Everest tale climbs book prize shortlist

A BOOK about life in an Indian slum and the story of George Mallory’s attempt to climb Everest are among the contenders for a prestigious literary prize.

The shortlist of six books in contention for this year’s Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction also includes a history of violence and a biography of playwright August Strindberg, but there is no room for Salman Rushdie’s memoir Joseph Anton, which made the initial longlist.