{"title":"Books by Graham Hoyland","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780007455744","title":"Last Hours on Everest","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn expert mountaineer cracks Everest’s most intriguing mystery – did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit before they perished on its slopes?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the 6th June 1924, mountaineers George Mallory and Sandy Irvine perished in their attempt to reach the summit of Everest. Obsessed by uncovering what happened, in 1993 Graham Hoyland became the 15th Englishman to climb Everest. His investigations led to the finding of Mallory’s body; it will be his evidence that will recover Irvine’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Last Hours on Everest’ meticulously reconstructs that fateful day. Combining his own expert insight with the clues they left behind, Graham Hoyland at last answers the most intriguing of questions – did the two men actually reach the top of Everest?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56220537618805,"sku":"9780007455744","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007455744_2ad418a4-5e5f-40a2-a3d5-613d39389e44.jpg?v=1785658557"},{"product_id":"9781802822533","title":"Jet: The Engine that Changed the World","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307478888821,"sku":"9781802822533","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781802822533_c4d51c37-214c-44bb-ae8e-4b4801704f6d.jpg?v=1786027159"},{"product_id":"9780008359300","title":"Merlin","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe most iconic planes of WWII, the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, DeHavilland Mosquito and the Avro Lancaster, were all powered by one engine, the Rolls-Royce Merlin. The story of the Merlin is one of British ingenuity at its height, of artistry and problem-solving that resulted in a war-winning design. Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day and the 80th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain, Merlin is the extraordinary story of the development of the Rolls-Royce engine that would stop Hitler from invading Britain and carry the war to the very heart of Germany.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story of the Merlin engine encompasses the history of powered flight, from the ingenuity of the Wright Brothers to the horrors of World War I, and from the first crossing of the Atlantic to the heady days of flying in the 1920s. There is also the extraordinary story of the Schneider Trophy – an international contest wherein nations poised on the precipice of war competed for engineering excellence in the name of progress.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd at the heart of this story are the glamourous lives of the pilots, many of whom died in their pursuit of speed; the engineers, like Henry Royce of Rolls-Royce, who sketched the engine that would win WWII in the sand of his local beach; and perhaps most importantly the Lady Lucy Houston who after the Wall Street Crash singlehandedly funded the development of the engine and the iconic Spitfire. Never was so much owed by so many to so few – and without the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, the few would have been powerless.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311508730229,"sku":"9780008359300","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008359300_0f845cb0-f47c-42c2-9031-884a1e07dc3f.jpg?v=1785659130"},{"product_id":"9781803998282","title":"First on Everest","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Hoyland writes with rare authority, empathy and insight, delivering a vital and beautifully told biography long overdue.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - Sir Chris Bonington, renowned British mountaineer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Hoyland eloquently charts [Somervell's] rise, through science, art, and religion, to become a mountaineer of the highest repute.’\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e - Brian Hall, Boardman Tasker Prize judge and author of \u003cem\u003eHigh Risk: Climbing to Extinction\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe pioneers who attempted the first climbs of Mount Everest in 1922 and 1924 knew nothing about the mountain other than its height.\u003c\/strong\u003e They had to learn the hard way about the lack of oxygen, the jet-stream winds, the illnesses of altitude, and the vital importance of the Sherpas. They fought cerebral oedema, frostbite, hypothermia, and raging thirst in the cold, thin air. They had to find a route, avoid avalanches, and work out what to do when confronted by an insurmountable rock climb at extreme altitude. Many of them died.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHoward Somervell was Mallory’s closest friend on the mountain during those groundbreaking first ascents. An exceptionally gifted man, his life takes us far beyond the mountain: he had a double first from Cambridge, was a talented artist and an accomplished musician. He served as a surgeon at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War and was one of the foremost alpinists of the day when he was invited to join the 1922 expedition. After Everest, he was awarded an Olympic gold medal for Alpinism in 1924. But in India, he will be remembered as a surgeon who dedicated the remainder of his life to healing the sick.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThose early climbers showed the way. Somervell took part in the first attempt to climb the mountain, and his oxygen-free height record in 1924 stood for over 50 years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369209114997,"sku":"9781803998282","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781803998282_24b0a687-5333-48a2-b51f-1b0414f781c0.jpg?v=1786027393"},{"product_id":"set-europe-ablaze","title":"Set Europe Ablaze","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gripping look at how SOE agents of World War II trained for their work in occupied territories, the tools they used, and the paths they took to ensure victory.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the start of World War II, Winston Churchill commanded the Special Operations Executive to 'set Europe ablaze'. To do this, extraordinarily brave men and women were selected, trained and parachuted into occupied countries by moonlight. Once there, they caused mayhem by inciting unrest in the population, sabotaging enemy infrastructure, organizing resistance and backing anti-establishment organizations. Trained in sabotage, small arms, radio communication, unarmed combat and silent killing, SOE agents also had to be fluent in multiple languages so they could fit seamlessly into society. If their presence aroused suspicion, their missions – or their lives – could be over before they even began. These dangers were part of what it meant to be an SOE agent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArmed with the top-secret Special Operations Manual and joined by two ex-SAS soldiers, historian and explorer Graham Hoyland retraces the steps of some of these agents, following their routes across Europe from training in Scotland, through escape routes over the Pyrenees to caves in Crete. With a boots-on-the-ground approach, Hoyland showcases how these agents lived, fought and died, bringing their story to life and honouring their incredible bravery.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504955138421,"sku":"9781472870421","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-graham-hoyland.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}