Press

What the critics say

I was captivated. Wade Davis has penned an exceptional book on an extraordinary generation. From the pathos of the trenches to the inevitable tragedies high on Everest this is a book deserving of awards
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Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope
- Sunday Times

Brilliantly engrossing...a superb book... At once a group biography of remarkable characters snatched from oblivion, an instant classic of mountaineering literature, a study in imperial decline and an epic of exploration
- Guardian

Magnificent...impressive...a vivid account
- Observer, Book of the Week

A magnificent, rigorously researched account of the expeditions that set out to regain glory for an empire in decline but, instead, created some of the most enduring legends of the twentieth century
- Financial Times

Into the Silence succeeds not only because Davis's research has been prodigious, but because every sentence has been struck with conviction, every image evoked with fierce reverence – for the heartbreaking twilight era, for the magnificent resilience of its survivors, for their mission, for Mallory, for his mountain. An epic worthy of its epic
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Into the Silence is a breathtaking triumph. An astonishing piece of research, it is also intensely moving, evoking the courage, chivalry, and sacrifice that drove Mallory and his companions through the war and to ever greater heights
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Combining the pace of a thriller with a degree of detail as nuanced as any academic study, this is an atmospheric and exhilarating book
- Time Out

The product of a decade's research, Into the Silence has two supreme strengths, the first of which is the emotional, spiritual and historical context it provides, against which to understand the central events. The other is the author's effortless knack for sketching character
- Spectator

The ambivalent emotional charge of their passing, coming as it did at such a turning point in the history of the British empire, fully justifies the efforts the author has made to encapsulate it. And encapsulate it he has, precisely, grippingly and with comprehensive wisdom
- Spectator

Powerful and profound, a moving, epic masterpiece of literature, history and hope
- The Times

The meticulously researched and definitive account of a legend... Fascinating and immensely enjoyable
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So did they reach the summit? It's anybody's guess. But all Wade Davis' experts in this fascinating book, shake their heads
- Daily Mail

Utterly fascinating, and grippingly well-written. With extraordinary skill Wade Davis manages to weave together such disparate strands as Queen Victoria's Indian Raj, the 'Great Game' of intrigue against Russia, the horrors of the Somme, and Britain's obsession to conquer the world's highest peak
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Davis’ descriptions of the trenches – the bodies, the smell, the madness – are some of the best I’ve ever read
- Scotsman

Davis’ descriptions of the trenches – the bodies, the smell, the madness – are some of the best I’ve ever read
- The Scotsman

Sheds new light on history that we thought we knew... meticulously detailed and very readable
- New Statesman

The miracle is that there isn’t a dull page. As it moves towards its deadly climax, the story hangs together as tightly as a thriller. Into the Silence is as monumental as the mountain that soars above it; small wonder that it won the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction … Once you start wandering the snowy passes with Mallory and the lads, you won’t want to come down again. There can be no better way, surely, to spend a week in winter
- Irish Times

He sees the climbers as haunted dreamers, harrowed by their desperate experiences in the First World War, living amid romantic dreams of Imperial grandeur and the elemental, sublime grandeur of the mountain
- Lady

This is the awesomely researched story of Mallory, Irvine and the early Everest expeditions. It puts their efforts and motivations into the context of Empire and the first world war in a way I don’t think previous books have ever managed
- Norfolk Magazine

A vivid depiction of a monumental story…Wade Davis’ passion for the book shines through and I can only hope that his next book doesn’t take as long to write as I will certainly be reading it
- Living North

This is certainly the most important book published on the early Everest expeditions... It is, quite simply, a tour de force
- BBC History