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Edmund Hillary - A Biography: The extraordinary life of the beekeeper who climbed Everest
Edmund Hillary – A Biography is the story of the New Zealand beekeeper who climbed Mount Everest . A man who against expedition orders drove his tractor to the South Pole ; a man honoured around the world for his pioneering climbs yet who collapsed on more than one occasion on a mountain, and a man who gave so much to Nepal yet lost his family to its mountains. The author, Michael Gill , was a close friend of Hillary's for nearly 50 years, accompanying him on many expeditions and becoming heavily involved in Hillary's aid work building schools and hospitals in the Himalaya. During the writing of this book, Gill was granted access to a large archive of private papers and photos that were deposited in the Auckland museum after Hillary's death in 2008. Building on this unpublished material, as well as his extensive personal experience, Michael Gill profiles a man whose life was shaped by both triumph and tragedy. Gill describes the uncertainties of the first 33 years of Hillary's life, during which time he served in the New Zealand air force during the Second World War , as well as the background to the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, when Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit – a feat that brought the pair instant worldwide fame. He reveals the loving relationship Hillary had with his wife Louise, in part through their touching letters to each other. Her importance to him during their 22 years of marriage only underlines the horror of her death, along with that of their youngest daughter, Belinda, in a plane crash in 1975. Hillary eventually pulled out of his subsequent depression to continue his life's work in the Himalaya. Affectionate, but scrupulously fair, in Edmund Hillary – A Biography Michael Gill has gone further than anyone before to reveal the humanity of this remarkable man.
687 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
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September 16, 2019
Three autobiographies, two biographies, the dismal Beyond Everest, a feature film and a recent television series: a lot has been written about Edmund Hillary. Did we need another biography? After reading Michael Gill’s book the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’.
This exceptionally well researched and well paced biography is a joy to read. Gill, now 80, knew Hillary well, having joined the 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition to Nepal. He went on to have an enduring friendship with Hillary, and among other expeditions, participated in the Sea to the Sky jet-boat trip up the Ganges, as well as development work with the Himalayan Trust. Such a close connection might raise the issue of a biographer’s objectivity, but through the assured narrative, a remarkably well balanced and fresh portrait of Hillary emerges.
The author had full access to the Hillary archives in the Auckland Museum, which includes diaries, letters between Ed and his first wife Louise, and even an unpublished novella under the non-de-plume Gary Sankar.
Ed’s father, Percy, has been sometimes painted as a brutal disciplinarian, but Gill presents a much more even-handed picture. Percy’s writing about his experiences at Gallipoli are honest, gut-wrenching and show a gift for words that influenced his son. It was also Percy’s influence that led a young Ed Hillary to explore tramping and a healthy lifestyle through ‘Radiant Living’, an influential but short-lived movement that flourished between the wars.
While a considerable portion of Hillary’s life is very well known, much here is new, sometimes startlingly so. Hillary wrote about his early life as one blighted by shyness, under-achievement and self-loathing, culminating with failure at university. Gill shows that Hillary was bright, but disadvantaged by being two years younger (and at first smaller) than most of his fellow students. He suggests that these teenage difficulties shaped a man who was driven enough to climb Everest – and who may not have done so otherwise.
Photos both familiar and previously unpublished enhance the text, and also indicate that Hillary was not quite so shy with women as he made out. One shows his arms around two women beside an unknown hut in the South Island, while another shows him doing the same with staff from a hut in the Austrian Alps. Gill also debunks the myth (perpetuated by the man himself) that, lacking courage, Hillary got his future mother-in-law to propose to Louise Rose. Letters between Ed and Louise prove they had marriage intentions well before.
If I’m to pick holes, they are small ones. The role of Jack McBurney in Hillary’s early climbing goes unmentioned, except for an appearance in one photo. Overall, Hillary’s early climbing career gets less attention than a mountaineering audience might want (only a page for the Ruth Adams rescue from La Perouse, and the Maximilian ridge climb of Elie de Beaumont is similarly brief).
Instead, detail is sacrificed to make space for three chapters about the early pre-World War Two Everest expeditions. While interesting, at first I felt these were somewhat off-topic, but only later realised that Gill has deliberately done this to show exactly why success on Everest came in 1953. As the defining moment in Hillary’s life, the one that gave him fame and made him the best-known New Zealander, this deserved due attention.
Judicious use of quotes from previously unpublished letters and diaries give the text plenty of novelty, even in the account of the famous Everest climb and the preceding expeditions. On the 1951 Garhwal expedition, Earle Riddiford and Ed Cotter had succeeded on Mukut Parbat, after Hillary and George Lowe had turned back: ‘Ed Hillary had learned a lesson that the race is not just to the strong, but to those who have the courage and tenacity to see it through to the end. It was on Mukut Parbat he learnt “it is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves”.’
Gill covers the acrimonious ‘only two for Everest’ debate between the four New Zealand mountaineers briefly but fairly. ‘Mountaineering was the only way all four of them expressed their sense of being different, their sense of importance.’ Who would claim the two places to join Eric Shipton’s 1951 Everest reconnaissance? ‘They could hardly know it at the time, but the four had bought tickets in a lottery whose winner would become the most famous climber on Earth.’ Little wonder the repercussions have been debated by New Zealand’s mountaineers ever since. But even during such serious subjects, Gill infuses gentle humour too. When Riddiford and Hillary arrived in Nepal to join Shipton, ‘they looked, smelt and moved like mountain goats.’
Gill’s account of the Everest climb shows just how diligently he has analysed the famous climb and how widely he has read on the subject. Harriet Tuckey’s revisionist account of the role her physiologist father Griffith Pugh played in Everest success (told in the 2014 book Everest, The First Ascent) was convincing, but here Gill (who knew Pugh) rightfully shows a wider context. He gives a brilliant analysis of leader John Hunt’s abilities, and why previous expeditions failed.
His handling of the controversy over Hillary’s so-called ‘dash’ for the South Pole on the 1957– 59 British Trans-Antarctic expedition is also deftly researched, with absorbing detail. It shines light onto the clash of personalities between British leader Vivian Fuchs and Hillary, while not overplaying it. A revelation for me was that Hillary gave plenty of warning about his intentions well before his ‘hellbent for the pole’ cable caused diplomatic tension between Britain and New Zealand. New Zealand scientists have dismissed the pole dash as a stunt, but once again Gill’s nuanced analysis shows Hillary’s push gave Fuchs a much greater margin for error.
Naturally, Gill’s personal experience adds much to the later chapters, beginning with the Silver Hut expedition. This multi-faceted trip involved yeti hunting, advanced physiological research about the effects of altitude, and a disastrous Makalu attempt in which Peter Mulgrew lost his legs to frostbite (told in a gruelling account).
The Ripimu Glacier was considered to be the main haunt of abominable snowmen, and the searchers, including Gill, had an instrument to sound a yeti mating call. ‘There was debate as to who would use it. Would it be answered by an angry, territorial male or by a sexually aroused female? Neither could be contemplated with equanimity.’ While yeti hunting was partly a publicity and sponsorship-generating ploy, it had a profound outcome. In return for borrowing a supposed 200-year-old yeti scalp (later proved to be a fake), the local monks requested that a school be built in the Khumbu. ‘Thus did the all-powerful yeti weave a potent new thread into the course of Ed’s life: the provision of education for Sherpas.’ This phase, when Ed achieved so much for the Nepalese, was his happiest.
Although Hillary remains rightfully at the narrative’s centre, the book also covers the lives of his children and his siblings Rex and June. Rex once made a shrewd assessment of his brother: ‘Ed was very good at talking people into doing what he wanted them to do.’ A warm portrait of his relationship with Louise emerges, and the book includes a devastating revelation about the plane crash in which Louise and Belinda Hillary died in 1975. The shadow that fell over Hillary never fully lifted, and in the last chapters Gill sensitively reveals the depths of Ed’s despair.
Students of mountain literature will know that Gill writes well: his Mountain Midsummer (1969) is a classic, and Himalayan Hospitals (2011) a fine tome also. But this book raises the bar even higher. Take his analysis of Ed’s famous reserve: ‘In 1953 it had been natural for Ed to appear as an engaging self-deprecating, even naïve mountaineer from a small country. Six years of fame might have gone to his head, but by now Ed recognised that people loved him for his simple modesty – which by now had become a little less simple and a little more knowing.’
Masterful.
This exceptionally well researched and well paced biography is a joy to read. Gill, now 80, knew Hillary well, having joined the 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition to Nepal. He went on to have an enduring friendship with Hillary, and among other expeditions, participated in the Sea to the Sky jet-boat trip up the Ganges, as well as development work with the Himalayan Trust. Such a close connection might raise the issue of a biographer’s objectivity, but through the assured narrative, a remarkably well balanced and fresh portrait of Hillary emerges.
The author had full access to the Hillary archives in the Auckland Museum, which includes diaries, letters between Ed and his first wife Louise, and even an unpublished novella under the non-de-plume Gary Sankar.
Ed’s father, Percy, has been sometimes painted as a brutal disciplinarian, but Gill presents a much more even-handed picture. Percy’s writing about his experiences at Gallipoli are honest, gut-wrenching and show a gift for words that influenced his son. It was also Percy’s influence that led a young Ed Hillary to explore tramping and a healthy lifestyle through ‘Radiant Living’, an influential but short-lived movement that flourished between the wars.
While a considerable portion of Hillary’s life is very well known, much here is new, sometimes startlingly so. Hillary wrote about his early life as one blighted by shyness, under-achievement and self-loathing, culminating with failure at university. Gill shows that Hillary was bright, but disadvantaged by being two years younger (and at first smaller) than most of his fellow students. He suggests that these teenage difficulties shaped a man who was driven enough to climb Everest – and who may not have done so otherwise.
Photos both familiar and previously unpublished enhance the text, and also indicate that Hillary was not quite so shy with women as he made out. One shows his arms around two women beside an unknown hut in the South Island, while another shows him doing the same with staff from a hut in the Austrian Alps. Gill also debunks the myth (perpetuated by the man himself) that, lacking courage, Hillary got his future mother-in-law to propose to Louise Rose. Letters between Ed and Louise prove they had marriage intentions well before.
If I’m to pick holes, they are small ones. The role of Jack McBurney in Hillary’s early climbing goes unmentioned, except for an appearance in one photo. Overall, Hillary’s early climbing career gets less attention than a mountaineering audience might want (only a page for the Ruth Adams rescue from La Perouse, and the Maximilian ridge climb of Elie de Beaumont is similarly brief).
Instead, detail is sacrificed to make space for three chapters about the early pre-World War Two Everest expeditions. While interesting, at first I felt these were somewhat off-topic, but only later realised that Gill has deliberately done this to show exactly why success on Everest came in 1953. As the defining moment in Hillary’s life, the one that gave him fame and made him the best-known New Zealander, this deserved due attention.
Judicious use of quotes from previously unpublished letters and diaries give the text plenty of novelty, even in the account of the famous Everest climb and the preceding expeditions. On the 1951 Garhwal expedition, Earle Riddiford and Ed Cotter had succeeded on Mukut Parbat, after Hillary and George Lowe had turned back: ‘Ed Hillary had learned a lesson that the race is not just to the strong, but to those who have the courage and tenacity to see it through to the end. It was on Mukut Parbat he learnt “it is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves”.’
Gill covers the acrimonious ‘only two for Everest’ debate between the four New Zealand mountaineers briefly but fairly. ‘Mountaineering was the only way all four of them expressed their sense of being different, their sense of importance.’ Who would claim the two places to join Eric Shipton’s 1951 Everest reconnaissance? ‘They could hardly know it at the time, but the four had bought tickets in a lottery whose winner would become the most famous climber on Earth.’ Little wonder the repercussions have been debated by New Zealand’s mountaineers ever since. But even during such serious subjects, Gill infuses gentle humour too. When Riddiford and Hillary arrived in Nepal to join Shipton, ‘they looked, smelt and moved like mountain goats.’
Gill’s account of the Everest climb shows just how diligently he has analysed the famous climb and how widely he has read on the subject. Harriet Tuckey’s revisionist account of the role her physiologist father Griffith Pugh played in Everest success (told in the 2014 book Everest, The First Ascent) was convincing, but here Gill (who knew Pugh) rightfully shows a wider context. He gives a brilliant analysis of leader John Hunt’s abilities, and why previous expeditions failed.
His handling of the controversy over Hillary’s so-called ‘dash’ for the South Pole on the 1957– 59 British Trans-Antarctic expedition is also deftly researched, with absorbing detail. It shines light onto the clash of personalities between British leader Vivian Fuchs and Hillary, while not overplaying it. A revelation for me was that Hillary gave plenty of warning about his intentions well before his ‘hellbent for the pole’ cable caused diplomatic tension between Britain and New Zealand. New Zealand scientists have dismissed the pole dash as a stunt, but once again Gill’s nuanced analysis shows Hillary’s push gave Fuchs a much greater margin for error.
Naturally, Gill’s personal experience adds much to the later chapters, beginning with the Silver Hut expedition. This multi-faceted trip involved yeti hunting, advanced physiological research about the effects of altitude, and a disastrous Makalu attempt in which Peter Mulgrew lost his legs to frostbite (told in a gruelling account).
The Ripimu Glacier was considered to be the main haunt of abominable snowmen, and the searchers, including Gill, had an instrument to sound a yeti mating call. ‘There was debate as to who would use it. Would it be answered by an angry, territorial male or by a sexually aroused female? Neither could be contemplated with equanimity.’ While yeti hunting was partly a publicity and sponsorship-generating ploy, it had a profound outcome. In return for borrowing a supposed 200-year-old yeti scalp (later proved to be a fake), the local monks requested that a school be built in the Khumbu. ‘Thus did the all-powerful yeti weave a potent new thread into the course of Ed’s life: the provision of education for Sherpas.’ This phase, when Ed achieved so much for the Nepalese, was his happiest.
Although Hillary remains rightfully at the narrative’s centre, the book also covers the lives of his children and his siblings Rex and June. Rex once made a shrewd assessment of his brother: ‘Ed was very good at talking people into doing what he wanted them to do.’ A warm portrait of his relationship with Louise emerges, and the book includes a devastating revelation about the plane crash in which Louise and Belinda Hillary died in 1975. The shadow that fell over Hillary never fully lifted, and in the last chapters Gill sensitively reveals the depths of Ed’s despair.
Students of mountain literature will know that Gill writes well: his Mountain Midsummer (1969) is a classic, and Himalayan Hospitals (2011) a fine tome also. But this book raises the bar even higher. Take his analysis of Ed’s famous reserve: ‘In 1953 it had been natural for Ed to appear as an engaging self-deprecating, even naïve mountaineer from a small country. Six years of fame might have gone to his head, but by now Ed recognised that people loved him for his simple modesty – which by now had become a little less simple and a little more knowing.’
Masterful.
January 15, 2020
This is an amazing book, so detailed and compellingly told, it really is worth reading whether you regularly read books on mountaineering or not. Edmund Hillary is probably most famously remembered for being the first man to the top of Everest along with Tenzing Norgay. The two of them made history with this feat in 1953, and Hillary went on to do many more amazing things. But not everyone is aware of just how much he did in his later years, or the impact that his family had on his life, or the impact of a terrible tragedy.
I have to confess that I’m one of the people who grew up not knowing about all that Edmund Hillary did. I knew about his climbing of Everest, but beyond that I didn’t know that much, which is why I wanted to read this book. Being a biography of his life, it starts at the begining, not only talking about the start of his life, but diving into the history of his paternal and maternal families, and how they ended up in New Zealand. This may seem irrelevant at first, but it’s actually fascinating, and learning about his family and particularly the terrible experiences his father suffered during the first world war, gives you an insight into the man that Edmund Hillary would become.
Chapter after chapter I kept reading this, feeling ever more compelled to keep reading on. The way the book is written is really good, it’s easy to read and you constantly want to turn the page to find out what happened next. Among the text which is seperated into chapters, and sections within chapters, are photographs of people and places, in black and white and later in colour. There are also diary and letter excerpts throughout the book, giving you an even more detailed look into the lives of Hillary and his family. Reading some of these can make you really feel the emotions that they were feeling at the time and even reading some of Percy Hillary’s diary entries at Gallipoli gives you a deeper insight into just how terrible things were during that campaign. There are some lovely moments throughout the biography, as we get to read more about Hillary’s wife Louise and the letters they sent back and forth to each other. The book really does give you more details than you’d ever think possible, but they are all relevant, and it makes you feel a real connection with everyone.
Having known about little more than his climb to the top of Everest in 1953, it was so interesting to read about all the other things that Hillary did, such as the South Pole journey with tractors, and his later trips, and attempted climbs. It was even amazing to read about Lukla (an airport known for its dangers) and how the airport came to be. I knew about Lukla airport but had no idea just how involved Hillary was in it’s creation! However despite the amazing feats which are all interesting to read about, what I found most interesting is what he did in his later years for the people in the Himalayan region, after his famous summit of Everest. I had no idea just how much humanitarian work he did, and how humble his character remained throughout his life.
The book has some brilliant descriptions of the places, people and adventures Hillary went on. This is probably due to the fact that the author was a part of some of these adventures himself, being able to remember and describe places with detail. He also knew Hillary personally, I even enjoyed the anecdote about how he got his first job with him! As well as his personal connection to the family, the author also had access to so many documents which makes this book incredibly detailed and yet not overly saturated. It’s the perfect balance making this an interesting and quite compelling read.
The back of the book has a notes section along with a bibliography. The notes are worth checking out while reading along as they do sometimes explain some terms or things for people who might not understand certain things. There is also a handy map of New Zealand and Antarctica at the back of the book too (which are mentioned in certain chapters), along with maps on the inside covers of the general Himalayan region. The photographs throughout the book are printed directly onto the book’s matt paper but are very clear and easy to see, I like how many images are included with this book and the way they are included within the chapters rather than having to rely on flicking to a central spot in the whole book to see them.
This really has been an amazing book to read! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so detailed and it’s written in such a way that you just want to keep reading on. You don’t even have to really be versed in mountaineering to enjoy reading this story of an amazing man. You get to learn about his life, the amazing things he did, and even find out about some little extras like a synopsis of an unpublished novel that Hillary wrote! It really is a brilliant read and for anyone interested, I’d certainly recommend it.
-Thanks to Vertebrate Publishing for a free copy for review.
I have to confess that I’m one of the people who grew up not knowing about all that Edmund Hillary did. I knew about his climbing of Everest, but beyond that I didn’t know that much, which is why I wanted to read this book. Being a biography of his life, it starts at the begining, not only talking about the start of his life, but diving into the history of his paternal and maternal families, and how they ended up in New Zealand. This may seem irrelevant at first, but it’s actually fascinating, and learning about his family and particularly the terrible experiences his father suffered during the first world war, gives you an insight into the man that Edmund Hillary would become.
Chapter after chapter I kept reading this, feeling ever more compelled to keep reading on. The way the book is written is really good, it’s easy to read and you constantly want to turn the page to find out what happened next. Among the text which is seperated into chapters, and sections within chapters, are photographs of people and places, in black and white and later in colour. There are also diary and letter excerpts throughout the book, giving you an even more detailed look into the lives of Hillary and his family. Reading some of these can make you really feel the emotions that they were feeling at the time and even reading some of Percy Hillary’s diary entries at Gallipoli gives you a deeper insight into just how terrible things were during that campaign. There are some lovely moments throughout the biography, as we get to read more about Hillary’s wife Louise and the letters they sent back and forth to each other. The book really does give you more details than you’d ever think possible, but they are all relevant, and it makes you feel a real connection with everyone.
Having known about little more than his climb to the top of Everest in 1953, it was so interesting to read about all the other things that Hillary did, such as the South Pole journey with tractors, and his later trips, and attempted climbs. It was even amazing to read about Lukla (an airport known for its dangers) and how the airport came to be. I knew about Lukla airport but had no idea just how involved Hillary was in it’s creation! However despite the amazing feats which are all interesting to read about, what I found most interesting is what he did in his later years for the people in the Himalayan region, after his famous summit of Everest. I had no idea just how much humanitarian work he did, and how humble his character remained throughout his life.
The book has some brilliant descriptions of the places, people and adventures Hillary went on. This is probably due to the fact that the author was a part of some of these adventures himself, being able to remember and describe places with detail. He also knew Hillary personally, I even enjoyed the anecdote about how he got his first job with him! As well as his personal connection to the family, the author also had access to so many documents which makes this book incredibly detailed and yet not overly saturated. It’s the perfect balance making this an interesting and quite compelling read.
The back of the book has a notes section along with a bibliography. The notes are worth checking out while reading along as they do sometimes explain some terms or things for people who might not understand certain things. There is also a handy map of New Zealand and Antarctica at the back of the book too (which are mentioned in certain chapters), along with maps on the inside covers of the general Himalayan region. The photographs throughout the book are printed directly onto the book’s matt paper but are very clear and easy to see, I like how many images are included with this book and the way they are included within the chapters rather than having to rely on flicking to a central spot in the whole book to see them.
This really has been an amazing book to read! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so detailed and it’s written in such a way that you just want to keep reading on. You don’t even have to really be versed in mountaineering to enjoy reading this story of an amazing man. You get to learn about his life, the amazing things he did, and even find out about some little extras like a synopsis of an unpublished novel that Hillary wrote! It really is a brilliant read and for anyone interested, I’d certainly recommend it.
-Thanks to Vertebrate Publishing for a free copy for review.
December 19, 2019
This is the first biography of Hillary I have read. This is a very thorough biography, and you really get a feel for the person behind the headlines. It is generally well written, though it can be pretty slow in places. Despite being a climber, I found the section involving the details of his everest ascent the slowest going, and whilst the author clearly draws from the extensive archive of letters, it seems like quoting these at length really disrupts the narrative. This books is definitely worth reading, but the narrative does break down at times. Persevere and it does turn up again.
June 29, 2019
A compelling read and insight into the life of Sir Edmund Hillary. I found out a lot about the man which I never knew before, filling in the gaps of before and after Everest, quite remarkable. A great addition to any mountaineering and climbing bookshelf.
May 15, 2019
Fascinating read. Amazing man. Well written book, highly recommended!
April 9, 2019
So much more to the man than Everest
We remember “Firsts”. The first film I ever saw in colour was The Ascent of Everest in 1953. I was still at Primary School and my Dad took me to the local cinema for the first (and last) time. He told me that this was one of the greatest feats of the century. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were on top of the world in more ways than one – this was as big a First as you could wish for – first to stand on top of the highest mountain on earth.
This is a fascinating biography of a remarkable man – from beekeeper to mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist, author and diplomat. If you like your biographies meaty, you won’t starve with this well-researched and comprehensive account of the lantern-jawed, rugged Antipodean on the cover. The author, fellow New Zealander Michael Gill, was a personal friend of the family for 50 years. You might wonder if a close friend can be a truly objective biographer, but Gill seems to have pulled this off, having had the advantage of access to family letters and sources. Hillary published 8 books over his lifetime, and the 1953 Everest ascent has been recounted by many others. But Hillary’s life story did not simply lead up to the summit of Everest – what came afterwards makes for a full and action-packed life.
As a young man, like so many others, Hillary’s father went off enthusiastically to war in Gallipoli, fired up to do his duty, and came home a staunch pacifist. His diary extracts reproduced here are riveting. Hillary’s outdoor childhood appeared happy, although his journalist and beekeeper father was strict. His influence on Hillary and his brother was strong – both boys became conscientious objectors at the start of the next war, although Ed eventually signed up as a navigator with the NZ air force before the end of hostilities. His climbing life began in the Southern Alps and he made the first ascent of the South Ridge of Mount Cook. A trip to Europe and the Alps, and meeting key people in the mountaineering world, notably George Lowe and Eric Shipton, put him on the invitation list for an Everest reconnaissance in 1951, and subsequently on the eventually successful 1953 expedition.
Gill digresses in his biographical account to describe the history of early Everest expeditions before using Hillary’s diary extracts to provide a cogent account of the final success. The technically difficult rock tower which proved to be the key to the summit is known to this day as the Hillary Step. What comes through this particular account is the issue of mountaineering politics within expedition teams – who is allocated which tasks, who will be on the first or subsequent summit bids?
It’s no spoiler to say how it ended. Everyone knows. Hillary’s life thereafter was a succession of plaudits, honours, lecture tours, books and celebrity. Soon after he received his knighthood, he married Louise Rose and had 3 children. He returned to the Himalaya and suffered injury and illness on an attempt on Makalu, and played a key and controversial role in Vivian Fuchs’ Trans-Antarctic Expedition (where Hillary added the South Pole to his credentials but fell out with Fuchs in the process). In this section, Gill subtly expands on the more competitive and combatative aspects of Hillary’s personality. Further trips to the Himalaya prompted his enduring philanthropic work to help the education and healthcare of the Sherpa communities to whom he felt he owed his fame and fortune. Tragically, his wife and 16-year old daughter died in a plane crash on their way to meet him at their new home in Nepal, leading to an understandable period of depression and loss of direction.
Eventually Hillary renewed his aid work through his Himalayan Trust, made a series of films and engaged in further expeditions, including a yeti hunt and a trip up the Ganges from mouth to source. He dabbled, initially unsuccessfully, in New Zealand politics but was appointed as High Commissioner for his country in Delhi in 1984. He married again, to a widow of a friend who died in a plane crash in Antarctica.
Hillary died in 2008 at the age of 88. He may well be best remembered for the first ascent of Everest with Tenzing Norgay, but he gave so much more to humanity in return for his success. The author has tied together the strands of Hillary’s full life with great skill.
This is an excellent, highly readable, well-researched and comprehensive biography of a remarkable man.
We remember “Firsts”. The first film I ever saw in colour was The Ascent of Everest in 1953. I was still at Primary School and my Dad took me to the local cinema for the first (and last) time. He told me that this was one of the greatest feats of the century. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were on top of the world in more ways than one – this was as big a First as you could wish for – first to stand on top of the highest mountain on earth.
This is a fascinating biography of a remarkable man – from beekeeper to mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist, author and diplomat. If you like your biographies meaty, you won’t starve with this well-researched and comprehensive account of the lantern-jawed, rugged Antipodean on the cover. The author, fellow New Zealander Michael Gill, was a personal friend of the family for 50 years. You might wonder if a close friend can be a truly objective biographer, but Gill seems to have pulled this off, having had the advantage of access to family letters and sources. Hillary published 8 books over his lifetime, and the 1953 Everest ascent has been recounted by many others. But Hillary’s life story did not simply lead up to the summit of Everest – what came afterwards makes for a full and action-packed life.
As a young man, like so many others, Hillary’s father went off enthusiastically to war in Gallipoli, fired up to do his duty, and came home a staunch pacifist. His diary extracts reproduced here are riveting. Hillary’s outdoor childhood appeared happy, although his journalist and beekeeper father was strict. His influence on Hillary and his brother was strong – both boys became conscientious objectors at the start of the next war, although Ed eventually signed up as a navigator with the NZ air force before the end of hostilities. His climbing life began in the Southern Alps and he made the first ascent of the South Ridge of Mount Cook. A trip to Europe and the Alps, and meeting key people in the mountaineering world, notably George Lowe and Eric Shipton, put him on the invitation list for an Everest reconnaissance in 1951, and subsequently on the eventually successful 1953 expedition.
Gill digresses in his biographical account to describe the history of early Everest expeditions before using Hillary’s diary extracts to provide a cogent account of the final success. The technically difficult rock tower which proved to be the key to the summit is known to this day as the Hillary Step. What comes through this particular account is the issue of mountaineering politics within expedition teams – who is allocated which tasks, who will be on the first or subsequent summit bids?
It’s no spoiler to say how it ended. Everyone knows. Hillary’s life thereafter was a succession of plaudits, honours, lecture tours, books and celebrity. Soon after he received his knighthood, he married Louise Rose and had 3 children. He returned to the Himalaya and suffered injury and illness on an attempt on Makalu, and played a key and controversial role in Vivian Fuchs’ Trans-Antarctic Expedition (where Hillary added the South Pole to his credentials but fell out with Fuchs in the process). In this section, Gill subtly expands on the more competitive and combatative aspects of Hillary’s personality. Further trips to the Himalaya prompted his enduring philanthropic work to help the education and healthcare of the Sherpa communities to whom he felt he owed his fame and fortune. Tragically, his wife and 16-year old daughter died in a plane crash on their way to meet him at their new home in Nepal, leading to an understandable period of depression and loss of direction.
Eventually Hillary renewed his aid work through his Himalayan Trust, made a series of films and engaged in further expeditions, including a yeti hunt and a trip up the Ganges from mouth to source. He dabbled, initially unsuccessfully, in New Zealand politics but was appointed as High Commissioner for his country in Delhi in 1984. He married again, to a widow of a friend who died in a plane crash in Antarctica.
Hillary died in 2008 at the age of 88. He may well be best remembered for the first ascent of Everest with Tenzing Norgay, but he gave so much more to humanity in return for his success. The author has tied together the strands of Hillary’s full life with great skill.
This is an excellent, highly readable, well-researched and comprehensive biography of a remarkable man.
May 23, 2019
If there's one thing this book is and thats its depth of information far exceeding many other biographies I have read.
Its clear that the author had access to a wealth of material from his friendship with Ed and his family and it shows. Everything is covered in minute detail from how Eds family came to be in New Zealand through the bee keeping years and then fame with the Everest ascent.
I was most interested in what happened after Everest and the book didn't disappoint with exciting stories around the world as well as more mundane family life and charity work.
Photos are sparingly used but good and well reproduced.
If theres one area that possibly lets the book down is that it does sometimes deviate from its main subject, Everest for example contains more details on the back story of failed expeditions and reconnaissance trips in the past which I felt would have warranted a few pages at most.
Its clear that the author had access to a wealth of material from his friendship with Ed and his family and it shows. Everything is covered in minute detail from how Eds family came to be in New Zealand through the bee keeping years and then fame with the Everest ascent.
I was most interested in what happened after Everest and the book didn't disappoint with exciting stories around the world as well as more mundane family life and charity work.
Photos are sparingly used but good and well reproduced.
If theres one area that possibly lets the book down is that it does sometimes deviate from its main subject, Everest for example contains more details on the back story of failed expeditions and reconnaissance trips in the past which I felt would have warranted a few pages at most.
April 22, 2019
I have never read any of Edmund Hillary's books, so it was really interesting to read about someone who completed an amazing feat in a decade where today's range of outdoor kit and mountaineering knowledge was not available. I think it is really great that he used his fame from climbing Everest to help and improve the lives of the people who lived in Nepal.
It was great to read about all his subsequent adventures and I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that he was able to complete so many firsts in a time it was still possible.
I really enjoyed looking at the photographs of the climbers of many years ago, as they are so different from today's climbers clad in named gear with cams and fancy gear hanging from their harnesses.
I would definitely recommend this book to adventurers, climbers or armchair enthusiasts. Once I started it I found it difficult to put it down.
It was great to read about all his subsequent adventures and I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that he was able to complete so many firsts in a time it was still possible.
I really enjoyed looking at the photographs of the climbers of many years ago, as they are so different from today's climbers clad in named gear with cams and fancy gear hanging from their harnesses.
I would definitely recommend this book to adventurers, climbers or armchair enthusiasts. Once I started it I found it difficult to put it down.
December 21, 2019
A superb biography of the mountaineer, adventurer, diplomat, charity worker and business man.
Told in depth, referring both to Sir Edmund’s three autobiographies, and to many other documentation from various sources, not always complementary about the acerbic New Zealander.
The irony is that late in life he became NZ high commissioner in India, mainly because he was revered in both countries as an individual, but not so much because of his lack of tact, and bluntness!
The author, Michael Gill, is a climbing friend of Hillary, and it shows. I felt that the descriptions of the mountaineering parts of the book were most knowledgable.
Told in depth, referring both to Sir Edmund’s three autobiographies, and to many other documentation from various sources, not always complementary about the acerbic New Zealander.
The irony is that late in life he became NZ high commissioner in India, mainly because he was revered in both countries as an individual, but not so much because of his lack of tact, and bluntness!
The author, Michael Gill, is a climbing friend of Hillary, and it shows. I felt that the descriptions of the mountaineering parts of the book were most knowledgable.
June 23, 2021
The biography of Edmund Hillary has the reader closely look into the life of the a normal person from New Zealand who became known as the legend who climbed Mt Everest for the first time and how he changed the life of people in villages in Nepal and the foothills of the Himalaya. Anybody who has been to New Zealand will know how he got his foot in mountain climbing. The book is quite good except in some points where the author tends to deviate from the subject which being Hilary and moves onto to other people that are not much relevant in the content. The first half of the boom until Hilary conquers Mount Everest can be a bit dry but from here the content is much descriptive and lively.
March 11, 2021
Hillary's life may be well known but this added something with its great detail. Perhaps there could have a little more about his relationship with Tensing Norgay. The book rightly gives a lot of space to post-Everest and Hillary's great work for the people of Nepal, which is as much the legacy of the man as the Everest summit achievement.
September 18, 2023
A quite good find at the McMurdo Library. I was unaware of Hillary's role as a New Zealand citizen. I had known of his ascent of Everest with Tenzing Norgat and I suppose I was aware of his death in 2008. This book however opened my eyes.
To be perfectly frank, this book seems unsure of what it wants to be. It veers from third to first person. Often it revealed further information, which was appreciated, but it didn't know if it wanted to be a biography, a mountaineering book, a family history or an adventure book. I suppose that fits with Sir Edmund Hillarys approach.
While this book was very readable and I reccomend it to anyone with a soul for adventure, the asides were odd. The first 20 plus years of his life are covered in maybe three chapters. The ascent of Everest takes three seperate chapters. Major life events are covered in a few short pages, while an ascent to study mountain physiology is a chapter and a half. The disconnect is jarring.
I did like to find out about his contributions to our neighbor to the East, Scott Base. That was really cool. And, he took farm tractors to the South Pole. That was ( to paraphrase Bill and Ted) most excellent.
I left this book wanting to read more of his writings. I'll have to look into that further.
The content was a 4 star, the full book was about 3.
To be perfectly frank, this book seems unsure of what it wants to be. It veers from third to first person. Often it revealed further information, which was appreciated, but it didn't know if it wanted to be a biography, a mountaineering book, a family history or an adventure book. I suppose that fits with Sir Edmund Hillarys approach.
While this book was very readable and I reccomend it to anyone with a soul for adventure, the asides were odd. The first 20 plus years of his life are covered in maybe three chapters. The ascent of Everest takes three seperate chapters. Major life events are covered in a few short pages, while an ascent to study mountain physiology is a chapter and a half. The disconnect is jarring.
I did like to find out about his contributions to our neighbor to the East, Scott Base. That was really cool. And, he took farm tractors to the South Pole. That was ( to paraphrase Bill and Ted) most excellent.
I left this book wanting to read more of his writings. I'll have to look into that further.
The content was a 4 star, the full book was about 3.
June 11, 2024
Not sure what I expected to find, probably a more heroic narrative, probably more than a man, probably a demigod, but I found a real life, of a normal person, that had in him the same adventure microbe we all have, and which had the strength and luck to live on some of it. The book is not just a simplified narrative of parts of his life, so it follows the character from a few generations before, into his final days, with some offshoot stories related to the relevant activities in the book, such as oxygen use in high altitudes, organizing Everest travel, the development of rural Sherpa etc.
In retrospective, the book doesn't deliver much above the existing documentaries.
In retrospective, the book doesn't deliver much above the existing documentaries.
January 26, 2022
What a fascinating life. Humble beginnings with little ambition but still a strong sense of purpose and deep faith. This is a biography worth your time to understand what a terrific undertaking it was to summit Everest and also to realize how many other accomplishments and adventures he had. He was a huge supporter of education and built many schools in hard to reach, poor regions. Just an extraordinary person.
November 18, 2024
Interesting, adventurous, and tragic life story told by a fellow climber and friend. I read on my iPad and I wish that the photos and maps had been combined into the rest of the text.
I did not know he was a beekeeper, that he went to the South Pole, or that he had an expedition from the sea to the source of the Ganges (almost successful). If anyone goes to NZ and visits Mount Cook, there is a great exhibit about his life. Mount Cook is where he learned climbing.
I did not know he was a beekeeper, that he went to the South Pole, or that he had an expedition from the sea to the source of the Ganges (almost successful). If anyone goes to NZ and visits Mount Cook, there is a great exhibit about his life. Mount Cook is where he learned climbing.
February 28, 2023
Parts of this were quite interesting, but just long, detailed and tedious.
December 18, 2024
A nicely written history of the man and his achievements.
We do need more writings on Tenzing, an equally heroic figure.
We do need more writings on Tenzing, an equally heroic figure.
December 18, 2024
A detailed biography of a great man, perhaps overlong in some areas, but exciting and inspirational accounts of his mountaineering and polar expeditions.
May 11, 2025
a good account, not just of Edmunds life but also those around him, his personality and also achievements, what it's like to be an adventurer for a living and tried to get paid for it ect
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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