A fascinating exploration of the life of mountaineer and adventurere, Edmund Hilary - penetrating beyond the legend to reveal a character of paradoxes.

Well if you have a big life, a lot of stuff happens. Dad had a big life.' - Peter Hillary

Edmund Hillary is a towering figure among adventurers. His conquest of Everest and his dedication to the welfare of the Nepalese people is well known. While much has been written about what Sir Edmund Hillary did, 'Ed', the man behind the legend, is less well known in large part because he controlled how his story was told.

The years leading up to Everest and the other great adventures are remarkable enough, but it is the drama of Ed's later years that throws light onto the world of the private man: the death of his wife and daughter in an air crash, his remarriage to the widow of an old friend, and, finally, the falling out, after his own death, of family members and those in his inner circle.

Ed's image was that of a simple,...