Could you climb the world’s highest mountain? Thrill seekers and young explorers will love this inspiring Totally True Adventure. The peak of Mount Everest is the highest place on Earth—and one of the deadliest. Terrible storms stop climbers in their tracks! Avalanches tumble down! Brave adventurers disappear on the snowy slopes. Then Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay decide to climb. They come from different cultures, but their dream is the same. Can teamwork help them make it to the roof of the world? This nonfiction chapter book makes history exciting and accessible for younger readers and features illustrations, photographs, a map, Common Core connections, and additional Story Behind the Story facts. Perfect for readers of the I Survived series and the Who Was . . . ? series, Totally True Adventures are captivating nonfiction stories with not-to-be-missed bonus content.

An introduction to the lives and achievements of the first men to climb Mount Everest shares insights into their cultural differences and inspiring examples of teamwork.

In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Nick Heil recounts the harrowing story of the deadly and controversial 2006 climbing season on Everest. In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall’s death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter. If David Sharp’s death was shocking, it was not singular: despite unusually good weather, ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year. In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. He introduces Russell Brice, the outfitter who has done more than anyone to provide access to the summit via the mountain’s north side–and who some believe was partially responsible for Sharp’s death. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus. Written by an experienced climber and outdoor writer, Dark Summit is both a riveting account of a notorious climbing season and a troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiralled out of control.

Could you survive an outer-space disaster? Aspiring astronauts and young explorers will love this out-of-this-world Totally True Adventure. Astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise blasted off for the Moon on April 11, 1970. But after a disastrous explosion damaged their spacecraft, the three men had only one goal: to get back home safely. This informational text makes space travel exciting and accessible for younger readers and features illustrations, photographs, a map, and additional Story Behind the Story facts. Perfect for readers of the I Survived series and the Who Was series, Totally True Adventures are captivating nonfiction stories with not-to-be-missed bonus content.

Was the City of Gold a real place? Treasure seekers and mystery readers alike will love this action-packed Totally True Adventure. Towers of gold! Glittering streets! Jewels, coins, and more! Early Spanish explorers heard a story about El Dorado. It was a lost city in the Americas made of gold. The explorers believed it was real—and they believed they could find it! Soon the story became a legend, and the legend changed the world. But the city of El Dorado has not been found . . . yet. This nonfiction chapter book makes history exciting and accessible for younger readers and features illustrations, photographs, a map, Common Core connections, and additional Story Behind the Story facts. Perfect for readers of the I Survived series and the Who Was . . . ? series, Totally True Adventures are captivating nonfiction stories with not-to-be-missed bonus content.

In a memoir by the first man to reach the peak of Everest, Hillary discusses the adventures that shaped his life, from the South Pole to the Ganges River.