Rating: 
Summary: A must read for non-fiction fans
Review: This is a story that had to be told and should be read by any non-fiction fan. The expedition to the top of Mt. Everest and the resulting tragedy could fill a book twice the size. In fact, I was thirsting for more details of the preperations, indivdual climbers, and the mountain as well as the disaster itself. The book ultimately was about the power of the moutain and nature; how man is never in control as much as he might think he is.
At the same time the unbending will of man to survive is graphiclly displayed in the person of Beck who simply refused to die on that mountain.
In the end, putting aside the questions about who was to blame, we are left with a profound sence of tragedy and loss of life.
The whole account is told in a straight forward and gripping manner by the author. PS: The TV movie did not do justice to this compellig book.
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T CELEBRATE FAILURE !!!!!!
Review: How did this piece of crap become a best seller? Krakauer and his buddies failed on their expedition because they were unprepared. The only thing Krakauer has accomplished with this book is show his complete lack of integrity. John - you helped 6 people die. You have no business profiting from their stupidity.
Rating:
Summary: Unsucessful Guilt-Driven Catharsis
Review: This is a fairly well-written story about hubris, commitment, perseverance, spirituality and the inexplicable mysteries of being human. Krakauer deals with all these as he examines first-hand the challenges, ordeals and deaths experienced on a disastrous climb of Everst. In his Introduction, Krakauer admits that he wrote this book too soon and that he recognized that this was written more for himself than to tell a story. I walked away from the book with a sense that Jon is horribly wracked with guilt and my personal opinion is that he bears no responsibility in the deaths of several people. Everyone on the climb knew the inherent risks. Hypoxia at those altitudes degenerate the strongest minds and choices have to be excruciatingly difficult to make. Jon's desire for redemption, absolution and fogiveness undermine this book. His need to experience some sort of catharsis degrades a phenomenal human story many times because it is clear the book is an exercise for him to get to a place of grace and rest; in fact, at one point, he said that climbing Everest was about getting to grace of some kind. Had Jon waited a couple years to write this or written this version and simply not published it, he would have developed the perspective necessary to remove his self-recriminations from the book and the time necessary to escape from the need to exonerate himself. Had he done this, the book would have rated a 10 and more importantly, he might have had a better chance at moving on with his life.
Rating: 
Summary: Jon Krakauer scores a big 10 with his latest book.
Review: A captivating story of the Mount Everest disater, this book kept my attention the whole way through. Although many authors have tried to capture Jon K's excellent writing style with similar "Everest books", they have not succeeded. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Not a First Ascent
Review: I just love mountain-climbing books, and first-person travel memoirs. It seems that for many reviewers here, this was the first book of its kind they have read. The good news is: it is about average for its genre. Most mountaineering books deal with ideals, personalities, danger, devotion, morality and death. And they have this edge on novels: they really happened. I give Krakauer's book an average mark because it is tainted with journalism, and loses some first-person immediacy. The premise of his involvement, covering thrown-together commercial expeditions, means that he didn't really know his companions very well, nor were these people involved in the long-term planning. There weren't even very good pictures of them in the hardcover edition! The book is still a great read, but I might rather have read one by Hall himself (had he lived), or the flamboyant Mrs Pittman. Get on out there and read all those other great books: Herzog's Annapurna, Hunt's account of the first ascent of Everest, Tenzing's own account of the same, Bonington's Annapurna South Face, Julie Tullis' "Clouds from Both Sides", Roskelley's Nanda Devi, Simpson's "Touching the Void", Sayre's "Four Against Everest" (a very funny one), and so many others. For my part, I want to read the account of the ascent of Everest's west ridge that Krakauer mentions so impressed him as a child. And I have never even read a book by Messner yet! So many books, so little time. (Not to mention great non-mountaineering survival books, like Peter Freuchen's and Farley Mowat's). If the publicity surrounding this book got you interested, do not stop here.
Rating:
Summary: A soul searching experience
Review: I was compelled to write because I have not been able to get Krakauer's book out of my mind. Other reviews have certainly covered the quality of his account and the controversy over his personal judgments of the people involved. What I found riveting was the process through which the book took me. What might I have done? Would I have turned back? Would I have thrown caution away if I were Hall? Did Hall feel he had to pay for his lapsed judgment by giving away his own life? What would I attempt knowing there was a 25% chance I would die? I find myself debating these questions over and over internally. The book's ability to present these issues in a way that even in hindsight there are no easy answers is its great strength. As for Krakauer, I hope he finds the peace of mind he seeks.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting Account of Adventure
Review: What a fascinating story! I couldn't put the book down. In fact, I read it twice. This book chronicles the deadliest day in Everest's history. I felt some of what it must be like to ascend up from Base Camp through the ice fall, the discomforts they experienced and lack of sleep. I don't understand the criticism of Krakauer. I clearly sensed the survivor's guilt he felt, but I didn't get the feeling that he "blamed" anyone for the events that transpired that afternoon; he just told a great story.
Rating:
Summary: This book haunts me.
Review: I am in the middle of my second reading of this account and I still find it fascinating. The effects of , greed , pride and high altitude oxygen depletion are illustrated throughout this book.. It is amazing how stupid people get when they climb over 26,00 feet. I feel for the author for being placed in a situation where everything that could go wrong did. Finally, I agree with those who fault the russian "guide" . He was no hero. If he had done his job, there was a good chance that none of this would have happened. The other guides from both teams did their best. What a book!
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: Jon Krakauer took me to the top of Mt. Everest - and I am glad I made it back unscathed, although I must admit that I made the tour lying on the couch in my warm living room (my preferred way of dealing with the subject). This is the most impressive work of non-fiction I have ever read, an unforgettable experience. I salute the author for his courage, sincerity and humanity and for his ability to pay such dignified tribute to the climbers who perished in the tragedy.
Rating: 
Summary: one-sided account of the 1996 Everest disaster
Review: Into Thin Air is a wonderful book. The events that took place and contributed to the deaths of five people are well documented and expertly written. However, Jon Krakauer seems to have written a book that caters to his point of view as opposed to a collective point of view of all involved. I've read every article and every book that has been written about the events of May 10-11 1996, and I can honestly say that Krakauer's book is more a self-serving money making gambit than it is a non-prejudicial recounting. Other's on the ill-fated climb paint an entirely different picture of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, the two expedition leaders who also died on the mountain; a picture that shows Hall as being a selfless guide who wasn't going to leave anybody behind and Fischer as a climber suffering from either a bacterial infection (he was known to be taking antibiotics) or from altitude sickness and severe exhaustion, maladies that may have contributed to his poor decision making during the summit climb. I find it amazing that others blindly adhere to Krakauer's account without first verifying some of the facts through the words of others who were there. While I think you will enjoy this book I also think that you be naive to believe that every word he writes is factual. I also think you will see that his motives for writing the book are as suspect as any decision made on the mountain and that of the people who survived Krakauer is the least heroic.
| 
