-- Reissues historically important McKinley writings -- Three stories in one collector's volume -- The Ascent of Denali is accompanied by the diary of Walter Harper, the half-Athabascan, half-Irish guide and dog-team handler who was the first person to set foot on the summit The stories of the fake, the almost, and the actual first ascent of North America's highest peak are joined in one unabridged volume for the first time. In To the Top of the Continent, Dr. Frederick A. Cook describes his glorious and rapid climb to the peak -- a claim that has been widely discredited. Belmore Browne next reveals the heartache of turning back a mere hundred yards from the summit in The Conquest of Mount McKinley. Finally, Hudson Stuck tells how his team of amateur climbers, but experienced Alaska travelers, reached the summit in The Ascent of Denali. Together, these three narratives comprise a unique history of the stakes, passions, and challenges involved in making Mount McKinley's first ascent.