In the 1930s, World War I veteran Maurice Wilson conceives a crazy plan: He will fly a plane from England to Mount Everest, crash-land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit. Wilson doesn't know how to climb, and he barely knows how to fly, but he has the right plane, the right equipment, and a deep yearning to achieve his goal. Wilson's 11-month journey to Everest is wild: full of twists, turns, and daring, but as Ed Caesar details in this portrait of a remarkable man, his icy ordeal is just beginning.

"An outstanding book…. Wilson's story is an entry less in the annals of mountaineering than in the Book of Life. That such an extraordinary person even existed is cause for celebration."—Wall Street Journal