,

Into the Silence succeeds not only because Davis's research has been prodigious, but because every sentence has been struck with conviction, every image evoked with fierce reverence – for the heartbreaking twilight era, for the magnificent resilience of its survivors, for their mission, for Mallory, for his mountain. An epic worthy of its epic
Caroline Alexander, author of The Endurance and The War That Killed Achilles,

Into the Silence is a breathtaking triumph. An astonishing piece of research, it is also intensely moving, evoking the courage, chivalry, and sacrifice that drove Mallory and his companions through the war and to ever greater heights
William Shawcross, author of The Queen Mother,

Into the Silence is a breathtaking triumph. An astonishing piece of research, it is also intensely moving, evoking the courage, chivalry, and sacrifice that drove Mallory and his companions through the war and to ever greater heights
William Shawcross, author of The Queen Mother,

Into the Silence is a breathtaking triumph. An astonishing piece of research, it is also intensely moving, evoking the courage, chivalry, and sacrifice that drove Mallory and his companions through the war and to ever greater heights
William Shawcross, author of The Queen Mother,

Into the Silence is a breathtaking triumph. An astonishing piece of research, it is also intensely moving, evoking the courage, chivalry, and sacrifice that drove Mallory and his companions through the war and to ever greater heights
William Shawcross, author of The Queen Mother,

INTO THE SILENCE is utterly fascinating, and grippingly well-written. With extraordinary skill Wade Davis manages to weave together such disparate strands as Queen Victoria's Indian Raj, the 'Great Game' of intrigue against Russia, the horrors of the Somme, and Britain's obsession to conquer the world's highest peak, all linking to that terrible moment atop Everest when Mallory fell to his death. The mystery of whether he and Irving ever reached the summit remains tantalisingly unsolved.
Alistair Horne,

INTO THE SILENCE is utterly fascinating, and grippingly well-written. With extraordinary skill Wade Davis manages to weave together such disparate strands as Queen Victoria's Indian Raj, the 'Great Game' of intrigue against Russia, the horrors of the Somme, and Britain's obsession to conquer the world's highest peak, all linking to that terrible moment atop Everest when Mallory fell to his death. The mystery of whether he and Irving ever reached the summit remains tantalisingly unsolved.
Alistair Horne,

INTO THE SILENCE is utterly fascinating, and grippingly well-written. With extraordinary skill Wade Davis manages to weave together such disparate strands as Queen Victoria's Indian Raj, the 'Great Game' of intrigue against Russia, the horrors of the Somme, and Britain's obsession to conquer the world's highest peak, all linking to that terrible moment atop Everest when Mallory fell to his death. The mystery of whether he and Irving ever reached the summit remains tantalisingly unsolved.
Alistair Horne,

Brilliantly engrossing...a superb book... At once a group biography of remarkable characters snatched from oblivion, an instant classic of mountaineering literature, a study in imperial decline and an epic of exploration
Nigel Jones, Guardian

The meticulously researched and definitive account of a legend... Fascinating and immensely enjoyable
Leo Houlding, rock climber,

The meticulously researched and definitive account of a legend... Fascinating and immensely enjoyable
Leo Houlding, rock climber,

Utterly fascinating, and grippingly well-written. With extraordinary skill Wade Davis manages to weave together such disparate strands as Queen Victoria's Indian Raj, the 'Great Game' of intrigue against Russia, the horrors of the Somme, and Britain's obsession to conquer the world's highest peak
Alistair Horne,

The meticulously researched and definitive account of a legend... Fascinating and immensely enjoyable
Leo Houlding, rock climber,

Into the Silence is quite unlike any other mountaineering book. It not only spins a gripping Boy's Own yarn about the early British expeditions to Everest, but investigates how the carnage of the trenches bled into a desire for redemption at the top of the world ... There was never any danger of the author being under-prepared. Davis, a Canadian anthropologist and adventurer, spent 10 years researching this book, and it shows ... At its heart, Into the Silence is an elegy for a lost generation. Indeed, when Mallory and Irvine 'vanished into a world known only to them' on June 8, 1924, the empire mourned more than two untimely deaths. A friend, Geoffrey Young, wrote that 'in that final magnificent venture against the unknown, we are thrilled by the knightly purpose, by the evident joyousness of the attempt, as much as by the audacity and endurance. It is the burning spirit of chivalrous, youthful adventure, flaming at the close, higher than the highest summit of the known world ... The same could be said for Into the Silence: a magnificent, audacious venture
Ed Casear, Sunday Times

Combining the pace of a thriller with a degree of detail as nuanced as any academic study, this is an atmospheric and exhilarating book
Mark Elliot, Time Out

Combining the pace of a thriller with a degree of detail as nuanced as any academic study, this is an atmospheric and exhilarating book
Mark Elliot, Time Out

Into the Silence is quite unlike any other mountaineering book. It not only spins a gripping Boy's Own yarn about the early British expeditions to Everest, but investigates how the carnage of the trenches bled into a desire for redemption at the top of the world ... There was never any danger of the author being under-prepared. Davis, a Canadian anthropologist and adventurer, spent 10 years researching this book, and it shows ... At its heart, Into the Silence is an elegy for a lost generation. Indeed, when Mallory and Irvine 'vanished into a world known only to them' on June 8, 1924, the empire mourned more than two untimely deaths. A friend, Geoffrey Young, wrote that 'in that final magnificent venture against the unknown, we are thrilled by the knightly purpose, by the evident joyousness of the attempt, as much as by the audacity and endurance. It is the burning spirit of chivalrous, youthful adventure, flaming at the close, higher than the highest summit of the known world ... The same could be said for Into the Silence: a magnificent, audacious venture
Ed Casear, Sunday Times

Magnificent ... impressive ... a vivid account
Geoff Dyer, Observer

Brilliantly engrossing...a superb book... At once a group biography of remarkable characters snatched from oblivion, an instant classic of mountaineering literature, a study in imperial decline and an epic of exploration
Nigel Jones, Guardian

Magnificent ... impressive ... a vivid account
Geoff Dyer, Observer

Into the Silence is quite unlike any other mountaineering book. It not only spins a gripping Boy's Own yarn about the early British expeditions to Everest, but investigates how the carnage of the trenches bled into a desire for redemption at the top of the world... At its heart, Into the Silence is an elegy for a lost generation ...a magnificent, audacious venture
Ed Caesar, Sunday Times

Profoundly ambitious ... impressive ... its intentions are terrific
Jan Morris, Sunday Telegraph

Magnificent...impressive...a vivid account
Geoff Dyer, Observer, Book of the Week

Into the Silence is quite unlike any other mountaineering book. It not only spins a gripping Boy's Own yarn about the early British expeditions to Everest, but investigates how the carnage of the trenches bled into a desire for redemption at the top of the world... At its heart, Into the Silence is an elegy for a lost generation ...a magnificent, audacious venture
Ed Caesar, Sunday Times

Profoundly ambitious ... impressive ... its intentions are terrific
Jan Morris, Sunday Telegraph

Magnificent study aims to answer what drove Mallory to risk it all
Sunday Times

Magnificent...impressive...a vivid account
Geoff Dyer, Observer, Book of the Week

Magnificent study aims to answer what drove Mallory to risk it all
Sunday Times

The product of a decade's research, Into the Silence has two supreme strengths, the first of which is the emotional, spiritual and historical context it provides, against which to understand the central events. The other is the author's effortless knack for sketching character
Spectator

The ambivalent emotional charge of their passing, coming as it did at such a turning point in the history of the British empire, fully justifies the efforts the author has made to encapsulate it. And encapsulate it he has, precisely, grippingly and with comprehensive wisdom
Spectator

Utterly compelling
John Keay, Literary Review

The product of a decade's research, Into the Silence has two supreme strengths, the first of which is the emotional, spiritual and historical context it provides, against which to understand the central events. The other is the author's effortless knack for sketching character.
Spectator

Utterly compelling
John Keay, Literary Review

Combining the pace of a thriller with a degree of detail as nuanced as any academic study, this is an atmospheric and exhilarating book
Mark Elliot, Time Out

The ambivalent emotional charge of their passing, coming as it did at such a turning point in the history of the British empire, fully justifies the efforts the author has made to encapsulate it. And encapsulate it he has, precisely, grippingly and with comprehensive wisdom.
Spectator

Combining the pace of a thriller with a degree of detail as nuanced as any academic study, this is an atmospheric and exhilarating book
Mark Elliot, Time Out

Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope
Iain Finlayson, The Times

Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope.
Iain Finlayson, The Times

Brilliantly engrossing... A superb book... At once a group biography of remarkable characters snatched from oblivion, an instant classic of mountaineering literature, a study in imperial decline and an epic of exploration
Nigel Jones, Guardian

Brilliantly engrossing... A superb book... At once a group biography of remarkable characters snatched from oblivion, an instant classic of mountaineering literature, a study in imperial decline and an epic of exploration
Nigel Jones, Guardian

Davis has produced a magnificent, rigorously researched account of the expeditions
Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

So did they reach the summit? It's anybody's guess. But all Wade Davis' experts in this fascinating book, shake their heads
Christopher Hudson, Daily Mail

Davis has produced a magnificent, rigorously researched account of the expeditions
Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

Stunning book ... thoroughly researched and gracefully written
Christopher Sylvester, Daily Express

Davis has produced a magnificent, rigorously researched account of the expeditions.
Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

Stunning book ... thoroughly researched and gracefully written
Christopher Sylvester, Daily Express

Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope
Iain Finlayson, The Times

Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope
Iain Finlayson, The Times

A fascinating book
Tom Robbins, Financial Times

A fascinating book
Tom Robbins, Financial Times

Huge bag of a book into which Davis stuffs a history of British mountaineering
Nigel Jones, Telegraph

Huge bag of a book into which Davis stuffs a history of British mountaineering
Nigel Jones, Telegraph

Ambitious book
Daily Mail

Ambitious book
Daily Mail

A meticulous recreation . . . The death in 1912 of Captain Scott and his companions in the Antarctic set a precedent of sacrifice for the generation of young British men who, a few years later, would hurl themselves into the maelstrom of the Great War. That Scott's expedition was, according to later accounts, doomed by incompetent leadership only makes its failure seem more prophetic. Now, in Wade Davis's magnificent new book, the remaining goal of imperial exploration is seen as an outcome of--and response to--the First World War. While Scott's expedition was, in some ways, an exercise in heroic futility, the conquest of Mount Everest could help to exorcise the massed ghosts of the dead.
The Observer

A meticulous recreation . . . The death in 1912 of Captain Scott and his companions in the Antarctic set a precedent of sacrifice for the generation of young British men who, a few years later, would hurl themselves into the maelstrom of the Great War. That Scott's expedition was, according to later accounts, doomed by incompetent leadership only makes its failure seem more prophetic. Now, in Wade Davis's magnificent new book, the remaining goal of imperial exploration is seen as an outcome of--and response to--the First World War. While Scott's expedition was, in some ways, an exercise in heroic futility, the conquest of Mount Everest could help to exorcise the massed ghosts of the dead.
The Observer

[A] meticulous history . . . Culminating in detailed accounts of the ascents that astutely weigh events and controversies, this vital contribution to Everest literature should rivet readers.
Booklist

[A] meticulous history . . . Culminating in detailed accounts of the ascents that astutely weigh events and controversies, this vital contribution to Everest literature should rivet readers.
Booklist

The First World War, the worst calamity humanity has ever inflicted on itself, still reverberates in our lives. In its immediate aftermath, a few young men who had fought in it went looking for a healing challenge, and found it far from the Western Front. In recreating their astonishing adventure, Wade Davis has given us an elegant meditation on the courage to carry on.
George F. Will

The First World War, the worst calamity humanity has ever inflicted on itself, still reverberates in our lives. In its immediate aftermath, a few young men who had fought in it went looking for a healing challenge, and found it far from the Western Front. In recreating their astonishing adventure, Wade Davis has given us an elegant meditation on the courage to carry on.
George F. Will

Majestic
Michael Palin

Majestic
Michael Palin

Roger Bratchell 09 November 2011

‘Into the Silence is a haunting book, which completely takes over your life when you are reading it – and lingers long afterwards. To call it epic is an understatement. It tells the story of a whole generation of young men (mostly), and what Everest represented in the wake of the Great War – something somehow pure, noble and true, in direct contrast to the squalor, mud and all-encompassing horror of the Western Front. The war itself is described in overwhelming and devastating detail – more vividly than any description I’ve ever read before. The various attempts to climb Everest itself are extraordinary and riveting – you pore over the maps, trying to work out the routes they took, why they went one way, not the other. The sheer scale of the project is immense. You take yourself back to a time when this was unknown territory, untouched by human hand, untrodden by human foot, and marvel at their bravery, some might say gung-ho foolhardiness, and enterprise. You are left awestruck by their dogged determination, their belief in their mission – from the deepest trench of hell, to the roof of the world. And at the end you are shattered, with not a dry eye in sight. It is truly a great book.’