An explorer of our time, Sir Edmund Hillary has fired man's imagination and passion for high adventure. His amazing conquest of Mt. Everest, his strange search for the Abominable Snowman, and his perilous exploration of Antarctica provide richly rewarding and intensely exciting reading.

As a schoolboy in New Zealand, Ed Hillary became fascinated by mountainous reaches of ice and snow. In years of rugged training, he learned to defy hazardous terrain, 100º heat, and cruel blizzards to blaze new trails to the world's highest peaks.

Only might Mt. Everest, towering five and one half miles high, remained defiant and unscaled. Rare courage, physical stamina, and determination qualified Hillary for the attempt to climb where no man had been before and where few would follow.

Faith Knoop dramatically recreates Hillary's victory and tells of his knighthood, his dedication to further expeditions, and his care for the mountain people and children of the Himalayas.

From the dust jacket