The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest

Coburn’s chronicle of the first American expedition to Everest in 1963 combines riveting adventure, a perceptive analysis of its dark and terrifying historical context, and revelations about a secret mission that followed. In the midst of the Cold War, against the backdrop of the Bay of Pigs, the space race with the Soviet Union, and the Vietnam War, a band of iconoclastic, independent-minded American mountaineers set off for Everest, aiming to restore America's confidence and optimism. While the British and Swiss had summitted a decade earlier, the Soviets and Chinese had not, making the peak another battleground for dominance between East and West. The audacious plan included reaching the summit via two routes, one up the never-before-scaled West Ridge.
This is a harrowing, character-driven account of this momentous climb and its legendary team of inspiring, troubled, and tragic climbers who suffered injuries, a near mutiny, and a death on the mountain. It is also an investigation of the expedition’s little-known outcome: the planting of a CIA surveillance device on Nanda Devi to spy into China.