My account of life in the death zone, and how my time in the Gurkhas and Special Boat Service prepared me for a record-breaking conquest of all 14 of the world's 8,000m peaks in under 7 months.

**THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER**

'An inspirational study in leadership and a powerful testament to the human spirit at its very best.' - Mail on Sunday

'The energy of the book gives it pace and you whip through, rather as Purja nips up verticals... Whether or not you are a lover of the mountains, you will marvel at his tenacity, his fearlessness. No one can fail to be inspired by what he achieved.' - The Times

'Not only does Nims have exceptional physical stamina, he's also a leader with great skills in financial management and logistics.' - Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb all fourteen highest mountains in the world

'The magnitude of his achievement is astonishing.' Soldier Magazine

***

Welcome to The Death Zone.

Fourteen mountains on Earth tower over 8,000 metres above sea level, an altitude where the brain and body withers and dies. Until recently, the world record for climbing them all stood at nearly eight years.

So I announced I was summiting them in under seven months.

People laughed. They told me I was crazy, even though I'd sharpened my climbing skills on the brutal Himalayan peaks of Everest and Dhaulagiri. But I possessed more than enough belief, strength and resilience to nail the job, having taken down enemy gunmen and terrorist bomb makers while serving with the Gurkhas and the UK Special Forces.

Throughout 2019, I came alive in the death zone. Soon after, I was showing the world a new truth: that with bravery and enough heart and drive, the impossible was possible...