WPR

Chapter A Day

Started in 1931, “Chapter a Day” is WPR’s longest-running program. Jim Fleming, Norman Gilliland, Michele Good, Melvin Hinton, Baron Kelly and Susan Sweeney read a chapter from a book for a half hour each weekday. Genres are predominately contemporary and range from works of fiction, history and biography.

Schedule

WPR Music, 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., WPR News, 9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Book Cover for "Fallen: George Mallory and the Tragic 1924 Everest Expedition" by Mick Conefrey

CURRENTLY READING


Fallen: George Mallory and the Tragic 1924 Everest Expedition by Mick Conefrey

Monday, September 23 through Friday, October 11, 2024
Read by Norman Gilliland


In the years following his disappearance near the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 at the age of thirty-seven, George Mallory was elevated into a legendary international hero. Dubbed “the Galahad of Everest,” he was lionized by the media as the greatest mountaineer of his generation—a man who had died while taking the ultimate challenge. His body was only recovered in 1999 and there is still speculation about whether he made it to the summit. Handsome, charismatic, and daring, Mallory was a skilled public speaker, athlete, technically-gifted climber, a committed Socialist, and a supremely attractive figure to both men and women. But that was only one side to him. Using diaries, letters, memoirs, and thousands of contemporary documents, Fallen is a gripping forensic investigation of Mallory’s last expedition that, at long last, separates the man from the myth.

(Pegasus Books; ISBN-10: 1639366350)

Theme: “Elibris (Dawn God Of Urardu)” Opus 50, Alan Hovhaness; Philharmonia Orchestra; David Amos, conductor; Christine Messiter, solo flute


Readings are archived for just one week after their broadcast due to publisher 
copyright restrictions.


Latest Episodes

  • Fallen 13 Of 15 – Edmond Hillary Conquers The Southern Summit

    Discovering the owner of the ice axe does not go any further in settling the debate about whether Mallory reached the summit. WWII brings an end to expeditions to summit […]

    Fallen 13 Of 15 – Edmond Hillary Conquers The Southern Summit
  • Fallen 12 Of 15 – The Ice Axe

    In 1932, a new British Expedition is authorized to attempt another Everest summit. On May 30, 1933, Percy Wyn-Harris and Lawrence Wager commence their summit attempt from Camp IV. After […]

    Fallen 12 Of 15 – The Ice Axe
  • Fallen 11 Of 15 – Did They Or Didn’t They

    Following the death of Mallory, the world grieves the man considered to be the “world’s greatest explorer” and almost immediately a growing clamor begins to learn if Mallory and Irvine […]

    Fallen 11 Of 15 – Did They Or Didn’t They
  • Fallen 10 of 15 – The Third And Final Attempt

    On June 6, 1924, Mallory, Irvine and eight porters set off from Camp V to attempt the final summit of the expedition. Their plan is to reach the summit and […]

    Fallen 10 of 15 – The Third And Final Attempt
  • Fallen 9 of 15 – The First And Second Attempts

    Mallory attempts to summit with Irvine, but fails. On June 1st, Mallory, Bruce and eight porters try to re-establish Camp IV and V. But sickness and exhaustion take their toll […]

    Fallen 9 of 15 – The First And Second Attempts

Chapter A Day Booklist

View information about every book we’ve read in the past 30 years!

Coming Next

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

Monday, October 14 through Friday, November 1, 2024
Read by jim fleming


A strange man comes to stay at the “Coach and Horses” in Iping. The man is covered in bandages. The owner of the establishment, a Mrs. Hall, assumes the man was in an accident and is horribly disfigured and ashamed. But the bandages are hiding something much more sinister.

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