1. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster (The Illustrated Edition)

by Jon Krakauer. The book that started my fascination with Everest. My second favourite mountaineering book of all time, after Annapurna by Maurice Herzog. A chilling, harrowing and controversial story about the 1996 Everest season when 12 climbers were killed. The Illustrated Edition contains more photos to bring the story to life.

"Hey, look, don't worry too much about me" - Stuck on the South Summit, Rob Hall's last words via satellite radio-phone to his pregnant wife in New Zealand.

For a rebuttal from Anatoli Boukreev on what Jon wrote about him, you've got to read The Climb.

2. Everest: Kangshung Face (also called Everest: Alone at the Summit)

by Stephen Venables. This book starts off almost as a guide book for the trek to the little known and little climbed Everest East, or Kangshung face. The trek is spectacular, with the culmination being the best mountain view in the world in my opinion: Chomolonzo, Makalu, Kangchungtse, Petangtse, Shartse, Lhotse Shar, Lhotse, the South Col, and the dramatic snow covered Everest east face.

The 1988 climb itself is dramatic and dangerous, illustrated with spectacular photos, like the one on the cover showing a Tyrolean traverse across an enormous crevasse. This was only the second summit from the East side. Venables descent from the summit in a blizzard is as chilling and frightening as Maurice Herzog's Annapurna, with Stephen having to bivouac just below the summit. At one point in his descent, he sits in the snow and considers just staying there and dying. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Stephen Venables on my trek to Kangshung face in 1998.

3A. Ghosts of Everest: The Search for Mallory and Irvine

by Jochen Hemmleb, Larry A. Johnson, Eric R. Simonson, William E. Nothdurft. The 1999 Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition discovered the body of George Mallory high on Mount Everest. And what a sight it was - his alabaster body perfectly preserved with his beard stubble still visible.

The book contains the known history of June 6, 1924 along with Jochem's atempt to piece together what might have happened. The photographs of Mallory and his personal effects, including his boot, watch, letters and pocket knife, are fascinating. The following websites contains lots of information and photos: affimer.org, and Nova.

3B. An Afterclap of Fate: Mallory on Everest

by Charles Lind. The perfect companion book to Ghosts of Everest (or is it the other way round?). In this winner of the 2006 Boardman Tasker Prize, Lind reconstructs Mallory's fateful 1924 climb, beautifully written in almost a poetic style. He tells the story from the perspective of what he thinks Mallory may have been thinking, basing it on Mallory’s letters, what is known of his life and climbing ability, and the findings of the 1999 expedition that found his body. He also provides lots of background on the times that Mallory lived in to help explain what he is thinking. Here are a few of my favourite excerpts:

We come to the mountains to live life more intensely … to be in the full current of the concentration of our vital senses … not to die but to experience the marrow of our being.

Let’s start to look for cracks in the rock, the natural fault lines in its defences. ‘It’s only difficult if it’s not impossible’.

If I should die … think only … some snowy terrace of a foreign mountain … forever England ... I must get back … back to England

To speak the name of the dead is to make them live again …

4A. The Crystal Horizon: Everest - The First Solo Ascent

by Reinhold Messner. Published in German in 1982 and in English in 1989. Just two years after breaking the oxygen barrier by climbing Everest from Nepal without the aid of oxygen in 1978, Messner ups the ante by climbing alone, without oxygen, and alpine style up the North Face of Everest in the summer months of 1980. He carried only a tent, camera, two ski sticks and an ice axe, and food. His base camp is just him and a female friend. There are 40 pages of colour photos, 43 pages of b/w photos, and over 175 b/w photos in-line with text.

Messner fell into a crevasse before even starting the climb to the North Col. "I am falling into the depths and experience the fall in slow-motion, strike the walls of the widening crevasse once with my chest, once with my rucksack." Luckily he landed on a snow bridge and was able to climb out and continue the climb. He veered off the normal North Face route above the North Col and climbed the Norton Couloir. "I know of no mountain, no other region from which there is such an infinite view as from Mount Everest across the Tibetan plateau."

"During the ascent I am like a walking corpse. What holds me upright is the world around me: air, sky, earth, the clouds. ... No despair, no happiness, no anxiety. I have not lost the mastery of my feelings., there are actually no more feelings. ... Above me nothing but sky. I sense it." Reinhold Messner completed the first solo climb of Mount Everest when he reached the summit on August 20, 1980 at 3pm.

Messner's writing is interesting and poetic, letting us know his feelings and inner-most thoughts. The photos are very good and help illustrate the story, including photos from the 1920s and early Everest attempts, of Messner's trip from Lhasa to Base Camp, the climb and on the summit in a whiteout.

4B. To The Top Of The World

by Reinhold Messner. First published in English in 1992. The book briefly describes Messner's ascents of Manaslu in 1972, Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) in 1975, Everest without oxygen in 1978 and solo in 1980, Nanga Parbat solo in 1978, K2 in 1979, and the traverse of Gasherbrum II and I in 1984. The cover is the summit of K2. There are 56 pages of colour photos, 20 pages of b/w photos, 26 b/w photos in-line with text, and six colour paintings by French artist Jean-George Inca highlighting the stories in the book.

The chapter on Everest without oxygen in 1978 has 8 pages of colour photos, a 2-page colour painting by Inca, and is 15 pages long with a 1-page b/w photo, 3 b/w photos in line with text, and a 1-page drawing of his 1978 climbing route. The story begins with Messner climbing the Lhotse Face, and tape recording a conversation with Peter Habeler on the South Col. Even though the weather was bad and the snow deep, they made it to the South Summit in good time. "Breathing was so strenuous that strength scarcely remained for us to continue." Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler completed the first ascent of Mount Everest without oxygen when they reached the summit on May 8, 1978.

"I was no longer my normal perceptive self, rather a single, tight, coughing lung, floating above mists and summits. ... The instant Peter reached me and hugged me, we both burst into tears and lay there in the snow, wracked with emotion. ... Everything that is, that I am, was based on my knowledge that I had reached the top. The summit - at least temporarily - was my naive, intuitive answer to the question of existence."

The chapter on Everest solo in 1980 has 8 pages of colour photos, a 1-page colour painting by Inca, and is 43 pages long with 8 pages of b/w photos, 4 b/w photos in line with text, and a 2-page drawing of the different Everest ascent routes. "In the blue of the night Mount Everest stood over me like a magic mountain. No brooding, no asking why; I prepared myself with every fibre of my being for my big effort." Messner carried only a tent, camera, two ski sticks and an ice axe, and food on his Everest solo climb. Messner fell into a crevasse before even starting the climb to the North Col. Luckily he landed on a snow bridge and was able to climb out and continue the climb. He veered off the normal North Face route above the North Col and climbed the Norton Couloir. "Day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute, step by step, I was forcing myself to do something against which my body rebelled. ... I no longer felt real. I was a creature shifting in space and time. Nevertheless, I kept moving."

Reinhold Messner completed the first solo climb of Mount Everest when he reached the summit on August 20, 1980. "It was after three o'clock. Like a zombie obeying an inner command, I took some photographs. ... I squatted down, feeling as heavy as a stone. I just wanted to rest a while and forget everything."

If you want a Best Of Messner book, this is a great choice. The stories are short and action packed. The photos are very good. Messner's writing is interesting and poetic, letting us know his feelings and inner-most thoughts.

5. Everest: The History of the Himalayan Giant

by Roberto Mantovani, introduction by Kurt Diemberger. Originally published in 1997, this book was republished in 2007, with 36 pages added with updates for the climbs from 1995 to 2006, including even more spectacular photos.

This is an excellent coffee-table type book with spectacular photos and some good information. The book contains a detailed history of the discovery of the mountain by Sir George Everest, the attempts to climb Everest over the years from Mallory to Hillary, and the significant climbs since then.

6. Everest: The Hard Way - The First Ascent Of The South West Face

by Chris Bonington. The over 80 pages of colour photos, including spectacular ones as Doug Scott and Dougal Haston climb the Hillary Step, climb towards the summit and stand on the summit as the sun goes down, are enough to buy this book. Note that the original US edition of this book is slightly smaller than the England version and has less photos.

I found Chris's personal experiences and writing a bit dry at times, a littler too logistical. I liked the sections from the diaries of climbers, which gave glimpses of their thoughts and personalities. The summit day was entirely written by Doug Scott and Dougal Haston. The Appendix sections on the logistics of the expedition fill almost half the book, and are not overly interesting.

This large scale expedition combined the effort of 40 Sherpas, 16 climbers, and Chris Bonington's planning, to get the summit climbers into position. Although he didn't have a chance at the summit, Nick Estcourt was instrumental in solving the problem of the Rock Band and had led the most difficult pitch on the face.

On Sept. 24 Doug Scott and Dougal Haston successfully made it to the summit. Doug: “All the world lay before us. The summit was everything and more that a summit should be. My usually reticent partner became expansive, his face broke out into a broad happy smile and we stood there hugging each other and thumping each other’s backs. … the view was so staggering, the disappearing sun so full of colour that the setting held us in awe." They descended to the South Summit and survived a bivouac in a snowcave.

On Sept. 26 Pete Boardman and Sirdar Pertemba reached the summit and descended in a gathering storm, where they encountered Mick Burke just below the summit. But tragedy struck - Burke wasn't seen again. Martin Boysen: “At first I could hardly accept Mick’s death; I clung to slender hope, but with each passing hour all hope disappeared, torn and blown away by the raging winds and blizzard."

7. The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest

by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt. In this companion book to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Boukreev rebuts Krakauer's accusations that he cared more about his own climbing goals than the safety of his clients.

"I explained I wanted to descend as quickly as possible to camp IV in order to warm myself and gather a supply of hot drink and oxygen in the event I might need to go back up the mountain to assist descending climbers." - Anatoli Boukreev.

When the tragedy started to unfold, Boukreev certainly did single handedly rescue three of the climbers during the raging blizzard and save their lives. Sadly, Anatoli Boukreev died shortly after, when an avalance hit him on December 25, 1997 on the Annapurna South face.

8. Everest: Mountain Without Mercy

by Broughton Coburn, David Breashears (Afterword), Tim Cahill (Introduction). A second companion book to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, this coffee-table-type photographic book details David Breashear's climbing team, led by Ed Viesters, and his filming team in the making of their wildly successful IMAX Everest movie. They put their own summit plans on hold to participate in the rescue of the climbers in the 1996 Everest disaster. The story of survivor Beck Weather is astounding.

The book also provides information about Nepal, Buddhism, Sherpas, and a climbing history of Everest.

9. White Limbo: The First Australian Climb of Mount Everest

by Lincoln Hall, spectacular photos from Colin Monteath. In 1984 five young Austrailians chose a new route up the North Face, climbing through the huge central snowfield, dubbed “White Limbo,” to gain the Great Norton Couloir. They climbed alpine-style without the aid of artificial oxygen. Tim McCartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer became the first Australians to climb Everest when they stood on the summit at sunset on October 3, 1984.

Lincoln turned back at 8300m with cold feet, and on the last page of White Limbo he wrote, "Though I shall never see the summit panorama other than through the eyes and hearts of Tim and Greg, I know that no view is worth that price." Lincoln returned to try Everest again in 2006, and made international news when he was rescued from the Second Step at 8700m on the North face, after being pronounced dead the previous evening.

10. Everest: The West Ridge

by Thomas Hornbein. If you can, get the first edition of this book published in 1965 by the Sierra Club - it's a huge coffee-table sized book with the colour photos printed on special lithograph paper.

The 1963 Mount Everest Expedition had two major successes. First, Jim Whittaker became the first American to summit Everest on May 1, 1963, via the South Col. The second was a major feat of mountaineering, when Thomas Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld summitted Everest on May 23, 1963 by the extremely difficult West Ridge. Before summiting they had to move onto the North face, climbing what is now called the Hornbein Couloir. They then traversed the mountain and descended via the South Col route, having to bivouac near the summit without any food, supplemental oxygen, or shelter.

"What possible difference could climbing Everest make? …Was I greater for having stood on the highest place on earth? …It had been a wonderful dream, but now all that lingered was the memory. The dream was ended… The goal, unattainable, had been attained. Or had it?" - Thomas Hornbein.

1. Climbing the World's 14 Highest Mountains: The History Of The 8000-Meter Peaks

by Richard Sale, John Cleare (Photographer) - Highly recommended! The book details the exploration, first ascent, and other major ascents of all 14 8000m peaks, including spectacular photos.

2. Over the Himalaya

by Koichiro Ohmori - 44 spectacular 2-page aerial photos of the 8000m Nepalese mountains - Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Everest and Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri (cover) - and several others, including Jannu, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam. Route diagrams and some basic history of the first few ascents are also included.

There are seven 2-page photos of the Everest, Lhotse and Makalu region - Everest is in 6 of the photos, Lhotse in 5, Makalu in 5, and Nuptse in 3.

3. 8000 Metri Di Vita, 8000 Metres To Live For

by Simone Moro. Published 2008. In Italian and English. This coffee-table size book features excellent photos from all 14 8000m peaks. Each 8000m peak has a brief history, a photo of each face showing the climbing routes, and lots of excellent photos.

There are 21 pages on Mount Everest. Simone Moro's first Himalayan expedition ended at 7400m on Mount Everest in 1992. His attempt on the Everest North ridge in 1998 ended at 8200m due to bad weather. Simone Moro reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 24, 2000 via the Southeast Ridge. He reached the summit of Mount Everest for a second time on May 24, 2002 via the Northeast Ridge. Moro abandoned the idea of a Lhotse-Everest traverse in 2006, and instead Simone completed a traverse of Everest. He reached the summit of Mount Everest for the third time on May 20, 2006 climbing in only 4:11 from the South Col, arriving at the summit at 3:15 in the dark. He then descended in just five hours to reach Everest North Advanced Base Camp at 8:30 in the morning.

The photos and route diagrams are excellent.

4. Himalayan Climber: A Lifetime's Quest to the World's Greater Ranges

by Doug Scott - briefly details his many climbs over the years, including very good photos.

In 1975 Scott and Dougal Haston successfully climbed the South West face of Everest. He dedicates 15 pages to the climb, including spectacular photos as he and Dougal climb the Hillary Step, climb towards the summit and stand on the summit as the sun goes down. He also includes a 6-page section on his attempt to climb the North-East ridge of Everest in 1987.

5. Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000-Meter Giants

photographs by Ed Viesturs, text with Peter Potterfield. Released in early 2003, this book presents photographs with some basic text descriptions of Viestur's ascents of 11 of the 14 8000ers. After this book was published he reached the summit of Nanga Parbat in June 2003, Broad Peak in July 2003, and on May 12, 2005 he reached the summit of Annapurna, becoming the first American to reach the summit of all 14 8000ers, all without oxygen. The front cover is Manaslu.

Viesturs devotes 59 pages to his attempts on Everest in 1987, 1988 East Kangshung Face, 1993 and 1995, and his successful summits in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, and 1997. Ed was part of the 1996 Everest IMAX movie, and on his own way to the summit he had to pass the bodies of Scott Fischer and Rob Hall who had died days before. "I had never had a friend die, let alone a climbing partner. So seeing my friends' bodies was very difficult."

Ed's photos are excellent.

6. Chris Bonington Mountaineer: Thirty Years of Climbing on the World's Great Peaks

by Chris Bonington. Famed British mountaineer Chris Bonington tells his autobiography mostly in photos in this coffee-table type book. The book features his early climbs in Great Britain; his alpine climbs in the Alps including Mont Blanc, the Eiger and Grandes Jorasses; his expeditions around the world including Paine in Chile, Baffin Island and the Blue Nile; and his expeditions both large and small to the Himalayas and the Karakorum - Annapurna II, Nuptse, Annapurna I South Face, Everest Southwest Face, Everest Northeast Ridge, the Ogre, K2, and Menlungtse.

Bonington devotes 16 pages to the 1972 and 1975 South-West Face expeditions with Doug Scott and Dougal Haston reaching the summit on Sept. 24, 1975, followed two days later by Pete Boardman and Sirdar Pertemba. Sadly, Mick Burke was last seen just below the summit.

Nine pages are dedicated to the 1982 attempt on the North-East Ridge that ended with the tragic deaths of Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman. Four pages are dedicated to his own ascent of Everest in 1985.

Bonington's photos are very good.

7. World Mountaineering: The World's Great Mountains by the World's Great Mountaineers

by Audrey Salkeld - briefly details 52 of the world's finest climbs, including Everest, documented with photos, excellent aerial-type maps, and a basic climbing history.

It includes a spectacular 2-page photo spread of the Hillary Step with the summit beyond, taken by Kurt Diemberger during his ascent as a member of the 1978 French Everest Expedition.

It also has a 2-page article about the successful 1995 North Face climb by George Mallory II, the grandson of George Mallory.

8. Peaks Of Glory

by Stefano Ardito - a large coffee-table style book with excellent photos, briefly listing the most challenging mountains on each continent, including Everest, Annapurna, Nanga Parbat, K2 and the Trango Towers in the Himalaya, and K2, Denali and Aconcagua, and Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

The photos of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse are spectacular. The front cover photo shows the final steps to the summit of Everest with Lhotse behind, while the back cover photo shows a happy summit team.

9. Hall and Ball: Kiwi Mountaineers from Mount Cook to Everest

by Colin Monteath. Details the climbing adventures of fellow-kiwis Gary Ball and Rob Hall, including three chapters, 48 pages, on Everest. The photos are excellent. Other chapters include Mount Cook, Antarctica, Ana Dablam, Pik Kommunizma, Karakorum, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Carstenz Pyramid, and Lhotse - Cho Oyu - Makalu.

Hall and Ball will be remembered for pioneering commercial guided expeditions, leading 19 climbers to the top of Everest from 1992 to 1995. The book has some good stories including the Lydiagate controversy of 1988, rescuing a Polish climber from the top of the Lho La in 1989, and turning Chantel Maudit around at the South Summit in 1995. 

"This is Rob Hall calling from the top of Mount Everest. My very best friends Gary Ball and Peter Hillary are standing beside me. I know there are many New Zealanders listening and to the many people who believed in us and supported us over the years I'd like to say "Thank you very much" - Rob Hall May 10, 1990.

On October 6 1993, six months after his fortieth birthday, Gary Ball died of pulmonary edema at 6500m on the Northeast Ridge of Dhaulagiri, in Rob Hall's arms. Hall finished the obituary with this moving sentiment: "Some people come into your life and leave footprints across your heart-and they never go away."

Rob died in May 1996 on he South Summit of Everest. "I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much." -- Rob Hall's last words to his wife.

10. Los Ochomiles: Karakorum e Himalaya: las catorce cumbres más altas del mundo

by Marco Bianchi. Although the title claims to be the 14 highest summits in the world, this beautiful, large-format photo book really focuses on the seven mountains the author climbed. The text is in Spanish, but the photos transcend language.

After attempts on Makalu in 1986 and Cho Oyu in 1989, Bianchi summitted seven of the 14 8000m peaks: Manaslu Sept. 28 1992 via Northeast Face, Broad Peak July 6 1993 via Normal route, Cho Oyu Sept. 18 1993 via West Ridge, Shishapangma Oct. 6 1993 via Southwest Face, Dhaulagiri Sept. 25 1994 via Northeast Ridge, Everest May 12 1995 via Northeast Ridge, and K2 Aug. 10 1996 via North Ridge. The front cover is Shishapangma.

There are four pages of the Tibet approach from Kathmandu, and 20 pages on Everest from his climb of the North face. The photos are excellent.

You can preview many of the photos at cuboimages.it by searching for Everest.

11. All Fourteen 8,000ers

by Reinhold Messner - details Messner's ascents of all 14 8000m peaks documented with his photos. He also includes route diagrams and some basic history of the first few ascents.

On May 8, 1978 Messner and Peter Habeler climbed Everest from the Nepal side, the first ascent without the aid of artificial oxygen.

On August 20, 1980, Messner made the first solo ascent of Everest, climbing without oxygen, over the North Col and following a partly new route across the North Face.

12. Himalaya Alpine Style: The Most Challenging Routes on the Highest Peaks

by Andy Fanshawe, Stephen Venables - briefly details 40 of the world's finest climbs on mountains in Pakistan, India, Nepal and Tibet.  Each climb is illustrated with many great photos, climbing routes, and summary statistics and information. Each area has an excellent overview map. The front cover is Kangchenjunga.

There are 8 pages on Everest North Face direct.

1. Nepal: Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan, Annapurna, Mustang, Everest (Lonely Planet Pictorial)

by Richard I'Anson. First published 2007. A large coffee-table type book featuring over 400 photos from renowned photographer Richard L’Anson. Chapters include Kathmandu and Kathmandu Valley (112 pages), Chitwan (20 pages), the Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary (54 pages), Upper Mustang (20 pages), and the Mount Everest Khumbu region (51 pages). The front cover is Annapurna South Face.

The Everest chapter includes Phakding, Namche Bazaar, Thami, Khumjung, Phortse, the Gokyo Valley, and the views from Gorak Shep and Kala Pattar. There are photos of the Mani Rimdu festival from both Chiwang and Tengboche. In addition to Everest, there are photos of Cholatse and Tawachee, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumori, Makalu, and Cho Oyu. There are three photos of Lhotse - from Gokyo Ri, on the way to Dingboche, and from Dingboche.

This is my favourite Nepal photo book. It features all of the main tourist areas. The photos are spectacular.

2. Nepal Himalaya

by Shiro Shirahata. A large, heavy quality paper, coffee-table type book featuring 115 spectacular photos, over half double-pages, of the 8000m Nepalese mountains - Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Everest and Lhotse (cover), Cho Oyu, Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri - and many others, including Jannu, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam.

There are 32 pages with 18 photos of the Everest region - the cover is a beautiful 2-page photo of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse at sunset. There's also a similar 2-page daytime photo, and one of the Kangshung Face. There are also excellent photos of Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam.

3. Ballooning Over Everest

by Leo Dickinson. Also available as a video from adventure-eye.com, this book tells the story of the author's quest to be the first person to fly a balloon over Mount Everest. The book starts with getting the expedition financed and then trekking to Gokyo. They wait over three weeks for the right winds, and then the two balloons took off from Gokyo on October 21, 1991.

"The pyramid increased dramatically in size as we flew directly towards the summit; it was enormous. ... As we flashed over the summit at 60 miles an hour, I looked back to the Hillary Step, on to the summit itself, and it became a totally different mountain. All was white and crystalline. ... The dramatic sweep of the Kangshung Face of Everest with its ice flutings and huge seracs."

Leo Dickinson was in the first balloon, and everything went well until the end, when they crash landed in Tibet, spinning violently. The second balloon got in terrible early when their burners failed several times as they flew towards the Western Cwm. They managed to relight them each time and landed safely in Tibet.

The photos of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu and Makalu are sensational, taken from an overhead angle I have not seen before. There are 25 photos containing Everest.

4. Solu-Khumbu: The Trek to Everest: A Photographic Journal by Tim Hauf

by Tim Hauf. Tim documents his 1999 trek day-by-day from Jiri to Everest, highlighted with his diary and his excellent photos. You could use this kind of book to visualize what you will experience on the trek. Although most trekkers, including me, fly to Lukla, this book might cause you to consider the longer trek in from Jiri. There are several excellent photos of the Lhotse South Wall.

5. Climb Every Mountain

by Colin Monteath. Details 12 of Colin's treks over the years - Greenland, climbing Chongtar near K2 North Face, New Zealand Alps, Everest Kangshung East Face, Mount Kailash and Gurla Mandhata, northern Bhutan. Mongolia's Altai mountains, South Georgia on Shackleton's route, Tibet's Kangri Garpo mountain, ski traverse of Mount McKinley, Nepalese side of Kangchenjunga, and Tiera del Fuego and Patagonia.

There is a 20-page chapter on the trek from Kharta up the Karma Valley to the Kangshung East Face of Everest. There are also great photos of Makalu and Chomolonzo from the trek.

Colin's photos are excellent, especially a 2-page photo spread of Makalu, Chomolonzo, Lhotse and Everest.

6A. Nepal: The Mountains Of Heaven

by David Paterson. First published 1990. This large coffee-table photo book features Kathmandu and the author’s treks from Lamosangu to Lobuche Base Camp and Everest in 1979, the Annapurna Sanctuary in 1979, Rolwaling and the Tesi Lapcha pass to Gokyo in 1981, the Annapurna Circuit in 1984, Ganesh Himal in 1987, the Arun Valley from Hille to Makalu in 1988. The front cover is Ama Dablam.

The photos are very good, especially Ama Dablam, Taweche, Gokyo, Lhotse South Face, and Everest. There are also photos of the Manu Rimdu festival at Tengboche.

6B. Heart Of The Himalaya

by David Paterson. First published 1997. Medium-sized soft cover book features the author’s treks to Kangchenjunga and Jannu in 1992, Kali Gandaki Valley and the Thulobugin Ridge between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna in 1996. This book also features the treks from Nepal: The Mountains Of Heaven, with some new photos and some photos the same. The front cover is the Muktinath Himal.

You can see some of David Paterson's photos at his website wildcountry.uk.com or at photoshelter.com.

The photos are very good, especially Ama Dablam, Nuptse, and Everest.

7. Himalayan Trails (Sentiers de l'Himalaya)

by Laurent Doldi. Published 2006. In French and English. A large soft-cover photo book detailing 10 Himalayan treks: K2 Base Camp (12 pages. 23 photos), Ladakh to Zanskar (16 pages, 38 photos), Jeep tour in Kinnaur Spiti and Ladakh (12 pages, 32 photos), the Sources of the Ganges in India (14 pages, 30 photos), Dolpo (18 pages, 36 photos), Around Annapurna (22 pages, 45 photos), Helambu and the sacred lakes of Gosainkund (16 pages, 29 photos), Rolwaling Valley in winter (18 pages, 37 photos), Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes (20 pages, 41 photos), and Kangchenjunga Base Camps in Nepal (21 pages, 44 photos). Each chapter starts with a very brief overview including a map and altitude profile. The front cover is K2. There are 360 colour photos.

This is very good companion book to a trekking guide, enabling you to visualize what you will experience on a trek. The photos are very good.