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.

Sir Edmund Hillary (1919 - 2008) was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and served in the New Zealand Air Force during World War II. Knighted for his ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, he achieved many more adventuring "firsts" before establishing the Himalayan Trust, an organization devoted to improving the lives of the Himalayan people.