Rating: 
Summary: Re-read INTO THIN AIR
Review: I think that those "defending" Anatoli Boukreev and The Climb against Jon Krakauer and Into Thin Air's "harsh, brutal accusations" need to re-read Into Thin Air. When I first read Into Thin Air, I walked away thinking "what a tragedy" and "how sad". I didn't walk away thinking that specific people were to blame for the tragedy that happened that day. For days after finishing the book, I thought about the MANY INCIDENCES Jon Krakauer pointed out that led up to deaths of eight people on Mt. Everest that May, 1996. Jon Krakauer seemed to write objectively -- stating his interpretations of mistakes made by many, including Scott Fischer, Rob Hall, Anatoli Boukreev -- and himself. Never did I get the feeling that Jon Krakauer blamed Anatoli Boukreev for the events that occured that day. Actions by Boukreev were just one more contributing factor -- along with actions by Fischer, Hall, Krakauer, the other guides and sherpas of Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants, the other expeditions on the mountain, and Mother Nature. Although very interesting and informative, The Climb is too defensive, and strikes back at Into Thin Air when there is nothing to "stike back against". Yes, Krakauer questioned some of the decisions Anatoli made, but he also noted that Anatoli was a hero, as well. He also questioned decisions made by others (will they be coming out with a book also to defend their actions!). So, why did Anatoli feel the need to be so defensive of his "actions" that day -- if he did nothing wrong? Into Thin Air is an incredible book that raises many questions -- with regards to the commercialization of climbing Mt. Everest and the tragedy that happend May 10, 1996. I felt that Krakauer wrote the book to relay information and make people understand the dangers of high altitude climbing -- and perhaps try to release some of the demons that haunt him from his actions that day. Into Thin Air is by far the better of the two books -- but I do agree that both books compliment each other. Everything that happens in this world is subjective. Let's just agree that what happend in May 1996 on Mt. Everest was a tragedy and should be remembered -- so it will never happen again.
Rating:
Summary: A definite must read after "Into Thin Air"
Review: I liked this book. It is not nearly as well written as "Into Thin Air" but has a perspective lacking in Krakauer's account- that of experience. Anatoli Boukereev was regarded as one of the foremost climbers of his day, having summitted Everest (three times) and numerous other 8,000 meter mountains. His record is impeccable. It is distressing that Krakauer lambasted Boukereev in "Into Thin Air" so badly. Krakauer seriously questioned Boukereev's motives in descending ahead of the clients he was hired to guide. Yet that was the plan- as was devised by Scot Fischer, the Mountain Madness organizer and lead climber. Boukereev also single-handedly rescued three lost climbers in the height of a blizzard. I recommend this book as an adjunct to anyone who reads "Into Thin Air".
Rating:
Summary: A good read, but highly defensive.
Review: I read this book just days after reading "Into Thin Air". I would have to say that Thin Air is an easier read and is much more compelling then "The Climb". I found it hard to get around Boukreev's defensive posture throughout the book and found it a little convenent how much of the tragedy he pawns off on Rob Hall and Scott Fischer. For an experienced climbing guide he sure didn't act like the leader and hero he wants everyone to believe he was.
Rating: 
Summary: Even though you know the outcome, you can't put this down.
Review: I read Into Thin Air and thought another book on Everst was overkill. Not so. This book is terrific and should be read in conjuction with. probably after, Into Thin Air. The Russian is definitely a hero. The paperback should be read becasue it has an "afterword" about trying to get Krakauer to respond.
Rating: 
Summary: The Climb is a necessary alternative to Into Thin Air
Review: Boukreev's account of the climb is an important adjunct to the version by Krakauer. Well this book did a good job of giving a well rounded description of what happened. They used several sources to fill in the gaps. Very, very exciting and engrossing, and I am not a rock climber. Next up should be Sandy Hill Pittman's response to both these books.
Rating:
Summary: A piece in the puzzle of Mt. Everest
Review: After I had read Jon Krakaur's book "Into Thin Air," friends told me that I must read its rebuttal, "The Climb" by Anatoli Boukreev. They were right. Neither Krakaur's nor Boukreev's book fully explores the tragic events that occurred on Mt. Everest in that tragic climb in 1996; that is, without reading the other. Yet, these two combined are given even greater depth and meaning when a third book is added: "Annapurna" by Arlene Blum, just re-released in a 20th anniversary edition. With the three books, one gets a greater appreciation of the individual and group dynamics of high altitude climbing. Whereas, Krakaur's book is a gripping tale of death on the world's highest peak, it's told from a journalist's point of view in the form of an eyewitness. Boukreev, who later died in an avalanche on Annapurna, gives the insights of an experienced guide and mountain climber from a different perspective than Krakaur on the same climb. Blum's book explores all the intricacies of forming, funding and guiding a Himalayan expedition, with the added twist of it being a women's first. In sum, "The Climb," while interesting of itself, is only half complete without reading "Into Thin Air." And both of those books are lacking from the perspective of a total view of an expedition, as given by "Annapurna." For armchair adventurers, each is a piece of the puzzle that is Mt Everest and its kin.
Rating:
Summary: expedition leaders n guides should learn his climb technique
Review: This book gives many details about the climbing tour, so new expedition and guides should have on their shelves. Although his story quite a textbook but the language runs smooth and easily read, not quite slang of 'Into Thin Air'. I think the mountaineer world lost great tuitor. I believe if he had been the expedition leader, there has not been the tragedy last May'96. I'd like to say that finally Scott Fischer was not alone on the mountain.
Rating:
Summary: A little uneven and formulaic, but sometimes poetic
Review: So the writing in THE CLIMB is a little formulaic and uneven. But when Boukreev's real voice comes through, it can be very poignant. At one point Boukreev writes, about rescuing several climbers (not during the Everest disasters), that "A man only gets so much luck every day; that day I used someone else's." Moments like that, when I saw how deeply connected to the mountains and his work Boukreev was, made THE CLIMB a worthwhile read. It's also a fine counterpoint to INTO THIN AIR. Although it's not as steadily gripping or as confidently written, it answers many of Krakauer's charges and provides another look at what happened on Everest.
Rating:
Summary: Sheeeesh.
Review: An interesting though extremely defensive perspective. The main thing to learn from this book is that no one is tough enough to get any old person up Everest and back. All the guides who were high on the mountain when the storm hit--Fischer, Hall, Harris--perished. Boukreev, like Biedleman, survived. Should he have behaved some other way, as some have suggested, and likely died also? Why? The expectations of the expedition and its guides were all out of whack.
Rating:
Summary: A fitting farewell...
Review: It was with heavy heart that I recieved the news of Anatoli Boukreev's death on Annapurna. However, it was with great elation that I read his account of the 1996 Everest disaster. Little more than a rebuttal to John Krakauers "Into Thin Air", Mr. Boukreev lays out in great detail the events and objective causes of the events in Mayy 1996, and all without the egotistical ramblings so oft found in Krakauers account. "The Climb" is a fitting elegy to a man as great as the mountains he climbed, and the spirit he posessed.
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