Rating: 
Summary: Breath-taking and tragic
Review: Rarely does a work of non-fiction attain the status of "classic" in such a short period of time. In fact, I had heard so much praise for this book that I thought it had been around for much longer than five years. When you think of Mt. Everest chronicles, this is the first one that comes to mind, and for good reason. It is a powerfully gripping story written with all the emotion and insight of a climber/journalist who was right there on the mountain. Jon Krakauer originally set out with Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants group to write a story about the commercialization of climbing Everest. The events that transpired during their ascent, however, proved to be a much more tragic story. Krakauer recounts the various factors that led to the deaths of several of the climbers in his group. Some were errors in human judgment, like the group's failure to abide by their agreed-upon turnaround time on top of the mountain, and a guide's reckless decision to climb without supplemental oxygen. Other factors were simply beyond their control (though not unimagineable), like the hurricane-force winds that trapped the group above 28,000 feet, in temperatures reaching 100 degrees below zero. Many people encouraged Krakauer to wait a few years before writing this book, in order to reflect on his experience and avoid presenting an account skewed by emotion and his proximity to the events. I think it is precisely the freshness of his emotional reaction to such a difficult climb and such a tragic end that makes this such a powerful book. Few adventure books will make you feel as close to the action as this one did, or have such a strong emotional impact on its readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Tragedy at the top of the world.
Review: I think that, like with all of the extreme, high-duration sports, climbing Everest takes a certain kind of dogged insanity, a focused intensity that goes beyond the edge of normal. While the average person may understand the climber who looks at Everest and thinks, "I must climb that," I don't think that many of us understand the compulsion to carry through with it. The tens of thousands of dollars, the training, the physical and mental rigors of not just the climb, but also the lack of oxygen. And, of course, the danger. I'm sure that the danger is part of what draws some of these alpinist to tackle Everest, though I think it would be vastly and unfairly oversimplifying things. In 1996, John Krakauer was commissioned by Outside Magazine to do a piece on the commercialization of Everest and to join renowned high-altitude guide Rob Hall's commercial expedition. While an accomplished climber, Krakauer did not have any significant high-altitude experience, and (like the rest of the high-altitude neophites) found the transition difficult. Krakauer writes both of his personal experiences and of his observations of his fellow teammates and of the other expedition groups on the mountain. The tale told in this book is harrowing, and has stuck with me. This was my second reading of Into Thin Air, and it still has a profound affect on me. The combination of physical exhaustion and mental dedication combined with the high altitude (and thus low oxygen), bitter cold, and blinding sun would have been near enough to break most people. But then throw the emotional difficulties of this particular excursion into the mix, the choices that each person had to make, and having to live with the outcomes of those choices, up to and including the loss of life... I don't know how one recovers from something like that. I think that Krakauer expanded his article into this book to try to find closure, but I think it's equally obvious that he can't attain peace. This is more than an book about adventure on the world's tallest peak. This is a story of human fraility, and fallibility, especially when placed in one of the world's most unforgiving settings.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!! This is a must read if you like adventure.
Review: Jon was there and you will feel like you were there too. After reading this book I rented the video. I was struck by what a wonderful job Jon did presencing the reader to the actual experience of climbing Everest. The movie was beautiful but missed the inner dimension that Krakauer captured so well. This guy can write. Thank you Jon. You are a role model for me as a beginning novelest. Buy it and enjoy the adventure. It is one of the most gripping stories ever told in the written word.
Rating:
Summary: You don't need to be into climbing...
Review: ... Like you don't have to be into sailing to be moved by the tragedy of the Titantic. You learn about the personal sacrificies people made just to attempt the climb, and then how something good can turn very bad. I still am moved by Andy Harris' actions and the decision Neal Beidleman had to make. I read a fair bit, this was the only book I talked to guys at work about... cause I had to talk about it. And it should be read.
Rating:
Summary: "Above 8,000 meters it is no place for morality"
Review: Why do poeple climb moutains? why would anyone want to climb Everest? Because they are "risk-takers" What is a risk-taker?
They are people who have a special attraction to the unattainable. This book will give a gut check on who you are as a human being. If I were to use two words to describe this book, I would use, " A page turner" and " In your face reality". That's more than two words, but I couldn't describe with only two words.
If you ever thought about climbing a moutain and thought I could do it, I'm in shape. Read this book and you might just change your mind. It might also change your life. Alot of people were upset about this book. They say Jon was trying to make himself look good and make money off the death of of the other climbers. I think it was a great eye opener for poeple who have never climbed. It showed me how it actually is on the mountain.It's not just physical strength it's internal strength. Judge for yourself. Who would you respect? who do you think is a hero? Do you have what it takes? I would also suggest," Left For Dead" by Beck Weathers a true texan with a hell of alot spirit and human will. Learn how the 1996 tragedy on Everest changed his life.
Rating:
Summary: A tragic and gripping adventure story
Review: Jon Krakauer keeps the suspense high as he methodically unfolds the tragic drama that played out on Mount Everest's South Summit in May 1996. Krakauer was sent by Outside magazine as one of the clients on a commercial expedition led by the experienced climber Rob Hall. His purpose was to make the summit and then write an article about the expedition. Krakauer himself is also a very practiced climber but had little high-altitude experience at the time. Although the author made the summit, a sudden blizzard swept the mountain soon after and caused the deaths of several team members. Krakauer witnessed these terrible events firsthand and recounts them in vivid detail. As Krakauer explains in the introduction, he felt that his original article for Outside was too short to do the events of that day proper justice, so he wrote this book to get the full story off his chest. Well, the story is simply a must read. I dimly remember newspaper headlines about the disaster and you may know all the details from newspapers and magazines, but this book puts you on Mount Everest itself and acutely describes the often horrific conditions up there. The air is brutally cold and windy. Frostbite attacks exposed skin instantly and the extremely thin air can cause edemas of the lungs and brain as these organs starve for oxygen. Basically, climbing above 25,000 feet is a gamble of life at best and all climbers are at the mercy of the elements. That's Krakauer's point. Time to put on your crampons, shoulder your pack (or let your sherpa do it), and head for the roof of the world. Umm, actually I advise that you read about it instead, especially if you've got family. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Gulp
Review: I am not interested in mountain climbing or extreme sports of any kind, I have to force myself to go outside and get exercise, I complain about my lousy apartment and the moldy walls in the bathroom, if I have a little headache or blister on my toe I gripe about it, and I am often too lazy to cook a decent meal. You get the picture. I live in Sweden and had not heard much about the Mt. Everest tragedy (just a footnote when Göran Kropp was giving interviews here that there had been some deaths at the same time as his expedition). For some reason I felt compelled to check this book out from the library, despite my utter disinterest in (and slight distain for) outdoorsy people and pointless sports like mountain climbing. I checked it out at 1 p.m. yesterday, started reading it on the train on my way home, and was finished at 11.15 p.m. I am so bloody thankful for my little apartment, for the climate here, for AIR, for my BODY, for the stairs that I can walk up every day, for food in the store around the corner, for my soft BED!! I want to say that I will now never take these things for granted (but we all know the likelihood of that). I wish I could comfort Krakauer-I felt his guilt with him. It is no exaggeration to say that you will feel like you have been there beside him. It is a breathtaking read, beautifully told, chilling.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: Good suspenseful read. Not too technical in mountaineering jargon - anyone can enjoy this adventure book!
Rating:
Summary: Great writing. Great story.
Review: This is an extremely well written book, a thrilling read with great character development--a story that unfolds like a novel, suspenseful to the end. Filled with interesting factual information about high altitude climbing and the kinds of people who do it, it is Krakauer's exceptional ability to tell a story--and what a great story this is!--that makes this one of the most compelling books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Want to Feel Like You Were There?
Review: High-altitude mountain climbing is often too glorified. Heroic accounts of people reaching the highest peaks in the world tell awe-inspiring stories about the limits of human effort. With the help of an experienced guide, any healthy person has a good chance to look down at the world. Environmental conditions on mountains are not forgiving. Not even experienced guides are immune to nature. Things go wrong.
Krakauer's story tells us what may go wrong in high-altitude situations. He then writes about what happened when things did go wrong -- very wrong. No human being is mentally ready to go through this type of ordeal. You're exhausted, cold, hungry, thirsty, wet, injured, sick, depressed, angry and forgotten. But, you need to get up out of that tent and search for your missing friends in a fierce, bone-chilling storm. You don't even know they are alive, but you have to try. Krakauer tells us what that feels like. I appreciated the comfort and safety in which I was reading this book.
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