Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if
they were to achieve them, their place in history would be
guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh,
Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and
Clark are among such individuals.
But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d
fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his
ambition?
Jeffrey Archer’s latest book, Paths of Glory, is the story
of such a man---George Mallory. Mallory once told an
American reporter that he wanted to climb Mt.
Everest, “because it’s there.” On his third attempt in
1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen six hundred
feet from the top. His body was found in 1999, and it still
remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit.
But only after you’ve turned the last page of this
extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be
able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to
the list of legends, in which case another name would have
to be removed. Paths of Glory is truly a triumph.