Wade DavisAnmeldelser

The lives of those involved in and those excluded from British Everest attempts up to 1924 are documented. Their background, dispositions, abilities and conflicts are covered in considerable detail. In short, this book gives an extensive view of the politics.

The disillusionment of the great war figured heavily into those early Everest attempts.

The epilogue gave a convincing explanation that Mallory and Irving probably did not reach the summit.


Chapter 7: the blindness of birds

… The four Noble truths
1. First, all life is suffering.… Only that terrible things happen. Evil was not exceptional but part of the existing order of things, a consequence of human actions or karma.
2. Second, because all suffering is ignorance. By ignorance the Buddha did not mean stupidity. He meant the tendency of human beings to cling to the cruel illusion of their own permanent and centrality…
3. The third of the Noble truths was the revelation that ignorance could be overcome, And the
4. Fourth and most essential was the delineation of a contemplative practice that, if followed, promised an end to suffering and a true liberation and transformation of the human heart. The goal was not to escape the world but to escape being enslaved by it. The purpose of practice was not the elimination of self but the annihilation of ignorance and the unmasking of the true Buddha nature, which, like a berry Jewel, shines bright within every human being, waiting to be revealed.

I knock this book down one star because it would go for pages without stating what year they were talking about. Even at the start of chapters they would give a month and day, but not state the year.

A graphic history of war, Mountaineering and human endeavours. A view of politics and pomposity in the Royal Geographic Society as it affected attempts to climb Mount Everest and self interest of those involved combined with rank bad management and heroic activities of the climbers.

Highly readable. The subject matters, botany, biography, pharmacology, anthropology, geology are all fascinating. A good map, the smaller scale the better, will help because those provided aren't up to the job. But that's a minor point.
The significant parts of this book are the understanding that Davis has of the indigenous world view of Andean and Amazonian tribes. He embraces it because the tribal views of existence are a coherent set of beliefs that can be explained through the natural world. One of the many devices used to connect with the spiritual world is through the use of coca. We Westerners have a wildly pathological view of the drug. Davis shows how nutritious, life sustaining and essential a drug it is to those who have a respect for it. (I am not talking about cocaine).
A page turner and thoroughly informative.

3.5 stars, this was just too long. Absolutely fascinating, but exhaustive in scope. The last 100 pages or so are the best, giving an excellent feel for being on the mountain with relatively primitive equipment. After reading Into Thin Air, this one just can't live up.½

Initially, I was really into this book, and I was impressed by the author’s descriptive talent. One of my favorite passages was a description he wrote early in the book about riding a train.

Still, the rhythm of the rails is always seductive, and the passing frames race by like so many childhood fantasies, alive in color and light.

My interest waxed and waned the further I got into the book. His sections about the history of poisoning and the fear of being buried alive were fascinating. I wasn’t as enamored of the in-depth explanations of the plants he was studying in relation to the zombie poison, but when he got to puffer fish and tetrodotoxin, he piqued my interest again.
As the author moved away from his original goal of tracking down poison and antidote—he did accomplish the first part to the satisfaction of his financial backers, but he included no account of whether or not it was used in the way they’d hoped—I started to lose interest in his tangents. The history of Haiti is extremely interesting, and I did like the deviation from his own story to give that background. His explanations of vodoun and its secret societies were a bit more convoluted, and it was hard to tell how much he truly learned. By his own descriptions, it was unclear how much people were really confiding in him, and he often had to pay for the glimpses, bits and pieces he was allowed. I appreciated that he apparently loved the country and seemed respectful of the culture. I liked this description of returning to Haiti after a year away.

Still, along with the easy happiness I had come to associate with the country, I was aware of a new and perhaps less superficial sensation—that sense of familiarity and alienation that comes to one who knows a place well, but who can never hope to become a part of it.

A couple of personal issues probably affected my rating, even though they had nothing to do with the quality of the writing. I was disturbed that a man nearing his thirties had a teenage girl as his guide and traveled extensively with her. Maybe that’s cultural bias on my part, but it bothered me.
Also, it was surprising how often he was willing to drink unknown substances and put them on his skin, given that either was a possible delivery system for poison. It struck me as more foolish than brave.
This might deserve a higher rating than I gave it, but I was so ready to be done by the end, I think I’ll stick with 3 stars and still say it’s worth a read.

Very eye-opening book on the wisdom of other cultures and our western hubris in ignoring them. Mostly absorbing, but he goes on a little too long in some spots. Very worthwhile.

Rambling tale of Schultes, Plowman and Davis in Amazon and its tributaries collecting plants, emphasis on hallucinogens and coca.

It took me a while to get through this book, but I am glad I persisted.

Davis tells the story of the British expeditions to Everest in 1921, 1922 and 1924, but crucially also provides a great deal of political, social and historical background. This includes, obviously, WWI; Davis recounts the war experiences of many of the major figures and shows how the Great War shaped personalities and events. More importantly, some of the relevant history of Tibet and India is also covered, giving some necessary context to the expeditions - before, during, and afterward. Davis does not shy away from revealing a less-than-heroic side to many of the men involved, and it is clear that most had attitudes ranging from obliviousness to disrespect to callous disregard for the lives of the Tibetans and other non-white people they encountered (and exploited).

It is obvious that an enormous amount of time, effort, and persistence was needed to write this book. The annotated bibliography reveals a mind-boggling amount of archival research, trawling through personal correspondence and British army records. It's apparent that Davis is dedicated to his subject. Indeed, I found the recounting of the 1921 expedition hard going, with (what seemed to me to be) an inordinate amount of detail about every aspect of the journey across Tibet. It may be that other readers will be fascinated to learn what sort of flowers were to be found in every single valley traversed by the British, or that Bullock decided to leave his pink umbrella behind when setting out from a camp for a particular climb. To me, it seemed as though Davis was determined to reflect every single bit of knowledge he'd obtained. Fortunately the later expeditions do not get this over-detailed treatment, and I found most of the book quite riveting.

The other difficulty I had was in keeping track of all of the main players. I suppose that this might not be such an issue for those who are already more familiar with the subject matter; however I found that there were too many names and back-stories to keep straight and sometimes had to backtrack. (Not the author's fault at all, but this isn't easy in ebook format!). A 'dramatis personae' might have been useful.

Even more useful, however, would have been some maps! Only two fairly rudimentary maps of Everest are provided, showing camps and routes climbed. With so much detail on the travels needed to get to Everest - and with the focus on efforts to conduct cartographical and geographical studies - some good maps of Tibet and of the approaches to Everest would have helped immensely. I spent a great deal of time zooming around in Google Earth to try to get a feel for the landscape and the distances involved.

Davis dishes up myths and adventures and history at an alarming rate in perhaps the first non-fiction "page turner" I've ever read. I never knew so many exciting things could happen in so few pages. Except, unlike a fictional page turner, which yields some sort of conclusion and thus satisfaction for tearing through it, this book gently reminds you how little you know and therefore makes you savor it that much slower so that you won't be left with the task of finding some equally entertaining source of information on South American mysteries. I am told "Wizard of the Upper Amazon" is excellent, but I am dubious I'll ever find anything quite as juicy as this.

From an introduction to the genius of Inca civilization, to the history of the rubber tree (the most important modern plant we don't hear about), to the miracle of coca and the ritual consumption of countless hallucinogens, to the birth of the American drug culture, to the simple and mysterious magic of the undisturbed natural phenomenon that is the unforgiving Amazon forest and rivers. Yes, that wasn't a complete sentence, but who needs more when there are so many excellent ones in this book?

For those acquainted with Marquez, and Borges and de Bernieres' magical realism, the landscape and culture encountered by centuries of explorers described herein will be instantly recognizable. Inspiration awaits in every chapter. Truly, fact is stranger than fiction.

I can't recommend this book enough. To anyone who likes travelogues and adventures, to anyone who likes plants, to any environmentalist, to doctors and budding scientists, or to those looking for a "cure" to anything. The forest has something to offer all of us. The Amazon has definitely jumped up my list of "have to visit" after reading this.

I suppose the one downside to this book is that it may be overwhelming to some, the breadth Davis tries to capture. Like other reviewers have noted, there are several full length books lurking in these pages. More depth in all of the topics would have been excellent, and now I'm afraid that if I pursue any of them further I will be sorely disappointed with the readability. But I guess you can't blame Davis for people not writing more non-fiction Amazon adventure tales.

Davis dishes up myths and adventures and history at an alarming rate in perhaps the first non-fiction "page turner" I've ever read. I never knew so many exciting things could happen in so few pages. Except, unlike a fictional page turner, which yields some sort of conclusion and thus satisfaction for tearing through it, this book gently reminds you how little you know and therefore makes you savor it that much slower so that you won't be left with the task of finding some equally entertaining source of information on South American mysteries. I am told "Wizard of the Upper Amazon" is excellent, but I am dubious I'll ever find anything quite as juicy as this.

From an introduction to the genius of Inca civilization, to the history of the rubber tree (the most important modern plant we don't hear about), to the miracle of coca and the ritual consumption of countless hallucinogens, to the birth of the American drug culture, to the simple and mysterious magic of the undisturbed natural phenomenon that is the unforgiving Amazon forest and rivers. Yes, that wasn't a complete sentence, but who needs more when there are so many excellent ones in this book?

For those acquainted with Marquez, and Borges and de Bernieres' magical realism, the landscape and culture encountered by centuries of explorers described herein will be instantly recognizable. Inspiration awaits in every chapter. Truly, fact is stranger than fiction.

I can't recommend this book enough. To anyone who likes travelogues and adventures, to anyone who likes plants, to any environmentalist, to doctors and budding scientists, or to those looking for a "cure" to anything. The forest has something to offer all of us. The Amazon has definitely jumped up my list of "have to visit" after reading this.

I suppose the one downside to this book is that it may be overwhelming to some, the breadth Davis tries to capture. Like other reviewers have noted, there are several full length books lurking in these pages. More depth in all of the topics would have been excellent, and now I'm afraid that if I pursue any of them further I will be sorely disappointed with the readability. But I guess you can't blame Davis for people not writing more non-fiction Amazon adventure tales.

A really lovely reflection on what indigenous cultures have to offer Western civilization.

Few would argue that the Dictionary isn't a good book, informative, everything you need to know. The same is true for the Encyclopedia - it contains everything you ever wanted to know about any subject. But while they're very informative, and excellent resources, that doesn't make them a great read. And that's my feeling about "Into the Silence". As the subtitle shows, it's about The Great War, it's about Mallory, and it's about the Conquest of Everest. Well, that's a lot to cover, and I would have preferred if Davis had selected one topic, and had written about that. This is clearly a well researched book, and I'm sure it meets all the requirements to be considered a wonderful book, but it just got too long, and often too bogged down in minutia to be enjoyed by me. The professional book critics and reviews seemed to love it, but I'd like to believe a well written story can still be told in something less than 700 pages. Davis explores the British team first conquering Mt. Everest, going back to the individuals experiences in WW I. He also provides extensive descriptions of life in Tibet. Davis appears to have had access to the diaries of several of the explorers, which provides interesting source material, but I prefer a book which can weed out the unnecessary elements from those diaries and weave a story from the most interesting portions. Personally, I found Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster" a much more interesting and much more readable book on a similar subject.

Nice but not great. I found the author's writing dull, possibly because he failed to bring excitement and wonder to such fascinating subject matter. Also, his excessive hyperventilation when writing about running the river was just too much for me.

Don't you hate it when reviews start with "I really wanted to like this book..."? Well, I really wanted to like this book. I think if he had stuck to any ONE of the five or six things he tried to do with the book, it would have had a shot at brilliance. You want to write a polemic on western development focusing on water rights? OK. Hit me with your best arguments, fairly engage the other side(s), and marshal your arguments in something resembling a logical order when you come out swinging. You want to write a history? Great. Show me the story, again in some semblance of order (it does not have to be chronological, but it has to allow me to follow the thread). You want to tell me about your awesome rafting trip through the Grand Canyon while musing on the flora and fauna and the land itself? Do that! I will so read that book! You want to write a hagiography of various Native American tribes and conservationists? Um, not really with you there, but let's see what you can do. But when you cram all of these things together in one 176 page book, it's just not going to work, especially when you keep veering wildly from one to the other and back again. The writing is very enjoyable, but stay on topic, for crying out loud. (He excerpts his journal from his trip down the river one time, and based on that sample I will say that if the man ever publishes his travel journals, THAT will be a fantastic read, because he has led a remarkable life and is in fact a very fine writer.) There are other issues (his almost entirely uncritical embrace of Native American philosophy alongside his demonizing of the Mormons with only the briefest explanation, his immediate demonizing of the building of the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams and the formation of Lake Powell without really presenting the background first, what sounds like an attack on the development at all of the western United States for present habitation UNTIL the last chapter when he finally addresses some argument as to what could be done in the present day, and the total ignoring of any mention of the history of the river above the Grand Canyon), but all of these could have been dealt with if he had just stopped jumping around so much.

I forgot how much I loved this book. It's been at least a decade since the last read. Full of scientific facts, deep history, and beautiful mystical passages. Gives you a world view and draws you into Haiti's soul. I will definitely start looking for more of Mr. Davis's books.

Great read! Delves more into the culture and history of Haiti.

“...caught on the barbed wire, drowned in mud, choked by the oily slime of gas, reduced to a spray of red mist quartered limbs hanging from shattered branches of burnt trees, bodies swollen and blackened with flies, skulls gnawed by rats, corpses stuck in the sides of trenches that aged with each day into the colours of the dead”............”This was not war he wrote; it was the monstrous inversion of civilization. To call it war was to imply that something of the sun remained, when in fact all that existed was a bruised sky in a bitter night of cobalt rain”......”Not a village had been taken, nor a single major objective achieved. Machine guns cut the men down like scythes slicing through grass”....

And so starts this epic novel of human endurance and human spirit told against the backdrop of the senseless slaughter of WW1 and the cold unforgiving heights of a treacherous Mt Everest. Before George Mallory embarked on his third, and what was to tragically prove his final attempt at ascending this great mountain, he was asked what was the purpose of conquering such a merciless foe he simply replied….because it is there. Yet such a simple response hides the enormity of the task that faced Mallory and Irvine as they set about vanquishing all their fears and summit this frozen mountainous landscape, many years removed from the mud and blood of never to be forgotten names...Ypres, Verdun, Somme (the Somme in particular accounting for more than a million men from all sides killed wounded or captured, British casualties on the first day alone amounting to over 57,000) It is perhaps of little wonder that the men who had survived the battle fields embraced with such passion a need to climb, a need to cleanse their souls, find some meaning in wasted lives, sacrifice, and perhaps by reaching out they might touch the hand of God…

Into the silence is a large novel that requires some perseverance and dedicated reading time to fully appreciate what is being described to the reader. I felt that the earlier part of the book with its gory WW1 imagery was some of the most disturbing I have ever encountered. The preparation for and the 3 ascensions of Everest were a little too detailed giving at times overlong historical and geographical descriptions as various permissions were sought and the lower reaches of Everest constantly surveyed in an attempt to select the best and most practical route for a successful ascent. This however is a minor criticism and for the most part I was enthralled by this boy's own adventure unfolding before me, where amongst other noteworthy facts oxygen was used for the first time. If we also appreciate how simplistic the standard of equipment was compared to the present then the achievements of these earlier innovators is outstanding. Many years were to pass before the ultimate fate of Mallory and Irvine was known, it had always been hoped that they had reached the summit and that speculation still remains today even though Mallory’s body was discovered in 1999 it gives little clue as to his final moments…

An important read not only for its historical significance but a wonderful study of the essence of man and his ability to rise above all adversity in the search of a dream…..”from that day it was certain that he had found in snow mountains the perfect medium for the expression of his physical and spiritual being”......”His great desire she wrote very simply was for the spirit of man to exercise itself freely and fearlessly and joyously as a climber on a hill”.......
Highly Recommended

role of zombification and secret societies in social and religious life of Haiti

Very convincing argument for elevating the pre-modern cultures. The first half or so dealing Polynesians gives light to what remarkable skills they developed, and how Orientalist treated what they couldn't understand.

It doesn't shy away from what we may find troubling in some practices in ancient traditions, and why we may want to not always jump to "fixing" it.

A bit meandering, but full of interesting stories about people and cultures from out-of-the-way places.

A fascinating account of Mr. Davis' research on a supposed biological compound used to put the human body in a state of stasis indistinguishable from death that turns into an ethnography of the Haitian people, with special emphasis on their Vodun traditions. The author presents a captivating and intimate look at the history and religious traditions of Haiti by getting to know, and subsequently proving himself, to a few practicing sorcerers in order to gain the amazingly vivid look at Vodun religion found in this book. This is simply a book that I don't think I'll ever forget.

It starts very slow, so much so that I gave up reading. There's far too much about World War I, but very little new information. But once it gets to Mallory's Everest expeditions, it becomes a page turner. There's probably still too much detail. But I had fun reading about their planning, tenacity, about the mistakes they made and how they tried to adjust to them. I also learned a little about the modern history of Tibet.

> With such a ratio of suffering, it is not surprising that the British generals had come by 1914 to view war as something glorious. Their military strategy, successful in countless colonial encounters, was distilled in two short lines of Victorian verse, poet Hilaire Belloc’s famous ditty: "Whatever happens, we have got / The Maxim gun and they have not." By the time Younghusband saw the glittering roof of the Potala Palace and passed with his soldiers through the West Gate of the holy city, more than twenty-six hundred Tibetans had been killed, against British losses in all ranks of just forty dead. … The Younghusband invasion had crushed the Tibetan army and left the nation defenseless even as it provoked the wrath of the Chinese and challenged them to exert their influence in a distant land they had long been content to ignore. The subsequent diplomatic betrayal of Tibet not only opened the door to Chinese aggression, it virtually obliged Peking to act.

> "My generation grew up with a disgust for the appearances of civilization so intense that it was an ever present spiritual discomfort, a sort of malaise that made us positively unhappy. It wasn't that we simply criticized evils as we saw them and supported movements of reform; we felt such an overwhelming sense of incalculable evil that we were helplessly unhappy." Mallory

This is a monumental piece of research. The pace is slowed by the sheer volume of research which is why its appeal may be limited and why I give it four rather than five stars. However if you have the patience its a gem.

A magnificent, exhaustive and well-researched chronicle of the three British Everest expeditions of the 1920s. Davis sets the era and tone of post-war sensibilities by devoting a sizeable portion - about the first third of the book - to the Great War and how the climbers came through it. Mallory and the other personages don't even enter the picture until after that, and actual climbing is still a long way off. The person I most admired was Australian George Finch who, against great opposition for his science as well as his colonial origins, introduced the use of oxygen in the second and third climbs. Tibet is not regarded kindly by the climbers, but then snobbery, racism, and the class system was rife, even among the members of the buttoned-down Royal Geographical Society and Alpine Club.

The 1924 attempt ended disastrously when George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on the final climb to, or from, the summit. Mallory's badly injured body was found in 1999 still roped to Irvine until the fall broke the rope. After all their effort, I like to think they made it to the summit but that will never be known.

This is an excellent book if the reader is prepared for an major undertaking and wants all the nitty gritty details of each climb, climber, the politics of the times and of the associations involved. (For example, now I know the difference between Mummery and Whymper tents.) If you just want to read about the life of Mallory and his experience on Everest, then Jeffrey Archer's Paths of Glory, a fictional work that is nevertheless accurate, would be a better choice.½

Very interesting background information on the "original" climbers of Mt. Everest. Was at times a bit confusing with all the names, especially of the locations in Tibet and India, but still very good.

One other thing..... this book is LONG!