Everest: The History of the Himalayan Giant

Originally published in 1997, this book was republished in 2007, with 36 pages added with updates for the climbs from 1995 to 2006, including even more spectacular photos. This is an excellent coffee-table type book with spectacular photos and some good information. The book contains a detailed history of the discovery of the mountain by Sir George Everest, the attempts to climb Everest over the years from Mallory to Hillary, and the significant climbs since then.

This coffee-table book is full of gorgeous photos and contains a great deal of in-depth information, though obviously not including records from the past few years. It is at least as well-illustrated as Coburn's book (which I would also recommend)and seems to be written for a more knowledgeable audience. Overall, it's "the" classic large-format book on Everest.