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Summary: Into Thin Air
Review: Into Thin Air, by "Outside Magazine" writer John Krakauer, is a riveting first-hand story of climbing the unrivaled Mount Everest.
The magazine asks Krakauer to climb Everest with Rob Hall's Australian mountaineering company and then write an article of the experience. the purpose of this was mainly to draw new clientele to the already-popular mountaineering company. Little did any of them know disaster lurked on summit day, May 10, 1996.
This is a book everyone should read at some point; it is educational, empathic, and appealing. The book is geared toward adults, though it makes a good read for a motivated adolescent. However, so many characters are introduced so impartially that a character chart is recommended for the latter age group. Into Thin Air is meticulously researched, not only including Krakauer's memories but also a history of the famous mountain and a moving epilogue. It is also surprisingly gripping and suspenseful for a true story. Unfortunately, there is a long drag in the middle of the book due to dull consistency. If anyone is going to read it, they really must stay faithful to finishing it; it is well worth it.
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Summary: Greed and fame to misfortune and death.
Review: Krakauer's account of the 1996 disaster is brutally honest. Chilled and numb, just like the climbers stranded on Everest, you left after learning about horrendous mistakes made by veteran guides atop Everest. Krakauer recalls the horrify events in detail, and reduces the tail into our instinct to survive. You will find yourself challenging the leadership of Hall and Fischer and cheering for the improbable survival of Beidlemen. This book will make you think twice about the next risk you take.
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Summary: Magnificent story of man's pride and selfishness
Review: This is the terrifying story of what happened on journalist John Krakauer's trip down Mount Everest on May 10, 1996, which would turn out to be the deadliest season in history. Krakauer takes the reader along with his ill-fated expedition, step by precarious step, from Katmandu to the mountains summit where, plagued by a combination of hubris, greed, poor judgment, and bad luck, they would fall prey to the mountain's unpredictable fury. This story, which reads like an exciting fiction novel, is truly unbelievable and will make those who have thought about attempting Everest (or other high peaks) second guess themselves. Man's selfishness is put under a magnifying glass in this story, as time after time the climbers display an absurd amount of poor judgment due to their desire to tackle the top. Some of these events include a South African team that would not share a radio, guides not using supplemental oxygen, and a determination to reach the summit and refusal to turn around at the specified cut-off time of 2:00 p.m. Certainly much of the poor judgment is due to the tough conditions of the altitude -- not just temperature -- but lack of oxygen. Amazingly, the climbers get half as much oxygen as sea level when at base camp, and only one-third when at the summit. The side effects that Krakauer describes of these conditions is dizzying, and certainly lead to incoherent and often delusional behavior. For instance, Krakauer himself mistook a member of his team (Adams) for another climber (Harris), telling a whole family that he was the last to see Harris. The end of the book stirs up controversy, as Krakauer uses a prologue to battle Anatoli Boukreev's account of the events. Krakauer seems to have not learned his lesson, as his excessive pride leads to this boring and pointless section on whose account is correct, with minute details being debated. All in all, this book is magnificent and should be read by all outdoor enthusists!
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Summary: So much more than a journey
Review: Jon Krakauer tells the story of his journey to Mount Everest, and inserts his politics about climbing expeditions, but the book is much more. Krakauer provided excellent research into the history climbing Mount Everest, the Sherpas, and the interesting people he met along the way. This is an adventure story that reads like a novel. What a great read!
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Summary: A Classic Tale
Review: I first read "Into Thin Air" right after it was first published five years ago. It haunted me at the time, and it continues to do so today. By now, the story has been told so many times and by so many different people that it hard to remember that Krakauer's original account is the one that made it famous to begin with. Were it not for his incredible abilities as a storyteller, it is doubtful that anyone outside the world of mountaineering would remember what happened at the peak of Everest in that fateful May of 1996. Krakauer's account is so compelling because it reads like a book length confession, which it is in a sense. The author worked through his very considerable feelings of survivor's guilt in the book's pages. His descriptions and not inconsiderable opinions have become legendary. For example, how many people read of AOL Chairman Robert Pittman's recent outster from the company and remembered him as the husband of Sandra Hill Pittman, who personified the rich amature climber who buys their way to the top of the world's tallest peak and who has no business being there? Krakauer's descriptions of Mrs. Pittman on the mountain are an example of his simple but devastating observations. Krakauer's highly readable prose make the book read like fiction, probably another reason why it was so popular. He signed on for the Everest climb intending to write a standard mountaineering magazine article. That he chose the fateful May 1996 climb is simply a rare case of someone being at the wrong place at precisely the right time. Though it caused him plenty of personal torment, it also allowed him to write a story for the ages. Overall, "Into Thin Air" fantastic storytelling make it one of the best non-fiction books published in the last decade or so.
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Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: I picked up the book as past of the 2001 College Mock Trial season requirements. This is the best required reading I have seen in my life! The non-fiction account of the 1996 Mount Everest season is gripping and breathtaking. I read this piece in less than 24 hours something I've never done before. Literally could not put this book done.
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Summary: Great "stroy" teller with strong emotion and prejudice
Review: Jon Krakauer is a great story teller with strong emotion. What he said in his book is full of assumptions and prejudice against his climb partners. I agreed that he don't have to feel guilt because it's not his fault. But I can not agreed with him at all when he put fingers on Anatoli Boukreev , Sandy, and other climbers. It is horribly unjust. If you want to know the truth, check with the following Books:
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston Dewalt : Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
by Beck Weathers, Stephen G. Michaud (Contributor) and if you can read chinese, the Taiwan climber Kao Ming-Ho also write one which mentioned a lot for what happened when he and Scott Fisher were left there for Die and how he got rescued.
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Summary: INCOMPATIBLE
Review: This item is NOT compatible with Pocket PC 2002 devices, regardless of what it says under product details. When I try to launch this on my iPAQ 3765, it causes a fatal error in MS Reader. No other e-books so far (even "Breakfast of Champions" by Kurt Vonnegut which is 4 times the file size as this one) have done this. It is however, compatible with the desktop PC version of MS Reader.
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Summary: Know what you are reading
Review: I would not recommend this book to anyone who wants to read the truth about what happen on that ill fated 1996 expedition to Mount Everest. In this book the author makes many assumptions that were not his place to make, as well as ignoring the truth when it was given to him several times. His portayal of Mountain Madness Guide Anatoli Boukreev was horribly unjust. Let it just be said that while Jon Krakauer was asleep in his tent at Camp IV Anatoli Boukreev was selflessly out in the blizzard rescuing clients from both the Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants Teams by himself! The better book to read for a better and more truthful account of what happened would be The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev and G Weston DeWalt.
Rating: 
Summary: decent book
Review: This is a decent book about the diaster on Mount Everest. Krakauer has written a better book in 'Into the wilderness'. i would recommend that book over this one, unless you just want to read about people dieing on a mountain and their struggles before this happens.
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