"An Englishman has fallen from a ridge in Nepal. His guides kneel at the edge, exchanging the odd word, waiting for him to move. They must make a decision to descend. In those minutes, Two Sherpas expands dizzyingly to encompass Mount Everest's place in the imagination of imperialists, Nazis and others; ambition, exploration and exploitation; a mysterious encounter in a beach resort in a distant land; a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar,...