From the Ocean to the Sky - Jet Boating up the Ganges

by Edmund Hillary

Hardcover; Very Good; Dust Jacket - Very Good; Minor wear to edges/corners of dust jacket. Slight curl to top edge of dj. Previous owner's name at top of front endpaper. ; Second printing, same year as first. Hardcover book has tan boards, blue cloth spine with silver lettering. Tight binding, nice clean book. Not price clipped. No remainder or ex-lib marks. Map endpapers. Illustrated with color and black and white photographs. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 272 pages;

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Travel, Mountaineering

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary KG ONZ KBE was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952. As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest.

Following his ascent of Everest, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral in New Zealand.

Reviews

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I started, I didn't stop--and that says everything.

Adventure writing at its best--scenery, personalities, and jet  boats; overbearing crowds and scary solitude; beauty and (some rather cool) beasts.  All told with endearing honesty and introspection by a master of storytelling.

The plan was to follow the Ganges River--mata ganga--from her ending in the Bay of Bengal up to her roots in the Himalayan Mountains.  A holy pilgrimage for millions of people but a thumping good adventure for Sir Edmund and his rugged crew.  Did they make it?  Read it yourself and find out.

I was really impressed by his description of puja--the devotional service offered up at the start of the journey and many more times along the way.  So different from the method I grew up with--everyone stares at the ground and the oldest male says a few words starting with Dear Lord and ending with Amen.  The puja touches the spirit.

There's a short essay and Hindu religion and current beliefs at the end...enlightening.  I'm planning to read it again tomorrow.   Also a detailed description of the jet boat design and how to pilot one in tricky water.  I'll pass on that.

Five stars on this one.  And a little cheer.

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An audacious journey through a huge country, accomplished by a professional adventurer. Hillary needed enough help with the logistics, boat fuel, etc. that his journey was very-well publicized ahead of each stop, and that resulted in probably the ace-in-the-hole part of his trip: the adulation of the local Indians. Since he was already very familiar with many local customs, he found ways to navigate the crushing crowds of thousands who mobbed him regularly. Surprising to me was the heavy emphasis on the spiritual part of the journey, but I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, as the Ganges is by far the holiest river in the country. And so having ritual cleansings and blessings performed on him, over and over, could well have been the difference between his success and potential failure. The jet boats they used were interesting, the 15-man crew was amazing, and eventually the climb to the summit where Ganga’s (correct spelling of the river) first water drops began, was fascinating. Another fine armchair adventure, and believe me, I’m an expert in these types of adventures.

[Jerome Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good rounded book, one with a theme of travel by boat, which has great additional sources of info, maps, and photos, which adds about a third of the book, and its very well edited. I picked it up and read different parts, and it worked fine this way.

Unique in that it was by boat up the Ganges. It's as if they imagined up something not done but possible and then went out and made it happen. The rest is just magic along the way, something they never expected but nonetheless enjoyed at the moment. A perfect exploration, overwhelming them, and experience of India by boat as a celebrity.

There are moments that view a time past. Seeing the other native boats on the Ganges, the sailboats, dhows, now gone, replaced by the engine. A couple of great photos of them too. It was all done relatively quickly and with a lot of pomp. I watched the movie first and thought it was fantastic too. This is a book of its era when a lot of time and effort went into collectively creating a great book. They see India, as did the first white hippies in the Himalayan villages in the 1960s, as these wandering gods back again. There's a nice dialogue of people speaking out across tents, reading aloud tidbits of the letters from home they received in the mail run. These are pure 1970s to 90s moments of India and traveling abroad.

I loved the focus above Rishikesh and the first rocks and waterfalls coming out of the Himalayas into Rishikesh, from Devprayag (spelled Deoprayag) and above. The boating descriptions are remarkable.

Perhaps the Indians were surprised that they stopped and didn't understand why the Gods had quit. They probably expected our explorers just to pick up the boats and move them to the other side of the waterfalls and carry on like this upward to Badrinath! And later those episodes would turn into the raft flying over the falls, you know.

The 'It could only happen in India' moments are throughout the experience, which only lasts about a month on the water, and then about two weeks attempting to climb to the heaven Narayan, challenges are met along the way that alters their course.

There's a wonderful personal element explored and exposed, which is gem of this book, and comes across emotionally clearer in the movie. And this is Hillary having a redemptive moment of reflection during these pujas and elemental forces of conscious attention upon him, his recent loss of wife and daughter were killed in a plane crash. This is not mentioned in the book, but is the undercurrent of stress leading up to his episode of altitude sickness. I would bet Hillary would welcome the 'Gods failed their expedition' headline at the end. It was the experience, and it included failure and success.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While looking in the library for his No Latitude for Error, I found this book. Loved the idea and the trip sounds like it was amazing. The cultural and religious stuff was great, and the curmudgeonly asides about the Press and crowds made me laugh. It isn't modern and doesn't try to be politically correct, instead it is honestly open about the attitudes of the day.

[Kaushlesh Pandey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great travelogue by Sir Edmund Hillary and his team. It gives a vivid description of the Indian population living along the river Ganga, both in small villages and large cities. The adrenaline pumping adventure has been penned down very well by the author with the perspective of many crew members taken into account.

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A proper adventure, with the right degree of excitement and the right amount of respect for the country, people and religion. This edition has plenty of photographs too, which brings it even more to life. I like the honesty with which it is written.
Vicarious travelling at its best.

[LInda L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a more-than-thorough account of a trip down the Ganges -- an amazing trip, with wonderful descriptions of scenery and also of village life along the river. However, it became just too much in places -- too much description, too many words. Sir Hillary left no stone unturned or undescribed. I think I would enjoy the Everest trip more.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a very fine book about a journey up into the Himalyas.