Killing Dragons: The Conquest of the Alps

by Fergus Fleming (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2002

  $21.48

  In a riveting narrative of daredevils and eccentrics, Fergus Fleming gives us the breathtaking story of some of history's greatest explorers as they conquer the soaring peaks of the Alps. Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men whose centuries-old fear of the mountain range turned quickly to curiosity, then to obsession, as they explored Europe's frozen wilderness. In the late eighteenth century French and Swiss scientists became interested in the Alps as a research destination, but in the 1850s the focus changed: the icy mountains now offered an all-out competition for British climbers who wanted to conquer ever higher and more impossible heights, and explorers fought each other on the peaks and in the press, entertaining a vast public smitten with their bravery, delighted by their personal animosities, and horrified by the disasters that befell them. . ..excellent popular history, with its proper share of mad dogs and Englishmen....Fleming's rendition is dramatic and masterful. -- Anthony Brandt, National Geographic Adventure

• Used

  paperback
  

  $4.33

  Full of eccentric characters, Killing Dragons is the story of the first British mountaineers to tackle the Alpine summits of Switzerland during the late 18th century. Originally the explorers of this area were poorly equipped, wearing ordinary shoes and no protective clothing. The British arrived intent on reaching every Alpine summit, and mountaineering was born. The title refers to the legend of dragons inhabiting these peaks: here be dragons , quoted the old maps.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2000

  $4.33

  Here be dragons said the old maps. In the late-18th century, a few brave men started to venture up the mountains of Switzerland to discover the secrets hidden in their snowy peaks. They took with them wine and brandy, wore ordinary shoes and had no protective clothing. Then the British arrived: a gallery of strange, obsessive explorers bent on conquering every Alpine summit. Mountaineering was born. This is a history of the conquest of the Alps.

• New

  paperback
  

  $13.62

  Full of eccentric characters, Killing Dragons is the story of the first British mountaineers to tackle the Alpine summits of Switzerland during the late 18th century. Originally the explorers of this area were poorly equipped, wearing ordinary shoes and no protective clothing. The British arrived intent on reaching every Alpine summit, and mountaineering was born. The title refers to the legend of dragons inhabiting these peaks: here be dragons , quoted the old maps.