I had recently read "Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest", and thought it too long and too detailed. And I had thought, at that time, that it was too bad that Mr. Davis didn't shorten the book and concentrate just on one aspect of Mallory's climb. Well, as they say, be careful of what you wish for, and this book reminds me why that phrase is often used. "Climbing Everest - The Writings of George Mallory" seemed, on the surface, to be exactly what I asked for after reading the longer book, "Into the Silence", about Mallory's climb. But in comparison, I regret not rating "Into the Silence" much higher. "Climbing Everest" lacks all the background and insights into the personality of Mallory and the background of the climb, the other climbers, and the history that Davis provides in his book. And comparing the two, "Into the Silence" was a much better story. "Climbing Everest", as expected, is basically simply the writings of Mallory while attempting to climb Everest. It contains detailed descriptions of what he saw, but there's an expectation that the reader has familiarity or other background being provided somewhere else. On it's own, it really doesn't provide the the story behind the story, or sufficient background, to truly appreciate the hardship and massive undertaking of the climb. As I had previously noted, personally, I found Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" a much more interesting and much more readable book about climbing Mt. Everest. ( )