Did George Mallory die a tragic failure, or was he actually the first man to stand on top of the world?

In Paths of Glory, Jeffrey Archer brings to life one of history’s greatest enduring mysteries. George Mallory, a brilliant Cambridge student and World War I veteran, was driven by a singular obsession: to conquer Mount Everest. In 1924, he famously declared he wanted to climb it "because it is there."

On his third expedition, Mallory and his partner Andrew Irvine were spotted just hundreds of feet from the summit before vanishing into the clouds, never to be seen alive again. Blending meticulous research with masterful storytelling, Archer reconstructs Mallory’s life and final climb, challenging the history books and leaving the reader to decide whether Mallory belongs on the list of legends who achieved the impossible.