Not published. No place, date, or author indicated. Never reprinted, this is the first printing of the first edition, thus. The book measures 215mm tall x 153mm and has 327 pages, tinted frontispiece illustration, 36 (of 43) photo plates [the 7 good photos were reportedly suppressed or censored from all extant copies of the book], several in-text sketches, 4 folding maps {including large folding map in rear pocket}, 7-page bibliography, index.

This is by far the rarest and most desirable book in mountaineering literature. It is not listed in any published bibliography but is entry A58.5 in the unpublished manuscript of Jill Neate's bibliography of mountaineering literature. The entry was excluded from the published bibliography.

Searches of the nearly exhaustive bibliographic databases of WorldCat, OCLC, RLIN, Melvyl, COPOC, and SPECTRE locate no copies of the book. No copies are reported to be held in the huge mountaineering libraries of the Alpine Club, the American Alpine Club, the Royal Geographical Society, and none are in any of the libraries of the major alpine clubs of Europe. We suspect that at least one of these libraries has a copy of the book, but they are rightly being careful not to reveal possession of such a rare and controversial holding. No copy is known to exist in the Southern Hemisphere. One battered copy is in the archives of the ISCF. It is very well protected. One copy of the rare unpublished german edition, titled Nacktrennen durch das Berglilie-Feld: Krieg und Sieg (fast) über K666, is rumored to be secured in an anonymous USA government archive located (allegedly) in the vicinity of Langley, VA. That copy is said to be lacking the folding map from the rear pocket. One copy is in a private collection somewhere in the USA, probably in Palo Alto. It is the only known copy to have photocopies of the missing good photographic plates. No other copies or fragments of copies are known to exist. Needless to say, needlessly, the copy offered here is exquisitely rare.

The book is an account of an expedition to the spectacular Karakoram spire, K666. The narrative suddenly begins in Pakistan on an overcrowded, smelly train, completely skipping any mention of the conception and preparation of the expedition. No background or personal information is discussed anywhere in the book with respect to the four members of the expedition. However, there are several very subtle indications (intentional?) throughout the text indicating that the four explorers/climbers were women disguised as men. The author is anonymous -- as are the other members of the expedition -- but it is obvious that the author writes with a New Zealand accent (North Island). Curiously, stamped at the bottom of the last page of the index is "Not printed in Great Britain". These two points taken together strongly suggest that the author and the other team members were from Hong Kong. The superior quality of the paper and ink indicates that the book was printed either in central Mexico or coastal Ecuador in the late 1950s. It is clear from several passages in the narrative that the expedition took place in the 1950s since the first ascents of K2, Everest and Kangchenjunga are referenced. Broad Peak is described as being still unclimbed. Therefore, the expedition had to take place between 1955 and 1957, during the Golden Age of Himalayan climbing. There is no doubt that the account is factual and not a clever fabrication. The photographic evidence is indisputable. The fact that K666 no longer exists, having collapsed into a gigantic heap of rubble during the great earthquake of 1957, has led to furious debate and speculation regarding the veracity of this account. However, comparison of photos from this unpublished account and from the published accounts of pioneering explorers like Conway, the Duke of the Abruzzi, Younghusband, Jacot-Guillarmod, Dainelli, etc. prove that the K666 expedition took place. A scientific dispatch from Desio's 1954 K2 expedition reportedly surveyed and reconnoitered the K666 group, but Desio suppressed from publication all of those results, later destroying all negatives, prints, and documents relating to that foray, at the request of ranking officials in the government of Pakistan.

CONDITION: Owing to the singular rarity and desirability of this book, an exceptionally detailed and independently certified condition report of this book has been prepared and appended below. Any additional questions regarding the condition of this item are encouraged. Historical debates and controversial queries, with respect to the content of the narrative, are discouraged; these will be ignored.

This book has NOT been signed by Maurice Herzog or by Reinhold Messner. Furthermore, Kurt Diemberger has not yet signed this book; but, be assured, when Diemberger does sign it, he will add alongside his signature, "for the true story read Summits & Secrets." There is an illegible signature on the title page (possibly the author's?) dated 13-XXI-1938. At a distance, the book has no detectable odors. At a very great distance, the book has no detectable flaws. Upon closer inspection, it is evident that the book has once (or twice) been exposed to scented water, which has caused some rippling and yellowing to most of the pages. The original cover of the binding is still present and looks secure when the book is properly shelved or laid out squarely atop a table. However, when handheld and opened, the front cover and spine cover fall away from the text block. This may be the only copy of this title possessing that quality, making it, thus thus thus, unique from a collector's perspective. The last 4 leaves of text are missing and now have been replaced with unmade photocopies from original examples. These leaves contain the dramatic, yet abrupt, conclusion of the narrative: The climbers made it to the top of the mountain. To their great surprise, they discovered that they had climbed the wrong peak. Instead of making the first ascent of K666, they had unwittingly made the first ascent of K999 from the north, the then-closed China side of the mountain. Knowing the conclusion, one can now consider these missing pages as being merely superfluous to the overall narrative. The folding map in the rear pocket is from the rare German edition, which is, in a way, an enhancement to this copy, thus. Since the German words on the map were printed using the English alphabet (embellished with a few anachronistic diacritical marks), those German words are easy to read. Plus, the German map adds a reverberating whiff of Continental sophistication to this book. The book has been collated completely, except for the pages near the middle of the book, which have adhered tightly together. No attempt has been made to open or to separate those pages due to fear of damaging them. Opening them has been left for the buyer to work out. The hauntingly beautiful frontispiece is loose and ready for framing. After a sincere, committed effort to leave no page unturned, the nearly complete collation has nearly determined that the book is virtually lacking in incompleteness thus as follows: the 4th, 7th, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, and 30th photo plates appear never to have been issued for this example (proof of this is that the collation showed them to be absent); half of the folding map on page 232 is missing (unclear whether the book was issued this way or if that half was subsequently suppressed by untold parties); as noted above, the last four leaves of text are missing (but already this has been fully established to be of no importance). The book comes from a non-institutional municipal public private library, consequently, making it a non-ex-library ex-library copy. The title page has an elaborately perforated non-ex-library library mark that enhances the cherished-old-book feel of this copy. There is a card pocket attached to the outside front of the map housing on the rear paste-down. The original card(?) has been removed and the empty rear pocket can now be used as a great place to stash one's credit card or a few large denomination bills, a place where one's spouse or roommate would never think of looking. There are no external non-ex-library library marks. There may have been a spine number, but this is unprovable speculation since the lower third of the spine cover material is missing. The now loose (but still present) free front end-page has "withdrawn" stamped in black ink near the top. Below that stamp is another, larger stamp in bright red ink: "DISCARDED." Such double-emphasis stamping is quite uncommon, and usually indicates that the book was part of an exclusive, special collection. There is some artistic (Nouveau), shallow channeling through the paper of the front paste-down and into the board. In addition, it appears that a former owner has very cleanly drilled several thoughtful holes completely through (but two are incomplete attempts) the entire text block so that a sturdy string can be laced through them to secure a convenient carrying strap. Apart from these few minimal points -- several should be viewed as enhancements -- the book is in what MUST be considered FINE CONDITION, a proud addition to any advanced collection, thus.

Price $72,000.00 ~ Regular $144,000.00, You Save $72,000.00 (50%)

Postage is FREE, thus (but a $183 handling/processing fee will be added to the total)

**Our avidly artless attempt at containment of thus has failed, resulting in nearly every internet book listing, worldwide, being contaminated by the unleashed epidemic of thuses, thus. ** <<...sorry>> (NOTE TO WEBMASTER: no correct punctuation needed here--BECAUSE NO THOUGHTS INVOLVED)

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE. ALL PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM BEING OFFERED WE NEVER USE STOCK PHOTOS WE NEVER USE BAIT AND SWITCH TACTICS, THUS

book cover K666 The K666 Group Frontispiece on K619 To order this book by phone, use this number (USA) 503-246-2752 or click here to enquire about or to reserve the book by email: order@jpmountainbooks.com For ordering information, forms of payment accepted, return policies, etc. click here Ordering Information click here to return to JP MOUNTAIN BOOKS Home Page