Listed as one of the ‘Books of the Week’.
Navy Books - Friday 31st January 2025

I have to come clean, Nellie Bly did not visit the North West of England. She did, however, circumnavigate the globe in seventy two days, visiting twenty two cities and towns. She travelled by train or on ocean going vessels in various states of sea-worthiness, carrying a single bag - her grip sack - containing essential items including a large glass jar of cold cream but not, as advised, a revolver. This was in 1889 when young women of 25 years of age were not expected to traverse their own neighbourhoods unchaperoned. How did Nellie find herself holed up in Hong Kong awaiting a ship delayed by engine failure or inspecting a mass execution ground in Canton? She was furious at being refused admission to a Hindu temple in Singapore. “Why should my sex exclude me from a temple as in America it confines me to the side entrances of hotels and other strange and incommodious things?” She was born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane to working class parents in Pennsylvania. She moved to New York to pursue.. Read more
Paula Moorhouse for the North-West Labour History Journal no. 49

‘[Ruth] is in the shadow when she should share the light. She lost [George] towards death four times; once to war and three times to the mountain. To know only George’s side of things, to see only through his eyes and those of the men who accompanied him, is to see an incomplete Everest, a partial myth, and to further confirm the heroic-tragic male mountaineering/exploration paradigm.’
Robert MacFarlane, author of ‘Mountains of the Mind’

[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars The last climb of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, towards the summit of Mount Everest on 8 June 1924, has been shrouded in mystery for a century. Were they the first humans to stand at the highest point in the world? The discovery of Mallory's body in 1999 did nothing to resolve the mystery. Until now, accounts of their climb have been driven by speculation and preconceived narrative. I’ve always been fascinated by this story. Something of the old pioneer/explorer in it really appeals so I was delighted to read this excellent book. It’s well researched and presented. It describes in detail just how Mallory prepared for the climbing of the highest mountain in the world. It also gives an insight on the man himself but, sadly it cannot answer the inevitable question. Did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit or not? It’s a great read however.
NetGalley, Steve Cripwell

[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars This volume features some of the beautiful and illuminating artworks created by the artists who traveled with European explorers. It also includes excerpts of the writings of the explorers. These histories are fascinating but often horrifyingly colonialist. It's a startling look into the minds of the Europeans of this era.
NetGalley, Andrea Romance