Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Kept my interest

To begin, I am not a mountaineer, have no desire to climb a mountain, and believe there are some places mortal men/women have no business being (29,000ft up the side the mountain included). With that said, I enjoyed this book very much. Understanding that it is human nature to push our physical limitations and to attempt the impossible, this story was compelling to read, kept my attention and cultivated a sideline interest for the impossible mountains men dare to climb. The side stories are interesting and give a lot to the story. The tragedy and the events leading up to it are well described and give a personal feeling that helps the reader understand and "feel" for the players of the story. Krakauer does a good job in describing the characters, giving the personal backgrounds to help readers understand the personal drives for this near impossible feat, and accounting for the "edge" that contributed to the unfortunate outcome.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

I have watched many Everest documentaries, but this was an excellent view into the emotional and physical trauma that Everest puts on climbers. The description of the trip up to Everest was enlightening. Then the excellent descriptions and details of the landscape, base camp,the guides, Sherpas, and different teams was very interesting. It was a page turner. I wanted to read more and find out how the disaster happened. I was left with a deep feeling of sadness towards the author and the guilt he is living with. I hope that he has moved on.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Live on the edge..

..of the highest point on Earth. Jon Krakauer takes you there weaving together multiple perspectives in such a way that enhances the suspense of his first person narrative. Definitely a great read, that last hundred pages will keep you glued. What I liked most is Krakauer sense of journalism and his efforts to report unbiased information without an agenda. It is clear he went through great effort to gather as much information to tell the story as close to how it happened, attempting to account for differences of perspective and reporting to you, the reader, those differences and giving a post-mortem analysis. Truly a great read that will having you stuck in awe.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This mass market format will save you $$

The same story of Jon Krakauer's Mt. Everest survival, but it's now in the mass market format (think pocket-size paperback) which is the least expensive option. The book itself is not new, just the format.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Thrilling!

Fanstastic account of the tragedy on Mount Everest. I couldn't put it down.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Really great book

This book is very unusual and Jon Krakauer depicts every events in his style which is very interesting. It's an offbeat book that keeps twisting and turning and toward the end you never know what is going to happen next. Jon and all of the people go through alot and he tells the story very well.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on the planet with its sum

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on the planet with its summit at 29,028 feet above sea level. Since it was first summited on June 2, 1953, many have succeeded, while others have died trying to conquer this peak. These days, many guiding companies have enabled just about anyone with a little climbing experience to climb Everest. Because of this, more and more controversies have risen out of the decisions made on top of the world. The events on Everest, especially during the 1996 climbing season, make one wonder if summiting the mountain is worth all the suffering and death that it can bring with it.
Into Thin Air is a gripping story about survival and death, all caused by the tallest mountain in the world. The novel is a personal account by Jon Krakauer, who, at the time of the incident, was a journalist for Outside Magazine. It tells the story of his ascension and summiting of Mount Everest that was soon followed by a storm that killed eight people, including Rob Hall, a very experienced mountain climbing guide. This storm helped to make 1996 the most deadly year on Mount Everest. Krakauer goes into great detail about the history of climbing on Everest, the occurrences of May 10, 1996, and the controversy that surrounds the events. Throughout, he analyzes the themes of death and survival, while looking at the mountain climbing community’s varying beliefs on these ideas. He makes the reader question his or her own beliefs on these subjects as well.
While he tells a great story, Krakauer does go into very great detail on everything in the novel. This makes for a very vivid and easily understood story, but at certain points, there is too much detail including facts about things that seem totally unrelated to the novel. However, Krakauer’s ability to connect his in-depth knowledge and personal mountain climbing and journalist experiences to the novel allow him a little leeway, when it comes to his overuse of detail.
This book is recommended strongly to anyone who wants to read a story about mountain climbing, especially one that is true and keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat the entire time. Even someone who isn’t involved in the climbing community can find this book to be very interesting and exciting. Krakauer has the ability to bring a reader directly into an experience, as found in his other works including Into the Wild or Under the Banner of Heaven. Into Thin Air is one of the best books that I have read and if I was to rate it, it would definitely be a nine out of ten. Another great story about mountain climbing and survival can be found in the book Touching the Void.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Why Is It Called Into Thin Air? ... Oh. Duh, It's About Mt. Everest.

This was a good book, I enjoyed it even though I am a teenage girl who never has and never will go climbing up a mountain. Let alone Mt. Everest. I'm glad I picked up this book, at first I didn't really know what it was about (hints the title. That was pretty much my thought process as I looked at the book) It was good! I really like how everything was described. The details about the dangers of climbing the worlds tallest mountain. I didn't like that, the whole time I was reading it, I felt like the narrator was talking/thinking in an angry tone. That's how I imagined them to sound like. This book was pretty much about the author -Jon Krakauer- climbing up Mt. Everest during the worst season Mt. Everest has ever had.
I would suggest this book to anyone who really loves to climb mountains, likes the cold or a mixture of the two. Or, if you have a friend that wants to climb Mt. Everest and you want to talk them out of it. Just have them read this book... Might make them change their mind. I know it would change mine.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Compelling read

Krakauer has made a career of writing dramatic, well researched non-fiction. In this book, he takes the research to an extreme by becoming part of the story himself. The characters and situations are described with a wealth of detail, and a great deal of drama. Krakauer keeps the narrative moving from start to finish, while the reader wonders throughout why anyone would subject themselves willingly to such torture, and pay handsomely for the priveledge. Overall, an absorbing account of climbing Mt. Everest and the overwhelming challenges such an endeavor presents. It is interesting to note that Krakauer's subsequent books have been third person accounts, rather than the life-threatening effort of "Into Thin Air".

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good book

The book was great and is on a touchy subject. If you read this you must also read Anatoli Bourkeev's book "Climb: Tragic Ambitions of Everst", which i must say i enjoyed reading more. Both books are great and the only conclusion that one can come down to about the 1996 Everest tragedy is mistakes where made and mother nature came on with a vengance.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Into Thin Air, Into My Personal Favorites

Jack Krakauer's Into Thin Air is the detailed and harrowing account of a fatal rogue storm that killed 9 members of four different expeditions trying to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May of 1996. Krakauer, being a member of one of the expeditions, recounts a eerily detailed version of the story, bringing you 29,000 feet above sea level with him on the deadly journey. It is a very well written book, bringing together interviews from surviving members, as well as first hand experience and Krakauer's to the point writing style to make one very enjoyable and touching work. I enjoyed the story in it's entirety but would not recommend it to the faint of heart, it is a rather disturbing true story, and can be, at times, difficult to read. Although, if you feel like you are up to the challenge, and enjoy stories of extreme hardship and perseverance, this is the book for you. Overall I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must-read

Last summer I had the opportunity to read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. When I first picked up this book, i did not think it would interest me since it is non-fiction and i tend to lean more towards mystery and fiction. A few chapters in though, i was captivated by Krakauer's story. The story of this motley crew of adults venturing into the Himalayas and all the horrors and woes it holds... it's amazing. Afterwards, I felt myself craving to attempt the fatal summit. John Krakauer has a way with his words; he seems to conjure up images so vivid I felt as if i were there. The most horrible yet fascinating fact of the novel was it all indeed occurred and this narrator exists. These people were/are alive and did experience what was described as a thrilling and treacherous expedition. Every page left me lingering for more. Honestly I can say this is in my top 10 favorite novels of all time & i highly recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A distortion of facts

While I've found this book to be a page turner I also find it regrettable that Krakauer takes it upon himself to denigrate the Russian Guide Anatoli Boukreev's actions. Boukreev was a guide for Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness expedition. Due to the heroic actions of Boukreev only one member of that expedition lost their life - Scott Fisher. Krakauer, on the other hand, was a member of Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants team who lost four members including the leader Rob Hall. In addition another member of that expedition, Beck Weathers, suffered severely debilitating injuries. One can't help but wonder why two highly experienced team leaders would over extend themselves well beyond their designated turn arround time. It is my opinion that Krakauer's presence on the mountain played no small part in the worst trajedy ever experienced in an Everest expedition as both guides were striving for a favorable writeup in Outside Magazine. Could it be that Krakauer is attempting to shift blame on to the one true hero on the mountain? It is noteworthy that Anatoli Boukreev was awarded the American Alpine Club's highest honor, the David A. Sowles Memorial Award for his heroic actions on Mount Everest in May 1996. I certainly recommend this book but it is not the be all, end all report that it purports to be. If you read this book you owe it to yourself to read 'The Climb' by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston Dewalt. Then you can form your own opinion as to why this trajedy occurred.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Jon's True Story on Everest

Although this book is difficult to keep up with, it is phenominal. Not only does it tell us a brave story climbling the world's tallest mountain, but tells us of the impact Everest has had on the Sherpa's culture and economy.

Outstanding A must read

This book ls painstakingly researched as are all of JKs books. I have family members who are LDS and the church does not condone pologmy. That being said there are a substantial number of people who believe in fundamental Mormanism ie. Warren Jeffs. The most intriging aspect of the book for me was the basis of the religion. I will forever be puzzled how Joseph Smith convinced so many people he was anything besides a man who was trying to come up with a way to have relations with the young women in his congregation.

Excellent

Loved it.

Impossible to put down! Into Thin Air is a gripping firsthand ac

Impossible to put down!
Into Thin Air is a gripping firsthand account of John Krakauers ascent of Mount Everest. He was assigned the task of documenting his ascent with a guided expedition team while he was a journalist for Outside Magazine. The story focuses primarily on his journey to the peak and the events that occurred. I really liked how the author includes a hearty amount of background info about the history of Everest and its Ascents by other climbers as it helped put his own attempt into perspective. I also really enjoyed how descriptive he was of the events that occurred ( losing oxygen, constant threat of frostbite, altitude sickness) without getting to bogged down with details and losing some of the action. Having that said he did have a tendency to get a bit off topic in some parts where he should have focused more on the action at hand. I was also not a big fan of his jumping around to different events causing the plot line to be very non-linear. So major themes in the book were death, triumph and achieving your dreams. Death was present as it always will be when talking about something as dangerous as climbing Mount Everest. Many people have lost their lives trying to ascend to massive peak and most of them were actually Sherpas. Triumph was present in that the climbers who didn't die were triumphant in doing something many wouldn't dare dream of. Achieving your dreams was the most interesting theme though, as John notes he had been dreaming of climbing Everest his entire life, and when the opportunity presented itself he was able to attempt the summit and succeeded. I would recommend someone read this book because it is an incredibly engaging tale and hard to put down. John has a very unique writing style and it makes his books fun to read and hard to put down. I would give this book a 5/5 because it was just so enjoyable and the negative aspects were very few and far in-between. Another book I would recommend would be Touching The Void, or Into The Wild.

No Chance to Give Up

No Chance to Give Up


Given an assignment by Outside magazine to write about commercialism on Mt. Everest, John Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air, participated and wrote about his ascent to the summit of Everest on May 10, 1996. Part of an expedition team of eight individuals led by Rob Hall from New Zealand, the book begins at the summit of Everest. This book is a story of the struggles of this expedition team as they deal with the effects of climbing 29,000 feet along with the decisions, good and bad that developed with the arrival of a storm that appeared without warning. Lives were not only changed but lost as the result of the unfortunate happenings on this expedition. The major themes or messages in this book include determination, trust and loyalty, and the ability to never give up. Krakauer was part of a team of people that he knew little about. The demands of the climb involved learning to trust and support each other when trouble occurred. One would often have to help another knowing the cost could be their own safety. Decisions made on the mountain came with high risks. Crucial in making any choice to do something with significant risks, is the determination and ability to never give up. The situations presented in the climb and in the factors not expected required that inner strength or determination in order to survive. Put in the circumstances Krakauer experienced, it would have been easy to give up. Krakauer made every step count and chose to not anything get in his way. My favorite parts of this book were the life experiences Krakauer learned in making this expedition. It was definitely an interesting read, full of adventure and struggle. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this particular book. . I feel like someone should read this if you want to learn about a man who overcame the beast. I feel like you shouldn’t read this if you don’t like true adventure stories. I recommend one of his other books titled Into the Wild. The overall rating I would give his book is a B.

Dis book is amazing except...

TOO MUCH SEX

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Unbelievable Account of True Life Event

Into Thin Air is Jon Krakauer's story of the tragic events that took place on Mount Everest in 1996. Krakauer begins his with a story of climbing Mount Everest and all that goes into the preparing for that difficult task, but the story soon turns it focus to the struggles to survive. Krakauer experiences first hand the single worst day in the history of Mount Everest, a documents those events with an amazing writing style.

The writing style of this book makes the reader want to learn more about each of the people in the story and their fight for glory, and then for survival. This non-fiction piece reads much like a novel. Even though there are times it slows, I found myself not able to put the book down.

This was a good book even for those of us who have no interest in climbing mountains. Great book for anyone who likes non-fiction with great story telling.