Chomolungma

you have a desire to scale the Mt. Everest? 'Paths of Glory' by Jeffery Archer takes you there through the eyes of George Mallory, a man who s aim in life was to be the first to stand on top of the tallest mountain on Earth. Set in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Paths of Glory, a true story, traces the life of George Mallory from his birth to death.

It opens with a team on the Mt. Everest finding a dead body. They confirm that it is Mallory and scan through his belongings only to find the picture of his wife, which he carries always, to be missing. So you know Mallory is dead on the Everest. But is he really dead? Could the body be that of someone else? And what was the significance of the missing photo of his wife keeps haunting you till you turn to the last few pages of the book.

having revolutionary thoughts but leading a 'normal' life, Mallory finds his true passion to be mountaineering, at a very young age. he did everything to be climbing heights including climbing the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the night and getting caught by the police for the same.

How he came to lead teams into mountains, how he gave up his dream on the verge of realising the same by a matter of 1000ft. for the sake of a dying team member, how he jumped over the walls of Cambridge University to get into the college (pun intended), how he was ready to give up his dreams for the love of his life, all this make Mallory a man to be read about whether or not he scaled the Everest.

He loved 2 women one reciprocated his love and the other killed him. the first mentioned was his wife.

When he says "i am unsure if the gods are angry we got this far and hence brought the avalanche or if they were upset that we didnt finish our climb and hence brought it." you feel the life in nature and also tend to wonder if the great Chomolungma is a living being unleashing her fury on her lovers.

Paths of Glory is for
1. those who love travelling
2. Mountain lovers
3. those who do things 'just for kicks' and
4. those who have a passion for reading