Sir Edmund Hillary

Easton Press Sir Edmund Hillary books

View From The Summit - signed edition - 1999
High Adventure - signed edition - 2003

Edmund Hillary biography

Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist, best known for being one of the first two men to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. He was born on July 20, 1919, in Auckland, New Zealand, and passed away on January 11, 2008, in Auckland.

Hillary's most famous achievement was the successful ascent of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal. The expedition was led by Colonel John Hunt. Their historic accomplishment marked a major milestone in the history of mountaineering and exploration.

In addition to his mountaineering accomplishments, Edmund Hillary was involved in numerous other adventures and exploration projects. He led a New Zealand Antarctic Research Program expedition in 1956-1958 and reached the South Pole overland. He also conducted various high-altitude flights over the Himalayas and worked on several Himalayan school-building projects. fter his climbing career, Hillary dedicated much of his life to humanitarian and philanthropic efforts in Nepal. He helped establish the Himalayan Trust, which funded the building of schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure in the Khumbu region of Nepal. The trust continues its work to this day.

Edmund Hillary's contributions to exploration and his commitment to the well-being of the people of Nepal earned him widespread admiration and respect. He received numerous honors and awards during his lifetime, including being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and receiving the Order of the Garter in 1995. While Sir Edmund Hillary is primarily remembered for his mountaineering achievements, his legacy extends beyond the world of exploration, encompassing his philanthropic work and dedication to improving the lives of others.

An experienced skier and mountaineer, Edmund Hillary participated in expeditions to the Himalaya in 1951 and 1952. Edmund Hillary joined the British Mt. Everest Expedition of 1953 as one of the chief climbers. Together with the Nepalese Sherpa mountain climber Tensing Norgay, Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mt. Everest on May 29, 1953. Later that year Edmund Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain for his achievement. Beginning in late 1956 Hillary headed the New Zealand party of the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, an expedition organized in connection with the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958. Edmund Hillary subsequently led several Himalaya expeditions. Sir Edmund Hillary is the author of a number of books including High Adventure and View from the Summit, both were published as signed editions by the Easton Press. Among his other books are East of Everest, No Latitude for Error and High in the Thin Cold Air. 

 

 

High Adventure - The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest

Fear lives among Everest's mighty ice-fluted faces and howls across its razor-sharp crags. Gnawing at reason and enslaving minds, it has killed many and defeated countless others. But in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stared into its dark eye and did not waver. On May 29, they pushed spent bodies and aching lungs past the achievable to pursue the impossible. At a terminal altitude of 29,028 feet, they stood triumphant atop the highest peak in the world.
With nimble words and a straightforward style, New Zealand mountaineering legend Hillary recollects the bravery and frustration, the agony and glory that marked his Everest odyssey. From the 1951 expedition that led to the discovery of the Southern Route, through the grueling Himalayan training of 1952, and on to the successful 1953 expedition led by Colonel John Hunt, Hillary conveys in precise language the mountain's unforgiving conditions. In explicit detail he recalls an Everest where chaotic icefalls force costly detours, unstable snow ledges promise to avalanche at the slightest misstep, and brutal weather shifts from pulse-stopping cold to fiendish heat in mere minutes.
In defiance of these torturous conditions, Hillary remains enthusiastic and never hesitates in his quest for the summit. Despite the enormity of his and Norgay's achievement, he regards himself, Norgay, and the other members of his expedition as hardworking men, not heroes. And while he never would have reached the top without practiced skill and technical competence, his thrilling memoir speaks first to his admiration of the human drive to explore, to understand, to risk, and to conquer.

View from the Summit - The Remarkable Memoir by the First Person to Conquer Everest

Adventurers the world over have been inspired by the achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man ever to set foot on the summit of Mount Everest. In this candid, wry, and vastly entertaining autobiography, Hillary looks back on that 1953 landmark expedition, as well as his remarkable explorations in other exotic locales, from the South Pole to the Ganges. View From The Summit is the compelling life story of a New Zealand country boy who daydreamed of wild adventures; the pioneering climber who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth after scaling the world's tallest peak; and the elder statesman and unlikely diplomat whose groundbreaking program of aid to Nepal continues to this day, paying his debt of worldwide fame to the Himalayan region.
More than four decades after Hillary looked down from Everest's 29,000 feet, his impact is still felt in our fascination with the perils and triumphs of mountain climbing, and in today's phenomenon of extreme sports. The call to adventure is alive and real on every page of this gripping memoir.