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Summary: A real page turner
Review: I caught an interview on Larry King with a few of the principals of the expedition, and I knew I had to read this book. The horible outcome of the expedition aside, Krakauer does a spectacular job of describing the ascent to the top and, if the story had ended there, would have been a very interesting account of high altitude climbing. Though, the description of the resulting tragedy was a little less clear than I would have liked, the story was gripping and unforgetable. True, there were a lot of names thrown around, but the "Who's Who" at the beginning made this much more managable. This is great reading and nearly impossible to put down.
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Summary: It was an intense view
Review: A very intense view of this catastrophy brought to life by a survivor . Wonderfully written and shows the horror and stupidity of climbing Mount Everest.
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Summary: Great book - hard to follow with Books on Tape
Review: This was a good book (kept me awake on night drive from MSP - STL!) but there were ALOT of characters and perhaps having the book in regular format would have been easier. I found that there were times when I was confused on which team a character was with when he would discuss the fate of a climber.
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Summary: laptop mountaineers
Review: Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" is a remarkable piece of journalism. Yes, it is a means by which Mr. Krakauer unburdens himself of his survivor's guilt, but that does nothing to dilute the quality of his reportage. For those who judge Mr. Krakauer from behind laptop screens - months, thousands of vertical feet and thousands of miles away, can you honestly say you would have behaved with the same basic human decency Mr. Krakauer displayed in the given circumstances?
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Summary: The One and Only-EVEREST!!
Review: This is the arm-chair climbing of Mount Everest that is sure to make anyone, with or without the going price of $65,000., yearn to climb this mountain more than anything else. It not only temps you to want to see what these climbers see, through your own eyes, but also it makes your head swim to imagine just what these men and women endure to "try" to stand on the highest place on the face of the earth. Mountain climbing is not a sport most people would feel interested them, but the way that Jon Krakauer retells his journey to the top of the world would make anyone feel that they would like to try. Then just when you've decided that had you the necessary large sum of money needed plus the physical attributes and conditioning, he scares you to death with his detailed account of what his companions endured. His account is very personal, and I'm sure some would say biased, but you come to feel a real connection with his fellow climbers. Some you like and some you will feel endangered the entire expedition. You will cry for those who die and also for those who survive, for dying becomes easier than the surviving. The names of the people in this expedition will become engraved into your memory and you will thirst for more knowledge of the survivors. This is unbelieveable reading!
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Summary: Well written, but far too defensive
Review: Not a great book, but "6" is "above average" so I'll start with the positive points. Krakauer does a good job of describing the brutal conditions, the technique of the climb, the history of Everest and its would-be conquerors, and the little-known deleterious effects of high-altitude exposure. I'll admit that at times, I could swear my fingers started to feel numb as I read on. I certainly learned a lot from Krakauer's book too, and I applaud anyone's physical ability and mental tenacity to even come close to the summit (granted, the expediture of over $65,000 for a hike may add extra incentive to summit the mount). But so much of the book read like a dossier of who Krakauer felt acted nobly and who he felt acted shamefully in these extremes. OK, so Ian Woodall was an arrogant bastard: are you finished grinding your axe? OK, you've deemed Sandy Pittman's celebrity-seeking motives and panicky behavior less than honorable and made her out to be an amateurish, whimpering socialite. Yes, you feel horrific guilt at the loss of Hall, Harris, and the others. Near the end of the book I was asking myself "Why is he so defensive? Why is he harping on isolated details of "who-saw-who-at-what-time" during the final descent? Why did I keep reading between the lines: "THIS WAS NOT MY FAULT!" In the final chapter I got my answer: Krakauer lists several of the nasty-grams he got in response to his first article for "Outside" magazine, in which relatives of the deceased and even total strangers lambasted him for abandoning suffering colleagues and having the arrogance for passing judgement on the other climbers. (Some of those angry sentiments are mimicked in posted reviews here.) I realized then that I hadn't been reading an accounting of man's survival in a barbaric environment, or man's need to conquer the elements -- just one man's need to soothe his conscience and "set the record straight". I don't want to play psychologist to a man who has experienced something I never could understand. I am only speaking as a dissapointed reader, especially hearing almost nothing but praise for "Into Thin Air." I wish nothing but the best for Mr. Krakauer and his family. But to blindly trust one writer's opinion as to who the "good guys" and "bad guys" were (I'm referring to another reviewer's over-simplified description of the climbers) is unfair to the others who suffered. And I don't want to read a dozen other personal accounts just to counter-balance the views of the first one to make it to print. Early on, Krakauer mentions the advice of friends, pleading with him to wait a while before writing this book, so that the raw emotions could subside and this would be less of a catharsis for him. Perhaps he should have heeded that advice.
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Summary: Read this if you like sofa adventures
Review: John Krakauer succeeds in telling the tale of his Mount Everest Disaster very vividly. The question: "Could I have done other than I did to help my fellow mountaineers" is covered with a fair amount of honesty.
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Summary: riveting
Review: I read Into Thin Air in one sitting. I could not put it down. In the end I was very disturbed by the actions of the author and some of the others on the mountain. I've thought about it for days wondering what I would have done, I would hope I would have acted differently. I think I would rather have died myself,as Hall did, then not do all I could do to save the others. It seems Jon thought little about is comrades on the mountain on that day. The author seemed to be a strong climber and the most capable to rescue the others. He didn't. If he were in battle he might have been court marshalled for cowardness. I do however give him an A for candor and I now wonder if my lack of experience in such overwhelming situations has made my judgements too harsh. And I continue to wonder. A must read
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Summary: Excellent on-scene account of the tragedies on Everest.
Review: "Into Thin Air", is an excellent recounting of the events on Mt. Everest in 1996. Starting with John Krakauer's reason for being there as well as the entire trek to the mountain and back. While you read, you feel like you're with the group as they travel to the summit. I couldn't put the book down. My husband and I both read it at the same time and we both didn't want to give it up. I'm ready for another book about Mt. Everest.
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Summary: The REAL heroes
Review: This is a great book and a compelling story of human survival. Unfortunately, Jon Krakauer is being much maligned in many circles, especially for his tough but honest criticism of Anatoli Boukreev. The latter has also written his own book about the Everest 96 tragedy, but it mostly serves to defend his own reputation and ego against Krakauer's charges of his poor performance as a professional climbing guide. Many so-called "real" climbers are siding with Boukreev, claiming that his early descent made it possible to rescue many of the group stranded on the South Col. It is surprising, however, that none of Boukreev's defenders mention the fact that this group would never have made it to within a couple of hundred yards of camp without the aid of Neal Beidleman and Mike Groom, guides from Fischer's and Hall's teams, respectively. They performed courageously, leading the group from the upper mountain to the South Col and nearly back to the safety of their tents. Little is said of Neal and Mike in the myriad discussions on various online newsgroups and chat forums, but these guys are the heroes, not Boukreev. If they deserted their clients high on the ridge as Boukreev did, the death toll would have been far greater. Indeed, Boukreev's assistance perhaps would have expedited their descent and given them a few extra crucial minutes that would have allowed them to return to camp before whiteout conditions enveloped them on the Col. I really detest playing this blame game, but I find the criticism of Krakauer and blind defense of Boukreev to be unfair. Krakauer does not blame Boukreev or anyone else, he merely asks relevant questions about his performance as a guide that need to be asked. Many times he alluded to Boukreev's heroism and courage late in the day and he is to be commended for his actions. However, the important questions that Boukreev (and other "real" climbers) for some reason object to are: Should a client who has paid upwards of $65K have any reasonable expectation of being assisted up and down Mt. Everest by professional guides? And if not, should Boukreev have accepted the job (and the $25K) as a guide if he felt he had no obligation to stay with the clients and make sure they descended safely? Having said this, I recommend Boukreev's book ("The Climb") as well as Coburn's "Everest: Mountain Without Mercy" to anyone who enjoyed "Into Thin Air" and desisres more information about the tragic events of April 96. My only complaint with "Into Thin Air" is the lack of quality photos; in this respect, Coburn's book is stunning, everything one would expect from a National Geographic publication.
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