View From The Summit

by Edmund Hillary

The first man to set foot on the summit of Everest, the man who led a team of tractors to the South Pole, the man who jetboated up the Ganges from the ocean to the sky has, for the first time, gathered all the remarkable adventures of a long life into one volume. But there is more to Edmund Hillary than this. He is also the man who repaid his debt of fame to the Himalayas by inaugurating a programme of building schools, clinics, airstrips and bridges in Nepal. With his still active support, these have gone from strength to strength in the 50 years since he himself mastered the Hillary Step and led his companion Tenzing Norgay up Everest's final summit ridge.View from the Summit is a thoughtful and honest reappraisal of a life spent pushing human ability to its limits and relishing the challenges thrown down by the elements. It is also the story of a man whom the world has taken to its heart.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Adventure, Mountaineering, History, Travel, Autobiography

369 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 1999

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

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biography of Edmund Hillary was a bit of a let down. The book starts with the final accent of Mt Everest by him and Norgay, and that was the high point of the book for me (no pun intended). The rest of the book is just about his early life and later adventures, the only one that held my interest was the expedition in jet-boats up the Ganges River in India. Though he is a remarkable man that lived a full life, I was put off by his criticism of other people in the book, that almost made it feel like he was using it to settle some old scores. Good book if that does not bother you, but it is something I personally do not like.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting life story, but I got tired of Hillary saying how great he was & how much everyone else sucked. I guess you have to be that way to achieve what he did, though.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Edmund Hillary is a pseudonym for anything connected with the worlds highest mountain-Mt. Everest. This book was written in 1999 when the author was 79 years old. Sir Edmund Hillary died of heart failure in Jamuary 2008 in New Zealand. The book covers the years of preparation and his personal life in his native New Zealand as well as the actual conquest of Everest in 1953 with sherpa Tenzing Norgay very well. But it also covers the personal tragedy of losing his wife and one of his children in an airplane crash in Nepal and much of his humanitarian work in that area. An extensive portion of the book is devoted to the crossing of Antarctica in a later venture which I found personally intriguing because although I have seen Everest it has been from a great distance, but I have been to Antarctica which made me feel closer emotionally. One of the revealing parts of the book is how competitive the adventurers are and the political nuances are made clear in this book and are not always charming. The book also gives great insight to the Sherpa culture, New Zealand culture as well as the benefits and dissadvantages of fame including the likes of Queen ELizabeth, President Eisenhower, the Dalai Lama, Indira Ghandi and the mountain climbing fraternity.

[Paul Moore]

Made mye want t get fit and walk lots.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing but when it comes to autobiographies and memoirs it is reader beware. That said, his exploits were phenomenal - especially when the time frame is considered.

[Tara Frye · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like it

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Level 2 Wide reading.
Quite good, well written and refreshingly honest.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read about a true adventurer. This book has all the elements of a good biography. It is reflective, filled with great anecdotal details and contains a life philosophy of life that is intriguing.

The writer is refreshingly open in his viewpoints of both personalities and events. The candor is not only directed at other actors but is amply on display when he delves into his own decisions and their consequences.

Throughout the book I saw many similarities to Shackleton's celebrated expeditions. The narrative is evocative and draws your imagination into the story in ways that makes you fly through the pages. This is fun reading and an inspiring story that shows the fragility of life and the heights (no pun intended!) of the human spirit.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible book that encompasses not only reaching the world’s highest mountain summit but his adventures to both poles and his extensive work in Nepal, all in his own words. There’s definitely an extra feeling in the book being a Kiwi myself and reading what the legendary man that adorns the 5 dollar note experienced, and it felt like I was transported back in time in some parts of the account.
Overall this is well worth reading for anyone interested in the life of a great man, Everest, Nepal, or even just the spirit of adventure. An easy five stars for me, and one of the best books I have ever had the privilege of reading.

[Laina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how much more he had done in Nepal outside of reaching the summit of Everest.

[Kimberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a truly incredible man!

[Lukasz Pruski · Rating 3 out of 5]

"View from the Summit" is an autobiography of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person who, along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, climbed Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth. I am not a climber as I suffer from vertigo and am unusually clumsy, yet I love reading mountaineering books. With my wife, we have hiked in the mountains a lot and one of our friends 30+ years ago in Poland was the famous woman climber Dobroslawa "Mrufka" Wolf (by coincidence born in the same year, 1953, that Hillary and Tenzing climbed Mount Everest), who perished on K-2 (the second highest peak on Earth) in the deadly summer of 1986.

The book begins with the description of the final phases of the climb to the summit of Mount Everest. The prose is vivid and so much more interesting than the dry and almost impersonal telling of the same story by John Hunt, the talented organizer of the expedition, in his 1954 book "The Conquest of Everest". Hillary describes the horror of sleepless nights on the South Col (elevation of 7,986 meters, i.e., over 26,000 feet), at about -30 degrees Celsius, ravaged by extremely strong winds.

In fact, Hillary and Tenzing were the backup summit team. The first team, composed of Evans and Bourdillon, had to turn back about 300 feet from the summit because of defects in their primitive oxygen equipment. There was a lot of tension at the elevation of over 26,000 feet when some climbers had to go down when others were allowed to go up. There comes the crucial point of the entire expedition. Hillary carries a 60-pound backpack at 8500 meters (27,887 feet) at -27 degrees Celsius. He and Tenzing reach the South Summit and encounter a 12-meter tall extremely difficult rock wall, which requires vertical climbing. Hillary manages to conquer it (the wall has since then been known as "Hillary's Step"), and from there the way to the actual summit (8,848 m, 29,029 feet) is pretty easy. They reach the summit on 5/29/1953 at 11:30. In a funny coincidence, the news reaches the United Kingdom on exactly the coronation day of Queen Elizabeth II, June 2nd, 1953 (no internet or cell phones at that time; news took days to travel from Asia to Europe).

The main part of the book is the actual autobiography; Hillary describes his youth in New Zealand, where he helps his father in the bee-keeping business (consisting of 1600 beehives). serves in the Air Force, and having discovered his mountaineering skills, he climbs in Alps and Himalayas. After the conquest of Mount Everest, his expedition fails to conquer Makalu, the fifth highest peak on Earth (By the way, my friend and colleague from work, Jan Wolf, the husband of Dobroslawa, whom I mention in the first paragraph, participated in Polish expedition on Makalu in 1978; he also died in the mountains many years later.) After the Makalu attempt, Sir Hillary is involved in various adventures often connected with scientific explorations. He wins the so-called "Race for the Pole", when the British and New Zealand teams race to get to the South Pole from opposite "ends" of the Antarctica. He also participates in a search for Yeti, and proves that the existence of this creature is just a myth. In the 1980s, Hillary even becomes a diplomat, the High Commissioner of New Zealand to India.

Sir Hillary's most important contribution to humankind is certainly not his first ascent of Mount Everest or winning the race to the South Pole. Thanks to his fame and ability to attract financial contributions, he established the "Himalayan Trust" to help Sherpas and Nepalese people in general. The fund allowed him to build 27 schools, two hospitals, 12 outpatient clinics, many bridges, and renovate several monasteries. Hillary was also active in environmental issues, and spearheaded reforestation of areas destroyed by climbers and tourists.

Hillary, born in 1919, was given to live until 2008. This 1999 book is terrifically interesting, and the author is refreshingly honest about himself and others. It is not high literature, but a really good adventure book. It shows an ambitious, often stubborn, yet good-hearted man who begins life with an extremely strong drive for adventure, but gradually realizes that the meaning of life is to help other people.

Three stars.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I'm an honorary Kiwi, I picked this up from the Hermitage Hotel at Mt Cook after climbing some hills and checking out the Ed Hilary Alpine Centre. I have the Corgi edition with the famous photo of Norgay on the summit but it's not on GR yet.

It starts off well, discussing the famous summit of Everest and a little of the controversy around it, but when we move to the Antarctic things slow down a lot. I have finite patience for reading about the tractor getting stuck yet again in a crevasse, Hillary having to poke around for a more suitable snow bridge, him finding said bridge, then moving on (all the while coming across as rather smug and bullheaded). However, after this great level of detail, he swings too far the other way and most of the later adventures are skirted over in brief, leaving you wanting more.

It all seems a little shallow. He comes across rather patronising and unpleasant towards the Nepali people at the beginning but then clearly becomes a great patron to the Sherpa communities later in his life. He briefly mentions some of the destructive forces that go along with exploration but never lets it worry him too greatly (also, some altitude related medical inconsistency annoyed me a little but probably wouldn't register with most readers). Plus, we never really get a sense of what being Kiwi meant to him. It's revealing where he talks of his great shame at crying after his wife died. He's clearly a vanguard of the old order.

A somewhat negative review of the book which is a shame. He's an interesting man who clearly achieved a lot and deserves recognition but we don't really get to look under the skin. I suspect there's a better biography of him out there giving us a more in depth look at the man rather than his achievements. Maybe it needs a bit more distance.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hillary starts with his account of reaching the summit of Everest and goes on to recount many adventures mostly in high altitude mountain climbing but also his journey to the South Pole, his boat trip up the Ganges, and his hard work building schools and hospitals in Nepal. His memoir also reflects on his family and especially recreational activities supported by Sears Roebuck, as well as awards and honors he was given and finally his role as the New Zealand ambassador to India. He presents the adventures and challenges with both his successes and failures which he takes in stride. He lauds those who succeed. His memoir features descriptions of the logistics of planning the adventures, some descriptions of the area, insightful descriptions of the people and some of the close relationships he made with many people. He had an amazing and full life. There are many photographs in the book as well.

[Maria]

I wanted something to read whilst trekking that related to what I was seeing around me. I picked this up in Namche Bazaar on the way to Tengboche Monastery. The writing is straightforward. He strikes me as someone quite odd, particularly in his younger days. There is no doubt however that the things he has achieved were incredible. Everest, the South Pole, various other expeditions, but most importantly his work for the Sherpa people. When you trek you see the work of his Foundation - the contribution is great. I think you would get most enjoyment out of this having been yourself because the writing does not quite transport you to the places he is talking about.

[Daniel Magner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gripping read- there's high adventure galore, set in all corners of the globe. Sir Edmund Hillary is quite a rousing story teller, has frequent moments of candid reflection and the prose is full of his dry wit and no-nonsense attitude. While there are points at which the technical jargon becomes a bit heavy and the occasional sense of rambling, neither of these detracted from the overall experience. The entire book had a wonderfully reminiscent feel to it, as though the whole thing was Sir Hillary's personal letter straight to you, in response to a request to hear first-hand about some of his adventures and what he felt were important moments in his life.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The autobiography of the first man to summit Everest with his sherpa Norgay. Includes stories of other great expeditions such as his trek to the South Pole in farming tractors and even a brief flight to the North Pole with Neil Armstrong! By no means a gripping book but you really feel you've got to know the man a bit better having read this book. His iron will and deep self belief carries him through any obstacles during his career as an explorer. A born leader whose life story should be read by all!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read and a fascinating man, his stories of the South Pole, and jet boats on the Ganges add to the legend of this great adventurer. It would have been a great experience to have heard him speak. This book does not have the the kind of climbing Mt. Everest details that you'll find in Krakauer, after reading Into Thin Air, I wondered what kind of nut would ever climb Mt. Everest, but after reading View from the Summit I was left with a great sense of respect for this awesome mountain.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five years ago, I joined the thousands that queued to see Sir Ed lie in state before his funeral. That so many people waited so many hours to pay tribute to him shows how highly regarded he was.

I of course knew that he was the first to climb Mount Everest, I knew that he'd been the New Zealand High Commissioner to India, and had heard something about him driving a tractor to the South Pole. But I didn't really know much of the detail around any of that, and I wanted to. To read it in his own words is the best way to do that.

[Bertie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t judge a book by the title: this isn’t just about Hillary’s adventures on Everest but a book about his whole life. It’s an autobiography essentially, and a very enjoyable one too. The author has a very fascinating life and often you will find yourself laughing.

The one section I did find a little dull though was his time in Antarctica attempting to reach the South Pole, although I’m sure to other people this might be the best bit - polar exploration just doesn’t grab me the way, say, Himalayan mountaineering does.

[Allyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first and last chapter were the best. I had to do a lot of skimming through a lot of it. Interesting in parts, scary in some parts (why did they take such risks?!) but an amazing life to be sure. To conquer everest and be among the first to go the north and the south poles, he did have quite the expeditions. And did a lot of good work among the himalayan people. But all in all, it was a hard and sometimes very boring read.

[Sally Edsall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reasonably interesting autobiography, but does get bogged down a bit, especially in the Antarctica passages. At some times it seems as if you are living out every turn of the tractor wheels across Antarctica. Flipping a few pages doesn't hurt though, and the rest of the story more than compensates. It's nice to hear about Hillary's later relationship with Tenzing Norgay...and Hillary's account is borne out in Jamling Tenzing Norgay's story (Jamling is Tenzing's son).

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

For one of the world's most popular adventurers, this got a little boring and dragged on! Still, I liked it well enough and always find stories of Everest climbing a bit thrilling. Sir Edmund Hllary was the first to reach the summit! He writes here of this, of his difficult trek to the South Pole and of his rather humble personal background.
Side note: the Hillary Step is no more! It recently was victim to a devastating avalanche.

[Darla Ebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Edmund Hillary was a remarkable man, perhaps not a riveting writer, but his experiences were epoch. It would have helped if he had had some advice on how to write with more feeling. But then, being basically a logical, facts-only man, with goals to achieve, then his personality would not have permitted too much feeling anyway. People with the same mind-set will enjoy this book more than did I.

[Rodney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing to really add. Hillary is a very accomplished man from a modest background. He does come though the pages as someone who also knows he's accomplished a great deal.

It was difficult for me thought he book to understand if the self adulation of the book got in the way of enjoying the biography.

[Braden Chagnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book if you're into the subject. Hillary was a great man, but from humble beginnings. The book is an inspiration that an ordinary person can do amazing things. My only concern in that the author may have been losing interest in writing come the last few chapters. Or that he was just trying to wrap the story up.

[Osen Akkemik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly Hillary was an amazing man and what he achieved with Tenzing and his team absolutely outstanding achievement. However even when I am in the middle of 3peaks challenge training this book didn't inspire me much. Much respect to Edmund,what he achieved in his life and the legacy he left behind for all the mountaineers.

[Michael Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Friends of the HHI Library find. A well written autobiography of a fascinating individual who used his fame for great purposes. I did not know that he was also the first New Zealander to reach the South Pole. Later in life he visited the North Pole, by plane and became the only living person at that time to have been on the "top" of the World and both Poles.

[Helen Savin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting start with details about the Everest expo, but as someone else mentioned, a bit slow going over the Antarctic. A very admirable life with lots of positive motivations - must have been quite a difficult character to work with though & that shows through in the writing. Really highlights how much luck plays a part in who gets where.

[shuya · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting read. more like a report than an actual story-telling feel, it lacks warmth at time and the writing is not very good, quite sterile. Hillary also sounds like a bit of an egoistic jerk at times...!
but it is always delightful to read about such great deeds and adventures and go on dreaming :)