'Far more inspirational than many other climbing books. If you want something enough, you should try for it. You may not succeed, but you'll be changed by the experience. Read this book it's beyond amazing'. - Amazon.com In 2014 Mount Everest was closed to all climbers after a devastating avalanche claimed the lives of sixteen Nepali mountain workers ferrying loads up through the Khumbu Icefall on the mountains southern approach through Nepal. Almost a year to the day later in late April 2015, the mountain was once more rocked to its core after a large earthquake struck Nepal sending shockwaves rippling across the Himalayas. These ripples left a trail of devastation in their path causing yet again another avalanche to wreak havoc on the mountain. This time, nineteen people lost their lives, on what would become the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Back in 2013, Ellis J Stewart a then 40-year-old from the UK had but one goal, to climb the mountain. Something he had targeted achieving for over 20 years. This book is the author’s story of those endeavours during the two most devastating years in the history of attempts on Everest. Not every climber who goes to Everest succeeds, not every climber returns to tell the tale, but to return unscathed after such a large loss of life is a story to be told. This is that story. Everest: It’s not about the summit is a very honest account of a lifelong dream shattered in tragic circumstances. From the streets of northern England through to the valleys and high mountains of Nepal, Stewart shared his story with thousands of followers on social media, winning over the hearts and minds of many. A groundswell of support sent Stewart to achieve his dream, not once but twice. Nobody could have anticipated the events that would follow. Events that would define Stewart in ways he couldn't possibly have imagined. This book invites you into an intoxicating world, one where the margin between success and failure is brutally slim. This is a moving book with tragedy and commitment to a cause as a very central theme. It is a real story about real people. Whether it’s your usual genre of book or not doesn't matter as it's basically a fantastic story. You don’t need to be a climber to enjoy this book at all. It has universal appeal and is a true inspirational cliffhanger for all. This book should be on the bookshelf of all active and armchair mountaineers alike. This book is epic. It is up there and stands side to side with other mountaineering adventures like Into Thin Air, The Climb and Touching the Void. What this book does best though is convey the dreams and raw emotions of a man whose aspiration has always been to climb Everest. But it is also about adaptation to what life throws at you. If you are feeling down or dejected in anyway and want to be lifted. Read this book. I have just finished reading this book and I was blown away by Ellis's story. I have read numerous other books about Everest expeditions and, like many other people, Jon Krakauer's account of the tragic 1996 season started me on a trajectory to learn more about the trials and tribulations this mountain presents, from both a professional mountaineering perspective and as a commercial enterprise - albeit from the comfort of my sofa! The question one really has to ask when reviewing a book on a well documented subject is: "Why read this one?" My answer is this: Many accounts of Everest expeditions tend towards 'the macho', 'the personal achievement' and 'the surmounting of odds' in terms of central narrative and descriptive style, whereas this is a deeply personal, reflective and thoughtful tome - written by a man from ordinary and humble circumstances, trying to achieve extraordinary outcomes. This approach lends the book an accessibility, perspective and emotional clarity that many of the other 'more professional' mountaineering authors tend to lack. This is an entertaining story of how one lad decided he wanted to climb Everest, and worked hard to make it happen. Everest the mountain meanwhile, is giving our protagonist every hint short of death to say 'this place is not for you'. Still, he doesn't listen and the ambition overcomes all... Or not. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the author has yet to fulfill his goal, but I see on his website he's up for another go. This is an entertaining read that could have been framed as comedy, or at least hubris, but is a straight up story of one man doing everything he can to achieve an ambition. You find yourself in turns rooting for our hero, and other times thinking of him as utterly selfish, but my takeaway from this was 'the mountain is telling you something, and you're not listening.' Fun read, well written. - Arheddis Varkenjaab - TOP 1000 REVIEWER In the summer of 2015 and through to the early spring of 2016, I wrote this book. The book was basically my auto-biography which ended with my two back to back attempts to scale the highest peak i