Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster [NOOK Book]

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Overview

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10,1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step by step from Katmandu to the mountain's...
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Overview

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10,1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step by step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has his readers shaking on the edge of their seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is is about Everest that has compelled so many poeple--including himself--to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?

Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.


From the Paperback edition.

A childhood dream of someday ascending Mount Everest, a lifelong love of climbing, and an expense account all propelled writer Jon Krakauer to the top of the Himalayas last May. His powerful, cautionary tale of an adventure gone horribly wrong is a must-read.

Editorial Reviews

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A powerful, cautionary tale of adventure gone horribly wrong, Into Thin Air became an instant bestseller upon publication. A childhood dream of some day ascending Mt. Everest, a lifelong love of climbing, and an expense account all propelled writer Jon Krakauer to the top of the Himalayas in May 1996. With a guide claiming "We've got the mountain wired," Krakauer found that for 65 grand, you could climb the world's tallest peak. This hubris, and a freak storm, claimed the lives of seven members of his expedition, and narrowly avoided killing Krakauer and many more.
Entertainment Weekly
Wrenching. . .lucid. ..it is impossible to read this book unmoved.
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
Ranks among the great adventure books of all time. -- The Wall Street Journal

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780679462712
  • Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 11/12/1998
  • Sold by: Random House
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 8,054
  • File size: 2 MB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Jon Krakauer is a part-time mountaineer and a full-time writer. He is a contributing editor at Outside magazine and writes for many national magazines and newspapers. He lives in Seattle, Washington.


From the Paperback edition.

Read an Excerpt

In March 1996, Outside Magazine sent me to Nepal to participate in, and write about, a guided ascent of Mount Everest. I went as one of eight clients on an expedition led by a well-known guide from New Zealand named Rob Hall. On May 10 I arrived on top of the mountain, but the summit came at a terrible cost.

Among my five teammates who reached the top, four, including Hall, perished in a rogue storm that blew in without warning while we were still high on the peak. By the time I'd descended to Base Camp nine climbers from four expeditions were dead, and three more lives would be lost before the month was out.

The expedition left me badly shaken, and the article was difficult to write. Nevertheless, five weeks after I returned from Nepal I delivered a manuscript to Outside, and it was published in the September issue of the magazine. Upon its completion I attempted to put Everest out of my mind and get on with my life, but that turned out to be impossible. Through a fog of messy emotions, I continued trying to make sense of what had happened up there, and I obsessively mulled the circumstances of my companions' deaths.

The Outside piece was as accurate as I could make it under the circumstances, but my deadline had been unforgiving, the sequence of events had been frustratingly complex, and the memories of the survivors had been badly distorted by exhaustion, oxygen depletion, and shock. At one point during my research I asked three other people to recount an incident all four of us had witnessed high on the mountain, and one of us could agree on such crucial facts as the time, what had been said, or even who had been present. Within days after the Outside article went to press, I discovered that a few of the details I'd reported were in error. Most were minor inaccuracies of the sort that inevitably creep into works of deadline journalism, but one of my blunders was in no sense minor, and it had a devastating impact on the friends and family of one of the victims.

Only slightly less disconcerting than the article's factual errors was the material that necessarily had to be omitted for lack of space. Mark Bryant, the editor of Outside, and Larry Burke, the publisher, had given me an extraordinary amount of room to tell the story: they ran the piece at 17,000 words -- four or five times as long as a typical magazine feature. Even so, I felt that it was much too abbreviated to do justice to the tragedy. The Everest climb had rocked my life to its core, and it became desperately important for me to record the events in complete detail, unconstrained by a limited number of column inches. This book is the fruit of that compulsion.

The staggering unreliability of the human mind at high altitude made the research problematic. To avoid relying excessively on my own perceptions, I interviewed most of the protagonists at great length and on multiple occasions. When possible I also corroborated details with radio logs maintained by people at Base Camp, where clear thought wasn't in such short supply. Readers familiar with the Outside article may notice discrepancies between certain details (primarily matters of time) reported in the magazine and those reported in the book; the revisions reflect new information that has come to light since publication of the magazine piece.

Several authors and editors I respect counseled me not to write the book as quickly as I did; they urged me to wait two or three years and put some distance between me and the expedition in order to gain some crucial perspective. Their advice was sound, but in the end I ignored it -- mostly because what happened on the mountain was gnawing my guts out. I thought that writing the book might purge Everest from my life.

It hasn't, of course. Moreover, I agree that readers are often poorly served when an author writes as an act of catharsis, as I have done here. But I hoped something would be gained by spilling my soul in the calamity's immediate aftermath, in the roil and torment of the moment. I wanted my account to have a raw, ruthless sort of honesty that seemed in danger of leaching away with the passage of time and the dissipation of anguish.

Some of the same people who warned me against writing hastily had also cautioned me against going to Everest in the first place. There were many, many fine reasons not to go, but attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act -- a triumph of desire over sensibility. Any person who would seriously consider it is almost by definition beyond the sway of reasoned argument.

The plain truth is that I knew better but went to Everest anyway. And in doing so I was a party to the death of good people, which is something that is apt to remain on my conscience for a very long time.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

First Chapter

In March 1996, Outside Magazine sent me to Nepal to participate in, and write about, a guided ascent of Mount Everest. I went as one of eight clients on an expedition led by a well-known guide from New Zealand named Rob Hall. On May 10 I arrived on top of the mountain, but the summit came at a terrible cost.

Among my five teammates who reached the top, four, including Hall, perished in a rogue storm that blew in without warning while we were still high on the peak. By the time I'd descended to Base Camp nine climbers from four expeditions were dead, and three more lives would be lost before the month was out.

The expedition left me badly shaken, and the article was difficult to write. Nevertheless, five weeks after I returned from Nepal I delivered a manuscript to Outside, and it was published in the September issue of the magazine. Upon its completion I attempted to put Everest out of my mind and get on with my life, but that turned out to be impossible. Through a fog of messy emotions, I continued trying to make sense of what had happened up there, and I obsessively mulled the circumstances of my companions' deaths.

The Outside piece was as accurate as I could make it under the circumstances, but my deadline had been unforgiving, the sequence of events had been frustratingly complex, and the memories of the survivors had been badly distorted by exhaustion, oxygen depletion, and shock. At one point during my research I asked three other people to recount an incident all four of us had witnessed high on the mountain, and one of us could agree on such crucial facts as the time, what had been said, or even who had been present. Within days after the Outside article went to press, I discovered that a few of the details I'd reported were in error. Most were minor inaccuracies of the sort that inevitably creep into works of deadline journalism, but one of my blunders was in no sense minor, and it had a devastating impact on the friends and family of one of the victims.

Only slightly less disconcerting than the article's factual errors was the material that necessarily had to be omitted for lack of space. Mark Bryant, the editor of Outside, and Larry Burke, the publisher, had given me an extraordinary amount of room to tell the story: they ran the piece at 17,000 words -- four or five times as long as a typical magazine feature. Even so, I felt that it was much too abbreviated to do justice to the tragedy. The Everest climb had rocked my life to its core, and it became desperately important for me to record the events in complete detail, unconstrained by a limited number of column inches. This book is the fruit of that compulsion.

The staggering unreliability of the human mind at high altitude made the research problematic. To avoid relying excessively on my own perceptions, I interviewed most of the protagonists at great length and on multiple occasions. When possible I also corroborated details with radio logs maintained by people at Base Camp, where clear thought wasn't in such short supply. Readers familiar with the Outside article may notice discrepancies between certain details (primarily matters of time) reported in the magazine and those reported in the book; the revisions reflect new information that has come to light since publication of the magazine piece.

Several authors and editors I respect counseled me not to write the book as quickly as I did; they urged me to wait two or three years and put some distance between me and the expedition in order to gain some crucial perspective. Their advice was sound, but in the end I ignored it -- mostly because what happened on the mountain was gnawing my guts out. I thought that writing the book might purge Everest from my life.

It hasn't, of course. Moreover, I agree that readers are often poorly served when an author writes as an act of catharsis, as I have done here. But I hoped something would be gained by spilling my soul in the calamity's immediate aftermath, in the roil and torment of the moment. I wanted my account to have a raw, ruthless sort of honesty that seemed in danger of leaching away with the passage of time and the dissipation of anguish.

Some of the same people who warned me against writing hastily had also cautioned me against going to Everest in the first place. There were many, many fine reasons not to go, but attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act -- a triumph of desire over sensibility. Any person who would seriously consider it is almost by definition beyond the sway of reasoned argument.

The plain truth is that I knew better but went to Everest anyway. And in doing so I was a party to the death of good people, which is something that is apt to remain on my conscience for a very long time.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4.5
( 494 )

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  • Posted May 18, 2010

    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.

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  • Posted March 22, 2010

    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.

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  • Posted March 30, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 9, 2010

    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.

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  • Posted April 24, 2010

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 9, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    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.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 25, 2009

    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.

    1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 7, 2009

    Thrilling!

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

    1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 24, 2009

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 29, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 17, 2005

    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 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 25, 2012

    Dis book is amazing except...

    TOO MUCH SEX

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  • Posted January 9, 2012

    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.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 7, 2012

    If u like this

    If u like this book i highly reccomend into the wild

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 4, 2012

    Informational read

    I was totally pulled into this true story. I learned an incredible amount about climbing and was able to understand the information layed out. What a sad experience.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 26, 2011

    Thrilling Ride

    One of my favorites. Made me sweat. Very interesting insights juuxtaposed again real adventure.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 9, 2011

    Highly Recommended - you must check it out!!

    This book highlights not only a great accomplishment in his life but also a time of great struggle, inward conviction, and turmoil. Having attempted and overcome the arduous task of scaling the intimidating MT. Everest, his bliss quickly spoiled as he was faced with a task that, if not completed swiftly and delicately, could cost him his life. A very inspiring novel that, with a small bit of research into the story, even pulls on the heart strings as the author demonstrated his remorse for his fallen comrades.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 28, 2011

    An Everest-Sized Adventure!

    Into Thin Air is a non-fiction account of the Everest disaster of 1996, when five climbers perished in a rogue storm atop Everest. Krakauer originally was asked to write an article about Everest in Outside magazine, and did, but wrote this book after wanting to go more in-depth about the lives these people lead, and the decisions they made that cost them their lives. Jon Krakauer tells this harrowing tale as he witnessed it, and further explained the event through his interviews with the deceased's family and friends. Throughout the book, Krakauer intertwines his past climbing experiences with his ascent up Everest, which really added his perspective and emotional ties in the events. One of the major themes present in Into Thin Air was the commercialism of Everest, and goes into detail explaining the competition between climbing companies and sherpas. I enjoyed this novel for it's cultural notes about the Nepalese people, however, these notes ended after a few chapters. Krakauer's personal notes, though interesting, become a bit rambling after a while. I would recommend this book to anybody interested in mountain climbing, Everest, or anybody looking for a good adventure book! To anyone who's already read this, I'd recommend Into the Wild, or any book by Ed Viestures or other books on climbing. Overall, this was a great book, and would recommend it to anybody!

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  • Posted November 16, 2011

    Very Thrilling,

    This book starts off with an exemplary job to grab your attention with the main character running to save his life on the grasp of this mountain named Everest. You realize later in the book about his job and how he even got on the mountain, the thrilling, jaw-dropping moments are what make this book too good to pass up. You meet many people during this adventure up the mountain and a lot don¿t come back down with you. This book will inform you about the true conditions of Mt. Everest and will teach you about the history of it. Truly a great book and I recommend this book fully to anyone who wants to enjoy an outstanding piece of art.

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  • Posted September 29, 2011

    I like I liked it

    I have read into the wild and i now i have this in paperback bok and will be reading it son

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