Tenzing Norgay (1914–1986)

As he says in this book, Tenzing Norgay climbed Mt. Everest and experienced a whole new world when he came down. Part of the two-man team who were the first to step foot on the world's highest peak, Norgay went from eking out a poverty-level living to becoming in demand public speaker and guest, as well as a focus of a tussle between Nepal and India over the Sherpa's nationality.

Tiger of the Snows isn't a particularly easy read-- co-author James Ramsey Ullman does his best to turn Norgay's oral history into a written one, but the style of the book gets in the way. It also takes a long time to get to what everyone is interested in -- the climb of Everest. The book doesn't disappoint at the point -- Norgay's recollections of the expedition are interesting and occasionally divergent from the "official" accounts.

The latter chapters were the most interesting to me, as they delve into the rapid transformation of Norgay's circumstances following the biggest climb of his life. It is nice to hear a Sherpa's perspective for a change.… (mehr)