Rating: 
Summary: Compelling read....
Review: Jon Krakauer's first-person account of the chaotic andultimately tragic commercial expeditions to Everest in 1996 deservesto be read start-to-finish in one sitting. His distress at having been unable to save his companions (although he clearly was in no position to do so) is tangible. His description of the deadly effects of altitude, exhaustion, "summit fever" and hubris is unparalleled. For all that, I still don't consider INTO THIN AIR the ultimate narrative of a mountaineering 'epic' (i.e., disaster or near-disaster). That title rightfully belongs, I submit, to Joe Simpson's TOUCHING THE VOID, a story of perseverance, impossibly tough choices, and horrifying endurance against incredible odds that cannot (or at least, has not yet) been topped. While Simpson is nowhere near as graceful a writer as Krakauer, the story he tells is unforgettable. Do yourself a favor. Buy both books, and read INTO THIN AIR first. Another suggestion: read any of Greg Child's climbing writings. If you liked INTO THIN AIR, you will like Child's works as well.
Rating:
Summary: Simply gripping.
Review: I know nothing of mountaineering. I have yet to climb anythingso much higher than athletic stadium stairs. But this novel impressedme deeply. That a work of journalism reads like a suspense novel is no small feat.
I have been a part of a situation where real life takes on the sort of horrific and surreal quality of the worst kind of nightmare. The feelings the author inspires here mirror the utter despair I felt at that time. I felt while reading the sense of things slipping away, slowly at first and then accelerating. At times I could sense a mild vertigo, and felt muscles in my neck tense as I continued.
Worse yet, I could feel the sadness and sense of loss. I am by nature a cynic. Yet I could not help but be touched by a sympathetic pang of grief for the lost climbers. And for the bit of Krakauer's soul that he left on the slopes.
Being a child of the Media Age, I often quantify, or at least catalog experience in terms of some sensory metaphor. So I supppose it is no suprise that I kept hearing the melancholy notes of 'Elias' Theme' from the movie Platoon upon putting the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air is a compelling, easily readable tale.
Review: "Into Thin Air" is a compelling tale of several 1996expeditions to Mount Everest which ended in tragedy. I found thisbook to be immensly readable, terrifying and completely satisfying. Jon Krakauer's descriptive abilities are dead on and anyone who has ever experienced any sort of challenge (no matter how seemingly inconsequential in comparison) will immediately relate to the unfolding saga of people driven to scale the world's highest mountain. I was drawn to the book by my incomprehension that people were willing to risk their lives to accomplish what to me is a meaningless goal. After reading the book, seeking to understand, I do feel a greater kinship with them and empathy for their goals and struggles. Krakauer's writing is sensitive, forthright and self-intuitive. His style draws away from the sensationalized nature with which the media has treated this subject matter. By the end of the book, I trusted his perceptions and sympathized with his continued feelings of frustration and inability to trust in himself.
I would recommend this book to any adult -- whether interested in outdoor challenges or not. The book appeals to a base level of instinct and, for me, defined many of the principles inherent in the struggle for a meaningful life.
Rating:
Summary: There but by the grace of God...
Review: I'm fascinated by this subject and story.Although I hate the cold, I can't help feeling that, given a differentstation in life, I might write a check and take my chances. While reading the book on a plane, the pilot came on the PA and reported that we had reached cruising altitude over Missouri and were now flying at 28,000 feet. It was partly cloudy and, after looking out the window at the farmland 5 miles below, I decided that I wouldn't care to step outside and take a walk. I am looking forward to the IMAX film. I will go to see it, and I will cry like a baby. ABC's Turning Point on the 1 year anniversary affected me in a similar way. I have a lot of Walter Mitty in me, and thanks to writers like JK, I can scare myself at home... and dream. Thanks Jon, C. Smith
Rating:
Summary: Realistic account of mountain climbing.
Review: I was planning to climb Mount Hood, but now I'm having secondthoughts. Mountain climbing appears to be much more drudgery thanelation. I admire mountain climbers, but I don't think I want to be one. I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: An eye-opening update on Everest
Review: Into Thin Air is well written and crafted. More importantly, itprovides an essential, eye-opening update on Everest after severallean years in terms of mountaineering books on the Himalayas. Personally, for example, I grew up reading Shipton, Hunt and Bonington. Since then there's been precious little on the Himalayas, apart from Messner. One heard that the Everest route was full of garbage etc; one even heard Hillary's famous criticism, but unless one went there or heard it first hand, one didn't get the picture. Into Thin Air gives us this picture. Toll roads up the mountain! One of the most perceptive comments JK makes is that Everest is now a commodity. Ordinary people can climb Everest now, by paying lots of money and acquiring some skills and a good fitness level (although the element of danger is always present). But it doesn't sound unique (or at all like a wilderness trip) any more. Into Thin Air is a wake-up call, for those like me living in the past, and those that take mountains like Everest for granted. Flip sides of the coin!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating, couldn't put it down
Review: This book is one of the most exciting books that I've readrecently. It took hold and didn't let go until the end. It givesinsight to other cultures in the process of telling a real life story of passion and "bought hardship".
Rating: 
Summary: Only the selfish survive
Review: Oddly enough, right in the middle of reading "Into Thin Air", Ifound myself thinking about "Schindler's List". Why? I rememberreading somewhere that what attracted Speilberg to Schindler's story was the fact that the man really acted out of his own selfish interests. Fortunately for those on the List, their good fate coincided with his desires. The graphic novel "Maus" also thouches on this theme - those that survive often act out of self-interest. The kind hearted and generous are the first to go. Only the good die young. Krakauer's chances of survival would have taken a nosedive if he had stopped to help Beck down. He was already hypoxic, having almost blacked out at the Hillary Step. The book is so gripping because we all wonder, "What would I have done?" Those who choose to help might not have lived to tell the tale. This adventure tale about mountain climbing casts a harsh, strong light on the human condition, and demonstrates in stark detail how noble desires mix with greed, pride, and selfishness. An utterly compelling tale.
Rating:
Summary: A great true-life adventure story
Review: Krakauer presents a great true-life adventure story. He triesto give the reader a complete picture of the nature of an Everestexpedition, and gives a complete picture of this particluar expedition. He clearly depicts both the grandeur of Everest and the seediness of the Nepalese climbing industry. Krakauer's attention to detail shows how a series of seemingly minor mistakes and misjudgements can quickly add up to catastrophe in a place where there is no room for error. Krakauer pries into the motivations of the various parties to try to give the reader an understanding of what happened. But he stops well short of compelte speculation when such understanding in impossible to apprehend. For climbers, outdoor adventurers, and wannabes, this story will stick with you for a long time. It is educational, exciting, and thrilling.
Rating:
Summary: The compulsion to climb is just like the compulsion to read.
Review: Like many of the other readers I read Mr. Krakauer's wonderfulbook in a single day, and simply could not put the book down. I wasand still am profoundly perplexed at the motiviation to undertake such a climb. It disturbs me that people would put their lives at risk to climb so high. Similarly, in myself I observed I was being drawn into this ill fated adventure with an inescapable compulsion to finish reading the book. I have resolved to avoid any moutain climbing, but reading Into Thin Air has opened a whole new genre of reading for me.
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