The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar

The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar

An outstanding book. --The Wall Street Journal * Gripping at every turn. --Outside * A gem of a book. --The Guardian * A hell of a ride. --The Times (London)

An extraordinary true story about one man's attempt to salve the wounds of war and save his own soul through an audacious adventure.

In the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Mount Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceives his own crazy, beautiful plan: he will fly a plane from England to Everest, crash-land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit--all utterly alone. Wilson doesn't know how to climb. He barely knows how to fly. But he has the right plane, the right equipment, and a deep yearning to achieve his goal. In 1933, he takes off from London in a Gipsy Moth biplane with his course set for the highest mountain on earth. Wilson's eleven-month journey to Everest is wild: full of twists, turns, and daring. Eventually, in disguise, he sneaks into Tibet. His icy ordeal is just beginning.

Wilson is one of the Great War's heroes, but also one of its victims. His hometown of Bradford in northern England is ripped apart by the fighting. So is his family. He barely survives the war himself. Wilson returns from the conflict unable to cope with the sadness that engulfs him. He begins a years-long trek around the world, burning through marriages and relationships, leaving damaged lives in his wake. When he finally returns to England, nearly a decade after he first left, he finds himself falling in love once more--this time with his best friend's wife--before depression overcomes him again. He emerges from his funk with a crystalline ambition. He wants to be the first man to stand on top of the world. Wilson believes that Everest can redeem him.

This is the tale of an adventurer unlike any you have ever encountered: complex, driven, wry, haunted, and fully alive. He is a man written out of the history books--dismissed as an eccentric, and gossiped about because of rumors of his transvestism. The Moth and the Mountain restores Maurice Wilson to his rightful place in the annals of Everest and tells an unforgettable story about the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

Ed Caesar is a contributing writer for The New Yorker and an author. Caesar authored pieces for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Outside, The Smithsonian Magazine, Esquire, The Sunday Times (London), British GQ, and The Independent before joining The New Yorker. He has reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, Russia, and Iran, among other places. He has received numerous honors for his work, including the Foreign Press Association of London's 2014 Journalist of the Year. Two Hours: The Mission to Run the Impossible Marathon, his debut book, won the Cross Sports Book of the Year award.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781501143373
ISBN 10	1501143379
Title	The Moth and the Mountain
Author	Ed Caesar
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Year published	2020-11-17
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.