Into Thin Air

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative
Review: A good friend told me that Into Thin Air was an incredible book and that I just had to read it. After reading this documentary with a twist I can truthfully say it is an incredible book. After the first two chapters I knew I had picked a winner. Krakauer starts off the novel with the middle of his actual story. The first chapter consists of Krakauer reaching the peak of Everest at 29,035 feet; this first chapter is hardly informative, rather it gives the reader something to look forward to later in the book. Chapter two is like a classic documentary: Mr. Krakauer gives a detailed history of Everest and all the adventurers that have tried to climb it. This chapter was by far the most boring part of the book, the author simply lectures. My dislike of chapter two is the sole reason why I only gave this book four stars. From chapter three on the caliber of the book is very high. Krakauer did a spectacular job melding the informative aspect with his own personal account and ideas. This book is different from every other non fiction, or fiction book I have ever read. With most factual books I have to read in intervals, they never seem to excite me. And with fictional pieces, I find them too predictive. There is always some

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling and terrifying adventure
Review: My husband and I read this book together after seeing the IMAX movie "Everest." It's a harrowing account of the mishaps and mistakes that led to a tragedy on Mt. Everest. I find Krakauer a little arrogant about his role in the incident, but I still give it 5 stars for true-story excitement. Also good as a book-on-tape.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not best
Review: Jon Krakauer has written a great book, which I beleive everyone interested should read. But if you want to get more of a full story on what happened over the tragedy you should read THE CLIMB by Anatoli Boukreev.

Rating:
Summary: Meh. Not so great.
Review: It wasn't horrible. It wasn't excellent. It was a decidedly biased book about a horrible tragedy, and if i hadn't read Boukreev I would have been convinced that Jon Krakauer is the be-all, end-all of the 1996 pre-monsoon Everest season. So I read this book, which was unfortunately my first introduction to mountaineering books. And I was all like, wow, Jon Krakauer must be great. Then I read Boukreev, and I discovered that Krakauer had missed some crucial points. Then I read Breashears, and Curran, and Scott, and Salkeld, and Viesturs. And you know what?

Krakauer's book can't hold a candle to any of them. He admits, quickly and on the run, that he was unprepared for the size and scale of Everest and enormously dependent on his guides to get up and down the mountain alive. Yet he can't manage to keep himself from telling you how much better a climber he is than almost any of the other clients on his team. It's a holier-than-thou attitude that, on second reading, completely turned me off the book. He ignores the fact that he didn't know Boukreev well before the climb, and still did not when he wrote his book, in favor of shifting blame. The simple fact is that the 1996 tragedy on Everest is one of many similar tragedies on that mountain and many others. I came out of reading Krakauer's book thinking that Boukreev must be some incompetent, selfish villain. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Neither man is entirely saint or sinner. This is glossed over in Krakauer's version, but it is entirely true. Boukreev came from a different culture, a different climbing tradition, and viewed climbing Everest as something that needed self-reliance and strength. Krakauer initially mentions holding this same opinion, yet by the time he makes his final return to Base Camp, he's apparently seen the light and casts Boukreev as the villain.

Another point, and not a small one: if Krakauer is such an objective journalist, why is there no interview with Boukreev in his book? It might seem that the rush to publish, and make a buck off the tragedy, was far too important to bother with anything as basic as getting the other side of the story complete. A sad omission, since Boukreev's 'boss', for lack of a better word, died on the climb and could no longer shed any light on what went wrong, what had gone right, and why he'd hired Boukreev at all. On language difficulties (Boukreev was from Kazakhstan), on his vision of how the climb should go, and on how what happened differed from his ideas. Unfortunateley, Boukreev has since died, and so Krakauer's anything-but-objective tale can never be remedied.

So why a "3"? Well, on first read I thought it was a great book. And many of his facts are well-presented. I like his style of writing, and the subject matter is really interesting. It's the opinions-stated-as-facts that are off-putting, and the holier-than-thou attitude. Krakauer was in a terrible situation and rather than examine it objectively, decided to go for the spin. Part of his brain, I think, is still on that mountain. Unfortunately, the air there is apparently too thin for objectivity.

Aside from the lives lost, the biggest tragedy of the pre-monsoon Everest season of 1996 is the failure of people to respect their limits. Unfortunately, Krakauer's book seems proof that he is still suffering that tragedy. What could have been a terrific book given a lot more objectivity has been made into a sensationalistic account of a tragedy.

Oh, well. At least he's probably got a new house and cars out of it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing true story of an adventure gone horribly wrong
Review: This was a riveting book that I could not put down. I have never understood what was going through the minds of people who attempt Everest; I always felt they were crazy. After reading this book, I still feel like they're crazy, but the book does make you understand the various motivating factors that drive someone to climb Everest. Some do it for recognition, and others due it because they are thrill-seekers. Still others do it simply to see how much they can accomplish. Whatever the motivation, anyone with enough money can climb Everest. Krakauer looks at this fact with a critical eye. Many of the people who attempted Everest in the spring of 1996 were not seasoned mountain climbers, and those who were didn't exercise very good judgment. What resulted was the tragic death of a record number of people; spring 1996 saw the highest numbers of fatalities in any season on Everest. Krakauer, a journalist by profession, sketches the characters of everyone on the mountain so well that we feel we know them. Photographs of several of the mountain climbers drive that feeling home. When the end reveals what happens to many of these people, we are saddened. The drive to get to the summit simply overcomes the best judgment of the climbers and guides alike, and many on the mountain are caught in a snowstorm. There are several amazing stories about who gets out and who doesn't, and you will be on the edge of your seat. An incredible book for anyone who likes adventure stories.