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The Moth and the Mountain
'One of the best books ever written about the early attempts to conquer Everest. A fine, fine slice of history by a truly special writer who proves time and time again that he is among the best of his generation' Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets
'A small classic of the biographer's art' Sunday Times
The untold story of Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend - Maurice Wilson - and his heroic attempt to climb Everest. Alone.
In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceived his own crazy, beautiful plan: he would fly a Gipsy Moth aeroplane from England to Everest, crash land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit - all utterly alone. Wilson didn't know how to climb. He barely knew how to fly. But he had pluck, daring and a vision - he wanted to be the first man to stand on top of the world.
Maurice Wilson is a man written out of the history books - dismissed as an eccentric and a charlatan by many, but held in the highest regard by world class mountaineers such as Reinhold Messner. The Moth and the Mountain restores him to his rightful place in the annals of Everest and in doing so attempts to answer that perennial question - why do we climb mountains?
'A towering, tragic tale rescued from oblivion by Ed Caesar's magnificent writing' Dan Snow
'This bonkers ripping yarn of derring-don't is a hell of a ride' The Times
'It's hard to imagine a finer tribute to one of Everest's forgotten heroes' Elizabeth Day
'A small classic of the biographer's art' Sunday Times
The untold story of Britain's most mysterious mountaineering legend - Maurice Wilson - and his heroic attempt to climb Everest. Alone.
In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceived his own crazy, beautiful plan: he would fly a Gipsy Moth aeroplane from England to Everest, crash land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit - all utterly alone. Wilson didn't know how to climb. He barely knew how to fly. But he had pluck, daring and a vision - he wanted to be the first man to stand on top of the world.
Maurice Wilson is a man written out of the history books - dismissed as an eccentric and a charlatan by many, but held in the highest regard by world class mountaineers such as Reinhold Messner. The Moth and the Mountain restores him to his rightful place in the annals of Everest and in doing so attempts to answer that perennial question - why do we climb mountains?
'A towering, tragic tale rescued from oblivion by Ed Caesar's magnificent writing' Dan Snow
'This bonkers ripping yarn of derring-don't is a hell of a ride' The Times
'It's hard to imagine a finer tribute to one of Everest's forgotten heroes' Elizabeth Day
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2020
369 people are currently reading
3351 people want to read
About the author
Ed Caesar
6 books39 followersEd Caesar is a British author and feature writer who contributes to the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Outside, the Sunday Times Magazine of London and British GQ. Caesar was named Writer of the Year in 2013 by the U.K.'s Professional Publishers Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 401 reviews
August 30, 2021
An amazing story, but not one that really contains much about Everest. This is more about a war damaged individual's backstory. That's interesting enough in its own way but the adventure elements - the solo flight in the Gypsy Moth and the actual trek from Darjeerling through Tibet and attempted climb up Everest amount to no more than 50 or 60 pages.
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March 7, 2023Interesting bio of a man who decided to climb Everest on his own despite not having any meaningful mountaineering experience. Spoiler: it was a poor idea.
This is intriguing mostly for Wilson's character (coping with war trauma from the WW1 trenches, locked in an affair with a married woman which may have been some sort of menage a trois, possible gender issues, open minded, intermittently ascetic, incredibly strong willed). He was wildly, implausibly full of himself but able to achieve a startling amount because of that including learning to fly and then, more or less on qualifying, taking a small plane to India. He defied the governments of several countries at once to get to Everest. He pretty much set himself to do amazing things and achieved them, until he set himself against the highest mountain on earth.
A weird story, and I was irritated by the author's peculiar choice of second person to put in his own experiences, but lots of great period detail and a fascinating look into an extraordinary psyche.
This is intriguing mostly for Wilson's character (coping with war trauma from the WW1 trenches, locked in an affair with a married woman which may have been some sort of menage a trois, possible gender issues, open minded, intermittently ascetic, incredibly strong willed). He was wildly, implausibly full of himself but able to achieve a startling amount because of that including learning to fly and then, more or less on qualifying, taking a small plane to India. He defied the governments of several countries at once to get to Everest. He pretty much set himself to do amazing things and achieved them, until he set himself against the highest mountain on earth.
A weird story, and I was irritated by the author's peculiar choice of second person to put in his own experiences, but lots of great period detail and a fascinating look into an extraordinary psyche.
December 15, 2021
Slightly mixed views on this. I knew very little about Maurice Wilson before coming across this. However his story of mysterious daring looked interesting and it is. Maurice was in the later part of WW1 in the trenches. In general he managed ok but was then shot and was sent home. The war ended before he could be returned to active duty. That (coupled with family background) meant that he had some traits that were at best varied. He may (or may not) have been a womaniser for example. He certainly was rather driven ultimately and decided that he would walk up Everest before anyone else got there having flown his own plane out to India beforehand. The fact that he was not a climber nor a pilot seemed irrelevant to him.
It definitely makes for an interesting read. It is not a book about climbing Everest but it is something of a biography of a rather unique man. In the "something of" lies my main reservations about this. I found quite a bit of this rather speculative rather than remotely factual. The fact that he and one of his brothers were at home at the same time allows the author to speculate on what they may have said to each other... There are also quite a few section where the author can offer more factual information about things not directly relating to Maurice. Very interesting however a pinch of salt might be useful.
It definitely makes for an interesting read. It is not a book about climbing Everest but it is something of a biography of a rather unique man. In the "something of" lies my main reservations about this. I found quite a bit of this rather speculative rather than remotely factual. The fact that he and one of his brothers were at home at the same time allows the author to speculate on what they may have said to each other... There are also quite a few section where the author can offer more factual information about things not directly relating to Maurice. Very interesting however a pinch of salt might be useful.
January 8, 2021
After he served in the army in WW I Maurice Wilson wanted to climb Mt. Everest. He did everything possible to reach his goal. I'm not sure what he was. A daredevil? An adventurer? A challenger of fate?
Perhaps a bit of all three, but I loved reading about him.
Perhaps a bit of all three, but I loved reading about him.
December 11, 2020
For readers who know nothing about Mount Everest, this review contains a spoiler (sort of).
Because Mount Everest fascinates me and because Into Thin Air has been one of my favorites for years, I decided to try another Everest story, The Moth and the Mountain. Going in, I realized Maurice Wilson, the book's central character, was more dreamer than mountain climber, but I expected his story to expand my insights into Everest's daunting challenges.
And the result? The Moth and the Mountain did not add to my Everest knowledge; I learned little about the climb, other than it is cold and dangerous. The book is mostly a collection of backstories, the brutality of World War I battles…the challenges of flying a small biplane…the problems of flying solo with inadequate maps…Wilson's misplaced confidence and optimism throughout his life…his poor judgments in marriage and a strange romantic relationship with a married couple…not to mention the backstories of other characters in the book. To be fair, these backstories are interesting, but not what I was looking for.
Perhaps you can blame me for misunderstanding what The Moth and the Mountain is really about. Perhaps you can blame the publisher for misleading promotion about the book. Let's just say it was a miscommunication where no one is to blame. And say that The Moth and the Mountain, like Wilson, barely begins to climb the heights.
Because Mount Everest fascinates me and because Into Thin Air has been one of my favorites for years, I decided to try another Everest story, The Moth and the Mountain. Going in, I realized Maurice Wilson, the book's central character, was more dreamer than mountain climber, but I expected his story to expand my insights into Everest's daunting challenges.
And the result? The Moth and the Mountain did not add to my Everest knowledge; I learned little about the climb, other than it is cold and dangerous. The book is mostly a collection of backstories, the brutality of World War I battles…the challenges of flying a small biplane…the problems of flying solo with inadequate maps…Wilson's misplaced confidence and optimism throughout his life…his poor judgments in marriage and a strange romantic relationship with a married couple…not to mention the backstories of other characters in the book. To be fair, these backstories are interesting, but not what I was looking for.
Perhaps you can blame me for misunderstanding what The Moth and the Mountain is really about. Perhaps you can blame the publisher for misleading promotion about the book. Let's just say it was a miscommunication where no one is to blame. And say that The Moth and the Mountain, like Wilson, barely begins to climb the heights.
May 18, 2021
This book is about Maurice Wilson who in 1930s went on an alone mission to fly to everest (he crashed) and then climb it to the top. He had big dreams but neither big knowledge of climbing nor fly and sadly he didn't make it out mount everest alive. He was an excentric and intriguing person to learn about but wasn't overly interested in the audiobook overall.
November 17, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via netgalley!
Maurice Wilson. A legend. This book describes the story of a man who saw the atrocities of war first hand. A broken man on many levels. A man who decided one day that we wants to climb Everest. Perhaps to heal his broken mind. But before even attempting the climb, he has to fly all the Way there...solo...in a world that was attempting to prevent him for getting near Everest. By some miracle, he makes it on his moth to India. More political tensions prevent him from being able to trek legally to the mountain. That doesn’t stop Wilson. Instead, he disguised himself as a Tibetan priest and treks his way to the bottom of Everest. And then his climb begins...after a few attempts, Wilson final finds peace on the mountain he always wanted to climb. Or does he? Legend has it that his body keeps reappearing and being buried again...perhaps Wilson isn’t done with the mountain yet!
Maurice Wilson. A legend. This book describes the story of a man who saw the atrocities of war first hand. A broken man on many levels. A man who decided one day that we wants to climb Everest. Perhaps to heal his broken mind. But before even attempting the climb, he has to fly all the Way there...solo...in a world that was attempting to prevent him for getting near Everest. By some miracle, he makes it on his moth to India. More political tensions prevent him from being able to trek legally to the mountain. That doesn’t stop Wilson. Instead, he disguised himself as a Tibetan priest and treks his way to the bottom of Everest. And then his climb begins...after a few attempts, Wilson final finds peace on the mountain he always wanted to climb. Or does he? Legend has it that his body keeps reappearing and being buried again...perhaps Wilson isn’t done with the mountain yet!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2020
This is an incredible story about an astonishing life, that on hearing of it as an anecdote, one would think that it was surely fictional.
Maurice Wilson, born in Bradford in 1898, joined the army at 18 and fought in the Great War rising to the rank of captain, was invalided home but without a pension. He travels the world, but is unable to settle anywhere. 15 years later, with a now pronounced dislike of bureaucracy, when he buys a Tiger Moth plane, then learns to fly, and heads to the Himalayas and become the first man to summit Everest. He runs out of money in Kathmandu and has to sell the plane. Unperturbed, from Darjeeling he walks the 300 km to Everert via West Sikkim disguised as a Buddhist monk, as the authorities in Nepal, Tibet and India all refuse him permission to go anywhere near the mountain.
He was courageous, and no doubt foolhardy, but like many who survived the war, no doubt had an element of mental stress and a sense of being indestructible.
Above all though he was lucky. If he has joined to war 6 weeks earlier he almost certainly would have been killed at Passchendale.
Caesar writes near the end,
then he goes on to say how at the time (1933), Reuters had fed the story to the press. “3 loaves and 2 Tins of Porridge” was the Daily Mail headline.
But in a way Caesar is wrong. He is bringing this surprisingly little known and forgotten story to our attention, and as a Canadian; much of his research was letters from Wilson to his wife, which somehow found themselves in Canada, and were only recently discovered.
As often with this sort of non-fiction the pre-amble is overlong. A chapter is dedicated the prior Everest expeditions which I suspect many embarking on the book will have read of very many times before. But this is a minor complaint about a fascinating book that gives the romantic, uncompromising, pig-headed, and fearless Maurice Wilson the merit of limelight once again.
Maurice Wilson, born in Bradford in 1898, joined the army at 18 and fought in the Great War rising to the rank of captain, was invalided home but without a pension. He travels the world, but is unable to settle anywhere. 15 years later, with a now pronounced dislike of bureaucracy, when he buys a Tiger Moth plane, then learns to fly, and heads to the Himalayas and become the first man to summit Everest. He runs out of money in Kathmandu and has to sell the plane. Unperturbed, from Darjeeling he walks the 300 km to Everert via West Sikkim disguised as a Buddhist monk, as the authorities in Nepal, Tibet and India all refuse him permission to go anywhere near the mountain.
He was courageous, and no doubt foolhardy, but like many who survived the war, no doubt had an element of mental stress and a sense of being indestructible.
Above all though he was lucky. If he has joined to war 6 weeks earlier he almost certainly would have been killed at Passchendale.
He had not brought the right gear: he found some crampons.
He had not packed nearly enough food: he stumbled upon an Aladdin’s cave of supplies left previously. (An abandoned store of delights - plum jam, butter, Bournville chocolate, Nestle’s milk, anchovy paste - from Ruttledge’s expedition a few months previously).
Caesar writes near the end,
Stories as good as Wilsons’s do not stay secret for long.
then he goes on to say how at the time (1933), Reuters had fed the story to the press. “3 loaves and 2 Tins of Porridge” was the Daily Mail headline.
But in a way Caesar is wrong. He is bringing this surprisingly little known and forgotten story to our attention, and as a Canadian; much of his research was letters from Wilson to his wife, which somehow found themselves in Canada, and were only recently discovered.
As often with this sort of non-fiction the pre-amble is overlong. A chapter is dedicated the prior Everest expeditions which I suspect many embarking on the book will have read of very many times before. But this is a minor complaint about a fascinating book that gives the romantic, uncompromising, pig-headed, and fearless Maurice Wilson the merit of limelight once again.
October 28, 2020
I had heard brief mention of Maurice Wilson in other books about early Everest summit attempts, and for the first time the full story of his outrageous adventure is presented here. Wilson, a veteran of the Great War, was a restless spirit who could not commit to a single woman, a job, or even a nation to call his home. In the mid-30’s, with no other prospects, he decided to fly a plane (the Moth of the title) to the foot of Mount Everest and to climb the mountain solo. Pretty insane, right?
He was undoubtedly an optimist, if unrealistic and unexperienced, and his determination is unfathomable. But there may have been something darker beneath the façade. While Wilson’s experience during the war would have shaped his character, it may have also traumatized him to some degree. I thought that aspect of his life was given too much detail considering there was nothing definitive about any mental disturbance. At best, it was his physical injuries that left the most obvious scars. And was his brother’s experience in the trenches relevant to warrant a whole chapter of recollection at the base of the mountain? Probably not.
Regardless, Wilson was a larger-than-life character who captured people’s imaginations with his daring and his “pluck.” He got further on his journey than anyone would have expected, especially considering how many road blocks were thrown in front of him. Though the outcome of his attempt is not surprising, it's still quite the feat for a guy who had nothing driving him other than sheer willpower (and maybe 5 minutes of fame). It was a compelling biography of an odd idealist set against a breathtaking background.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
He was undoubtedly an optimist, if unrealistic and unexperienced, and his determination is unfathomable. But there may have been something darker beneath the façade. While Wilson’s experience during the war would have shaped his character, it may have also traumatized him to some degree. I thought that aspect of his life was given too much detail considering there was nothing definitive about any mental disturbance. At best, it was his physical injuries that left the most obvious scars. And was his brother’s experience in the trenches relevant to warrant a whole chapter of recollection at the base of the mountain? Probably not.
Regardless, Wilson was a larger-than-life character who captured people’s imaginations with his daring and his “pluck.” He got further on his journey than anyone would have expected, especially considering how many road blocks were thrown in front of him. Though the outcome of his attempt is not surprising, it's still quite the feat for a guy who had nothing driving him other than sheer willpower (and maybe 5 minutes of fame). It was a compelling biography of an odd idealist set against a breathtaking background.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
March 6, 2024
Odd subject for a full-blown biography that apparently took years to research, because the little-known Maurice Wilson was an ABSOLUTE LUNATIC. Neither a pilot nor a climber, this damaged WWI veteran (and serial cad) hatched an insane plan to land a plane on some undefined (and nonexistent) slope halfway up Mount Everest, and then climb (or hike, as he obviously assumed) the rest of the way by himself to accomplish what numerous better-experienced, well-equipped, and Sherpa-supported climbing parties had failed to do - reach the top of the world.
There is obviously never any question here of whether or not he made it - otherwise, we'd know his name rather than Edmund Hillary's - and so the only suspense here is whether or not he died trying, (which you literally don't find out until the book's epilogue). Anyway - reluctant props to Wilson for his delusional level of self-confidence, and kudos to Caesar for turning this obscure bit of classic British eccentricity into a fairly gripping story.
I listened to the audio version, but also borrowed the book from the library to see the photos. Turns out there weren't a lot of them and they were interspersed with the text, so were a pain to find since the book has those "classy" deckled edges that are impossible to just flip through. But if your library has it, the book is worth borrowing if only for the two featured maps, one showing his flight from England to India (which back in those days still took weeks), and the other his hike from Darjeeling to Everest.*
Overall, a fresh take on a much-covered mountain (and war, as a surprising amount of the story ties back to Wilson's - and England's overall - involvement in WWI, and the trauma that followed its "survivors" home.
* So yeah, minor spoiler but the book's cover is TOTALLY misleading - as is it's jacket blurb - as Wilson's Gipsy Moth (and yep, that's the proper spelling) never got within sight of the Himalaya, much less "up close and personal" as shown.
There is obviously never any question here of whether or not he made it - otherwise, we'd know his name rather than Edmund Hillary's - and so the only suspense here is whether or not he died trying, (which you literally don't find out until the book's epilogue). Anyway - reluctant props to Wilson for his delusional level of self-confidence, and kudos to Caesar for turning this obscure bit of classic British eccentricity into a fairly gripping story.
I listened to the audio version, but also borrowed the book from the library to see the photos. Turns out there weren't a lot of them and they were interspersed with the text, so were a pain to find since the book has those "classy" deckled edges that are impossible to just flip through. But if your library has it, the book is worth borrowing if only for the two featured maps, one showing his flight from England to India (which back in those days still took weeks), and the other his hike from Darjeeling to Everest.*
Overall, a fresh take on a much-covered mountain (and war, as a surprising amount of the story ties back to Wilson's - and England's overall - involvement in WWI, and the trauma that followed its "survivors" home.
* So yeah, minor spoiler but the book's cover is TOTALLY misleading - as is it's jacket blurb - as Wilson's Gipsy Moth (and yep, that's the proper spelling) never got within sight of the Himalaya, much less "up close and personal" as shown.
November 30, 2020
Getting thru this book is probably harder than climbing Everest. Even as someone with an Alpinist interest, I found the story to be uninteresting. Wouldn't even make a mildly interesting longform article. Book received great reviews which boggles my mind. Hard PASS here.
June 27, 2021
Superb book. I had no idea about Maurice Wilson and his story. A review in The Guardian alerted me. Read it in a couple of days, transfixed. Ed Caesar has a style about him that makes this book as much a straightforward boy's own adventure story as a biography. Highly recommended.
January 31, 2023
A really compelling, yet heartbreaking biography of one of the stranger parts of Everest folklore. I have seen a few reviews on here complaining that this book doesnt 'further their knowledge about Everest', but that is hardly the point of it. Caesar does a great job of telling a story that, simply, deserves to be told. Maurice Wilson was a complicated man, capable of great bravery, kindness and determination, as well as great selfishness, immaturity and straight up craziness. But his story of adventure is compelling nevertheless, and is masterfully told here. I was given this book as i love stories of arctic and mountaineering exploration, but this work and indeed this story is much more than that. A great piece of nonfic and well worth a read.
August 21, 2022
A good biography of a very interesting man. Well written and a good structure.
December 17, 2020
I would put this book in the same genre as those written by Erik Larson and Laura Hillenbrand: find a now-obscure person or event from the past, research the hell out of their life, and write a book. The problem for me with this book wasn't the writing, which was fine enough. The problem is that for the subject of the research, an Englishman named Maurice Wilson, there doesn't appear to have been that much of a written trail to follow, so there's much speculation about his motivations, sexuality, etc. Quick summary: Yorkshireman survives WWI injuries, travels to various places in the world, marries several times and dallies w/other women, decides to learn to fly, flies to India in a Gipsy Moth biplane, sneaks into Nepal disguised as a Buddhist priest, and plans to climb Everest solo, even though he has no climbing experience. He does, in fact, manage to fly to India despite his inexperience and difficulties getting approvals to land in many places, and he gets to about 23,000 feet on Everest. Extraordinary, strange man. Just not that great a book.
November 28, 2020
Maurice Wilson was absolutely bonkers, fairly unfathomable but utterly beguiling. He also had seen the effects of the 1WW trenches on his older brother and suffered shell-shock there himself. Fearless and courageous or mad and naive, or all four. He decided to fly solo to India in a Gipsy Moth, then climb Mt Everest solo in the 1930s. Despite not knowing how to fly or having mountaineering experience. But he learned both and got extraordinarily close.
Ed Caesar is a super writer — you can see why he’s got a regular New Yorker gig — and tells a great tale (though he ladles it on a bit too thick occasionally). I was gripped as much by Wilson as what it reveals about a certain type of Brit in the final decades of empire.
Ed Caesar is a super writer — you can see why he’s got a regular New Yorker gig — and tells a great tale (though he ladles it on a bit too thick occasionally). I was gripped as much by Wilson as what it reveals about a certain type of Brit in the final decades of empire.
January 8, 2021
The prologue and epilogue of this book are fascinating. However, most of the book itself feels like the filler one adds to a term paper to reach a certain page requirement, in my opinion. I felt it tedious to get through elements that had a tenuous link to the story of climbing Everest itself, but I’m glad I made it to the epilogue!
February 11, 2021
This should have been a long form article that was turned into a book. There's a lot of filler and conjecture; chapter 11 is particularly useless. I couldn't stand when the book slipped into 2nd person and the author tried to impose his thoughts on you the read...'You wonder why he just didn't write it in a less annoying style...'
February 9, 2021
Incredible tale from Ed Caesar
Incredible tale, I hope to write a full review shortly.
But for now, I recommend it to just about anyone.
Incredible tale, I hope to write a full review shortly.
But for now, I recommend it to just about anyone.
March 1, 2021
Not worth your time
March 21, 2021
I wanted more of the expeditionitself, instead I read a meandering biography with glimpses of Wilson’s zealous endeavor.
June 8, 2021
Fantastic true tale of derring-do. Maurice Wilson is not so much dipped in luck as positively infused with it. Beautifully told and deservedly so.
June 24, 2021
Other climbing books are much better. The weird switches to second person just felt forced and "trying to be artsy."
July 16, 2022
I have always been fascinated by Mount Everest and the human determination to stand on top of the world. Reaching its peak seemed a powerful symbol of man withstanding and conquering nature. When I was 10, the mystery of whether Mallory and Irvine, who never returned from their mission in the 1920s, had actually reached the peak fuelled many thoughts and a lot of curiosity. 12 years later the question remains but now I also want to understand what has driven the people a decade ago - with primitive and not suitable equipment - to foster this level of dedication and determination to endure all these hardships and even to pay with their lives.
Therefore, when I found "The Moth and the Mountain" in a bookshop, I had to take it with me for sure. I never heard of Maurice Wilson before and his plan to land with a plane on the slope of the mountain and then climb on top as the first human seemed like a legendary story. Especially considering that he had never flown or climbed before. As I read this book and learned about Wilson's life, I realized that his story is a product of the first world war.
Ed Caesar does an excellent job in gathering primary historical sources and presenting them in an overall narrative. His voice is unique throughout the 200 pages in terms of his critical approach. It would have been tempting to frame Wilson's story in an adventurous and legendary way but Caesar reminds the reader, again and again, to view the sources critically and to refrain from judgment. Thereby, he leaves room for imagination, speculation, and thoughts from the reader. However, through his writing, these ideas occupy a level above the description of facts. Hence, Caesar provides us with a thoroughly researched groundwork to build an interpretation of the human condition on.
But what then makes Wilson's story so remarkable. Unsurprisingly, his unwillingness to give in combined with bad equipment and support has led to his death far from the peak. Is Wilson a hero for his courage and determination? In my opinion, Caesar's neutral style allows the reader to draw different conclusions. Wilson was above all a product of his time. Growing up in England, he experienced the struggle between the new industrial civil society and a traditional aristocracy of class. The first world war changed everything and Caesar spends a lot of his pages emphasizing the devastation of the war on the countless individual soldiers. Especially in a time in which we have a war in Europe happening again, this turn of focus from Mount Everest to the First World War shows just how terrifying and horrible war is and how its consequences for the individual will radiate into each area for years to come. Wilson himself has fought the brutal battles in continental Europe and witnessed destruction, death, and trauma. After his return due to invalidation, he struggles to process his experiences and spends restless years around the world. His decision to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world seems both a result of the post-war zeitgeist to demonstrate human endurance and his individual need for reconciliation. The mountain represents his inner obstacle to finding peace.
Wilson is not a hero. His journey is reckless, stubborn, and deadly. However, Wilson's determination is a manifestation of human nature and therefore his story is important to all of us. War is absolutely terrible and destroys our understanding of this world. The inner devastation cannot easily be reconciled and Wilson's story reminds us to what extent this trauma influences thoughts and actions. Caesar's book is above all an unexpected call for peace by showing the fragility of human understanding of themselves and their place in the world, hidden behind a shell of strength, determination, and hubris.
Therefore, when I found "The Moth and the Mountain" in a bookshop, I had to take it with me for sure. I never heard of Maurice Wilson before and his plan to land with a plane on the slope of the mountain and then climb on top as the first human seemed like a legendary story. Especially considering that he had never flown or climbed before. As I read this book and learned about Wilson's life, I realized that his story is a product of the first world war.
Ed Caesar does an excellent job in gathering primary historical sources and presenting them in an overall narrative. His voice is unique throughout the 200 pages in terms of his critical approach. It would have been tempting to frame Wilson's story in an adventurous and legendary way but Caesar reminds the reader, again and again, to view the sources critically and to refrain from judgment. Thereby, he leaves room for imagination, speculation, and thoughts from the reader. However, through his writing, these ideas occupy a level above the description of facts. Hence, Caesar provides us with a thoroughly researched groundwork to build an interpretation of the human condition on.
But what then makes Wilson's story so remarkable. Unsurprisingly, his unwillingness to give in combined with bad equipment and support has led to his death far from the peak. Is Wilson a hero for his courage and determination? In my opinion, Caesar's neutral style allows the reader to draw different conclusions. Wilson was above all a product of his time. Growing up in England, he experienced the struggle between the new industrial civil society and a traditional aristocracy of class. The first world war changed everything and Caesar spends a lot of his pages emphasizing the devastation of the war on the countless individual soldiers. Especially in a time in which we have a war in Europe happening again, this turn of focus from Mount Everest to the First World War shows just how terrifying and horrible war is and how its consequences for the individual will radiate into each area for years to come. Wilson himself has fought the brutal battles in continental Europe and witnessed destruction, death, and trauma. After his return due to invalidation, he struggles to process his experiences and spends restless years around the world. His decision to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world seems both a result of the post-war zeitgeist to demonstrate human endurance and his individual need for reconciliation. The mountain represents his inner obstacle to finding peace.
Wilson is not a hero. His journey is reckless, stubborn, and deadly. However, Wilson's determination is a manifestation of human nature and therefore his story is important to all of us. War is absolutely terrible and destroys our understanding of this world. The inner devastation cannot easily be reconciled and Wilson's story reminds us to what extent this trauma influences thoughts and actions. Caesar's book is above all an unexpected call for peace by showing the fragility of human understanding of themselves and their place in the world, hidden behind a shell of strength, determination, and hubris.
March 18, 2024
I took a while to finish this book because I was doing school stuff, but I finally finished it. I don’t think this book is for everyone, it doesn’t have that much information about the mountain but it is a reflection of Maurice’s life, the man who usually only gets a footnote. I learned a lot of trivia about the 1900s and about world war 1 and I found this book to be extremely compelling. But it’s not really a story of climbing the mountain, it’s giving context to something that otherwise seems beyond someone’s ability to understand.
Maurice’s plan seems so doomed and tragic and you keep wondering why he doesn’t turn back, but this book does such a good job at making you wonder what motivated him, and making you empathize with this dead man who was doomed to fail, while this book isn’t the most haunting or inspiring book I’ve ever read it made me feel something after reading it, and I feel like it’s getting harder and harder for things to do that to me just from my own cynicism. I think this book is worth reading even if it starts slow and takes some time to get used to the style.
Maurice’s plan seems so doomed and tragic and you keep wondering why he doesn’t turn back, but this book does such a good job at making you wonder what motivated him, and making you empathize with this dead man who was doomed to fail, while this book isn’t the most haunting or inspiring book I’ve ever read it made me feel something after reading it, and I feel like it’s getting harder and harder for things to do that to me just from my own cynicism. I think this book is worth reading even if it starts slow and takes some time to get used to the style.
December 7, 2021
This is an extraordinary tale of one Yorshireman's, Maurice Wilson's, obsession with climbing Everest, solo. It depicts, in harrowing detail, the impact of trench warfare during World War 1 on both Maurice and his older brother Victor; his solo flight in his beloved Moth to India, and his life in New Zealand and the States.
As he starts to bring his plan to climb Everest to fruition, he is thwarted at every turn by officials. Taken in context of the time period there is evidence of class snobbery, racism towards the locals (but not by Wilson), discrimination and bullying.
I can't recommend this man's story enough. What an epic life he truly lived.
As he starts to bring his plan to climb Everest to fruition, he is thwarted at every turn by officials. Taken in context of the time period there is evidence of class snobbery, racism towards the locals (but not by Wilson), discrimination and bullying.
I can't recommend this man's story enough. What an epic life he truly lived.
January 6, 2023
Written with generally engaging prose, though occasionally flipping from third party narrative to suddenly address the reader. All-in-all an engaging account of one of the bravest, and most tragic, solo attempts on Everest.
As a short read, it took less than a week to start, finish, and begin planning my own trip to the mountain!
As a short read, it took less than a week to start, finish, and begin planning my own trip to the mountain!
April 13, 2025
Fascinating story of Maurice Wilson, a WWI veteran who attempted to climb Mount Everest alone in the 1930’s. The book also added a number of books to my TBR.
December 23, 2021
This sounded brilliant in the blurb - an English nutter decides to fly a small plane to Everest in the early 1930s, crash land it on the lower slopes then climb the mountain.... not especially knowing how to climb or fly.
These bits were a good fun tale of obsession and derring-do, however for me far too much of the book was spent in Maurice Wilson’s overall life and backstory, the chapters of his grim time in WW1 felt very long for example, and of far less interest. The story of the crazy flight from London to India and the attempt on Everest could’ve been told in a book half the length or less and may have held my interest better by being more focused.
So, I’d say this is worth a read for Everest enthusiasts, but for me this wasn’t anywhere near as good as the excellent ‘Into Thin Air’ by John Krakauer or ‘High Adventure’ by Edmund Hillary.
These bits were a good fun tale of obsession and derring-do, however for me far too much of the book was spent in Maurice Wilson’s overall life and backstory, the chapters of his grim time in WW1 felt very long for example, and of far less interest. The story of the crazy flight from London to India and the attempt on Everest could’ve been told in a book half the length or less and may have held my interest better by being more focused.
So, I’d say this is worth a read for Everest enthusiasts, but for me this wasn’t anywhere near as good as the excellent ‘Into Thin Air’ by John Krakauer or ‘High Adventure’ by Edmund Hillary.
August 2, 2022
3.5 stars
Wasn't sure how to rate this book. It's a well written, interesting tale about a highly eccentric Englishman named Maurice Wilson, who decides to climb Everest alone in the 1930s, without climbing experience, proper equipment, or training.
Wilson's story is inspiring, to a point. He certainly wouldn't let anyone stop him, and even when the British and Indian governments were trying their best and grounded his plane--which Wilson, a novice amateur airman, had already managed to fly an incredible distance--he refused to give up. But he was also incredibly foolish, and willing to put the lives of the three kind Bhutia men who accompanied him at risk, and it's hard to admire that.
When I first ordered this book, I'd thought it was the story of Caesar's own summit--I recognized his name and thought he was a famous mountaineer--so I was surprised to get this account of a bizarre man who survived World War I with an apparent death wish.
Caesar goes off on an ill-timed tangent near the end of Wilson's story about Wilson's brother's life after the war, and I definitely flipped past that part. I wanted to know what became of our hero, not suddenly read several pages about his brother.
This book definitely lacked the power of a firsthand account. We can only know Wilson's thoughts through his letters and diaries, which left so many questions unanswered.
Wasn't sure how to rate this book. It's a well written, interesting tale about a highly eccentric Englishman named Maurice Wilson, who decides to climb Everest alone in the 1930s, without climbing experience, proper equipment, or training.
Wilson's story is inspiring, to a point. He certainly wouldn't let anyone stop him, and even when the British and Indian governments were trying their best and grounded his plane--which Wilson, a novice amateur airman, had already managed to fly an incredible distance--he refused to give up. But he was also incredibly foolish, and willing to put the lives of the three kind Bhutia men who accompanied him at risk, and it's hard to admire that.
When I first ordered this book, I'd thought it was the story of Caesar's own summit--I recognized his name and thought he was a famous mountaineer--so I was surprised to get this account of a bizarre man who survived World War I with an apparent death wish.
Caesar goes off on an ill-timed tangent near the end of Wilson's story about Wilson's brother's life after the war, and I definitely flipped past that part. I wanted to know what became of our hero, not suddenly read several pages about his brother.
This book definitely lacked the power of a firsthand account. We can only know Wilson's thoughts through his letters and diaries, which left so many questions unanswered.
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