Thursday, January 10, 2008

Kiwi Colossus Sir Edmund Hillary Died Today

I know this doesn't have anything to do with books, but he is such a well known person, and the most famous Kiwi ever, that I have to mention it. It is with a sad heart that I report that Sir Edmund Hillary died today. (Actually in NZ it was Friday 11th January).

Today, where the top of Mt. Everest has become a regular tourist attraction (albeit still a hazardous one) it is hard to comprehend that when Sir Edmund Hillary reached the top of Mount Everest, it had the global impact of the first men landing on the Moon.

In the last Century, the map of the world still had bounds to it, lines to the north, south, altitude, and depth, past which humans had never gone. Everest represented the highest point on Earth man could walk to. Once conquered there was no place left to go. The line of altitude had been forever erased.

The great explorers are few in number, and today they number one less.
[Rivero]

Obituary

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