The Boardman Tasker Omnibus

British mountaineers Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker died on Everest in 1982, leaving behind a track record of light-weight first ascents that inspired a new generation of alpine-style expeditions. Their legacy includes four classic books sought by collectors, and now gathered in The Boardman Tasker Omnibus. Tasker's Savage Arena spans his remarkable career. Everest the Cruel Way is Tasker's account of the 1980 British attempt of Everest via the West Ridge. Boardman's The Shining Mountain, about his ascent of Changabang with Tasker won the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize in 1978. And in Sacred Summits, Boardman recounts three expeditions, to the Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea, Kanchenjunga, and Guari Sankar.

As their stories interweave, these four books convey the exhilaration, the frustrations and the tragedies of high altitude climbing, and the single minded commitment involved in getting to the top for two men who were both friends and rivals blessed with the eloquence to describe their passion thoughtfully, honestly, and with wry humor.