Book cover of The Moth and the Mountain: A True Story of Love, War, and Everest

Book description

“An outstanding book.” —The Wall Street Journal * “Gripping at every turn.” —Outside * “A hell of a ride.” —The Times (London)

An extraordinary true story about one man’s attempt to salve the wounds of war and save his own soul through an audacious adventure.

In the 1930s, as official…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Moth and the Mountain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Never lose your sense of adventure.

Caesar of the New Yorker tells the almost unbelievable story of Maurice Wilson, who in 1933 bought a biplane, flew it halfway around the world from England to Nepal, and attempted to climb Mount Everest by himself. Of course, he did not succeed—Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay made the first summit of Everest 20 years later—but Wilson carried out his attempt with rare panache.

I read this book with a mixture of astonishment and joy. So much of mountaineering literature is about over-serious people taking themselves far too seriously. Wilson, by contrast, liked…

From Michael's list on finding beauty in the mountains.

This book is of the incredible-but-true genre. A man who knows neither how to fly nor how to climb buys a plane which he plans to fly to India, crash land on the lower slopes of Everest, and climb the rest of the way to the top—all for the (married) woman he loves. Does he make it? What a question! It’s the premise that matters.

If you love The Moth and the Mountain...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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