Mountaineers everywhere had an opinion on this controversial story when it was first published. K2: The 1939 Tragedy unravels the complex tangle of events and personalities that led to four deaths on the 1939 American expedition to K2. With the aid of a recently available trip diary, this book challenges the conventionally accepted version of the story, explaining how five ill-prepared men were led by one strong, dedicated man on a mission beyond their collective abilities, in a land where people do not belong.