Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer — The definitive account of the 1996 Everest disaster, in which eight climbers died in a single storm. Krakauer was on the mountain as a journalist, and his account is both an investigation and a confession. The book remains the most gripping account of Himalayan climbing culture ever written, and it explains the particular psychology of guided summit attempts in a way that still feels urgently relevant.
The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen — A 1978 journey through the Dolpo highlands of Nepal in search of a rare glimpse of the snow leopard and, more profoundly, of the nature of grief and Buddhist impermanence. Set on the far side of the Annapurna range from the Khumbu, but describing the same cultural world — Sherpa Buddhism, high-altitude solitude, the relationship between mountain people and their landscape.
High Exposure by David Breashears — Breashears, a mountaineer and filmmaker who shot the IMAX film on Everest during the 1996 storm, describes a lifetime on the mountain and in the Khumbu. More accessible than Krakauer, more technically illuminating than most Everest books, and deeply respectful of the Sherpa community.
Tiger of the Snows by Tenzing Norgay — The autobiography of the man who reached the summit of Everest with Hillary on 29 May 1953. Tenzing was a Sherpa from the Khumbu, and his account of growing up in the region and working on Himalayan expeditions before the great ascent gives the landscape and culture a depth that other Everest books lack.