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All the rotating images below are directly connected to the story.

View from the summit of Everest

Everest Base Camp, Nepal 1996

High winds continue to batter Everest's upper reaches, morning 11 May 1996. Photograph taken from the South Col

The hill station of Darjeeling in northern India

Everest Base Camp, Tibet 1995

Prayer strewn high pass en route to Lhasa, Tibet 2004

Author, southern Nepal 2005, behind is the edge of Chitwan National Park

South Col, morning 11 May 1996

Tynemouth, north east England

Kathmandu, Nepal

Very visible military prescence in Thamel, the tourist quarter of Kathmandu, 2005

Everest's deserted South Col, 1999

Helicopter evacuation from Pangpoche, 2006

Lhasa, Tibet 2004

Straddling the main roof ridge of the ancient Château Rouge, France

Reader Comments

"…this book for me it put flesh on the bones as it were and pulled back a veil on the events and reasons that culminated high on Everest and the repercussions both emotionally and physically of those involved…For me the book is one I found great difficulty in putting down and highly recommend it as a book in its own right…"
C.M.H.F.

"…it does make you question a lot of what you read in the other books, especially Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, which feels partial to say the least as a result of reading this."
S.

"I finished reading your book A Day To Die For yesterday.
I am at a loss for words.
The story is remarkable.
I read Into Thin Air quite a few years ago and enjoyed (if that’s the right word) the book enormously. I have read a few others as well.
But your book eclipses everything I have read on this tragedy."
M J

I have read many 'climbing' books and would like to congratulate you on what I consider to be the best 'climbing' book I have ever read.

A bit of background. I am a what I consider to be a relatively experienced Scottish hillwalker having 'summitted' all 284 Scottish Munro's. Nothing in comparison to an Alpine or Himalayan climber I grant you. But I have seen exceptional weather conditons on the Scottish hills! Your persistence and dogged determination are what I consider to be the very best trait of any climber/hillwalker. I had read Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air many years ago and was impressed by the quality of writing. But as Graham has exposed quality of writing cannot get in the way of the truth. D.

Thanks to Graham Ratcliffe for writing such a great book with such a detail. His research was amazing and so is the book. I have read lots of books on this subject and to me this book is a great closure on the 1996 disaster. Finally we have the whole truth and this is thanks to Graham Ratcliffe and your publishing company [Mainstream].
R. B.

"Rarely have I read a book which expresses such deep passion for the subject...Graham demonstrates in his writing just what got him to the top of the world and he is not afraid to lay his soul bare. Really hard to put it down and then, when it is all over, impossible to forget! A real masterpiece."
J. M.

So enthralled by this book!

One of the best disaster books I have ever read.
I'm a 20 year old girl from Australia with no connection to the climbing world and yet I couldn't put this book down.
I loved every word and the sadness I could feel behind them.
A fascinating spin on a horrible story that has never been fully uncovered until now.
I could read it again and again.
A.D.

"…a brilliant account of the Everest tragedy of 1996.
I've read all the books he has on the event, and his [Ratcliffe’s] is by far the most interesting and detailed of the lot...
His relentless and dogged pursuit of the facts was admirable; his understated coverage of his own remarkable achievements was humbling – a brilliant read."
A. C.

"If you are interested in the 1996 events, you really need to keep reading this book because you will not be able to take the Krakauer et al versions as the God-given Gospel."
E.

"This book is colossal in what it reveals...I started with Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air and was hooked and read 'em all…However Graham Ratcliffe's A Day to Die For is the best and most compelling read yet...
I can't recommend this enough – excellent"
P.