Rating: 
Summary: Great personal account of a tragedy.
Review: This book is the most captivating tragedy I have ever read simply because it is real. This is the kind of book that only could have been made in this situation. A talented writer faces a tragedy in a subject in which is an expert himself. The book hits the reader with a captivating force simply because it is written with the authors very real attempt to come to terms with why this tragedy happened. A lot of this book is spent with the author trying to figure out why he and the other climbers spend so much time and effort, sacrificing their body in a sucicidal attempt to reach a rather hollow goal. In 1996 144 people had died climbing Everest for 640 times that it had been succesfully acomplished. Why people will take such risks to acheive this goal is a question that only the climbers themselves can answer.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book!
Review: I enjoyed this book, only took a week to read...Krakhauer's writing is very dynamic and captivating. I was a little disapointed in the way Krakauer sterotyped many of the climbers in the story and could tell right away who he liked and didn't like. Also, there was quite a complexity of characters, places and events that demanded more graphics and/or pictures. I flipped through the hardbound edition that had tons of pictures...and felt that I would have gained much more given the first hand nature of the photos, rather than relying on authors description of these people, places and events. If you have the funds...get the hardbound, collector edition...its worth it....On a brighter note is Krakhauers writing...I truly love his style and am currently reading 'Eiger Dreams' (already read 'Into the Wild' which was great!)...I recommend all his books!
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I received this book for Christmas as a gift along with some other books, including "The Climb" by Anotoli Bookreev. I just finished reading "Into THin Air" and I have to say that this book was an excellant read. It kept me interested even though I've never climbed more than a tree. Reading this book makes me wonder why any sane person would want to attempt to climb Everest. In the end, I sort of felt sorry for Jon Krakauer. I can't say that I would have done anything different than he did. It is a tragic story, but according to Jon, climbing can be a tragedy at times. Jon does a great job of describing the places on the mountain and the people he is with without getting to detailed as to bore you. He is a great writer and I plan to read more of his books. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: I did a project on this and loved it
Review: This book was a very clear description of the 1996 Everest tragedy. It took me awhile to get into the book because the first few chapters deal a lot with the Everest history and the other climbers lives. Once I got into the actual narrative, however, it was terriffic. Krakauer does a very good job of giving a pretty opinion free account. He also gives other peoples side of the story. I would recommend this book to someone who has a sense of patience for history, and it would be especially good for people who are interested in Mount Everest.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air -- we are lucky Krakauer survived!
Review: This is real adventure for teens or older, told capably by a competent professional author, who went to the top of Everest on the worst of its days -- May 10, 1996, and was a lucky survivor of Jon Hall's ill-starred climbing team. Krakauer is able to give us a servicable overview of what it takes to even get such an expedition of guides and paying guests together in base camp and ready to climb. (Anatoli Boukreev's book, The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest, actually has more detail on assembling and supply logistics for those who want an even more rounded picture.) Krakauer makes his climb and with more luck than skill, as he makes plain, gets to the top and back, seeing firsthand what went wrong and led to the loss of so many lives that terrible day. He lets us know the climbers he is with well enough so that we also suffer their loss -- they are more than just names on a list. Krakauer gives us high adventure, superhuman achievement, heroes, and counterpoints it with the tragedy in which bad luck and what initially seemed to be minor miscalculations turns to fatality. As a note, he seems to have irritated Boukreev, and this, perhaps among other things, led to Boukreev's book to at least partly set the record straight. This book gives another first-had account but from the point of view of a guide, and on one of the other climbing teams, as well. We are the winners: reading these two books will be about as close as most of us will ever get to living well above the heights of our tallest lower forty-eight state mountains, much less climbing above 8000 meters. Quite thankfully so, I am sure, for most of us!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down....
Review: I could not put this book down. Aside from a description of the events of May 1996, Krakauer gives the reader lurid detail of what it's really like to climb in the Himalaya's, and how it certainly isn't for everyone. While some question his account of the events that took place, Krakauer has no illusions about his role in the tragedy. He doesn't make himself out to be a hero and he acknowledges in hindsight that there were things he could have done to try to save the lives of Andy Harris and Yasuko Namba. He also acknowledges that his account may not be entirely accurate, and he informs the reader that the book should be taken only as his viewpoint, not Gospel. But, it is a fascinating account with lots of detail that a non-climber (like myself) can still follow rather easily. Krakauer also attempts to put a face on everyone who lost their lives. While his criticism of some of the players in the tragedy may be harsh, he doesn't spare himself from such criticism.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air - A Great Book
Review: I would highly recommend this book if you like adventure. Here is a short summary of the book: Jon Krakuaer has always thought about climbing a mountain when he was a child. One day, he got the chance. Rob Hall called him to ask him if he had wanted to climb the tallest mountain in the world. But what seemed to be the best day of his life, turned out to be a horrifying day. Almost 10 people died that day, including Rob Hall. Rob Hall was the one who asked Jon Krakuaer to go on the climbing expedition.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air Book Review
Review: Book reviews help people to know if they want to read a book. Having a general idea of what a book is about before it is read can be a big time saver. In a book review of Into Thin Air, I would rate it very highly. The book gives specific details on what mountain climbing is all about, as well as giving a history of climbs that have occured on Mount Everest and on several other mountains in the Himilayan mountain range. Also, the author,Jon Krakaur, describes the other climbers on Everest in great detail, making the story more fun to read because that makes it easy to connect with what the characters are going through. Jon also gives excellent describtions to his surroundings and the physical and mental challanges he faced along the way. I can honestly say that Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaur, is one of the best books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful account on the everest disaster
Review: Among many books written on the Everest disaster that I have read, Into Thin Air gave us a much more interesting account of what really happen. Jon is a superb writer. If you like this book, I recommend you to go get his Into the Wild.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story - poorly written
Review: From reading articles and web pages for and by Jon Krakauer, one can easily see that he is a world class rock climber and therefore a natural choice to write a piece about the denigration of high altitude climbing, namely Everest. I remember the press at the time (before the disaster) having small articles on the trash that was being left on Everest (mainly O2 canisters) and how this was mostly caused by the flood of guided amateurs on their way to "bag" Everest. Then, this disaster struck and riveted the world (at least for the fifteen minutes the typical person wants to think on a subject). I knew the dangers of high altitude climbing from earlier reading and study - but I didn't know exactly how grave the dangers are, or the personal element to these extreme conditions. If you've ever become a little cold while outside on a ski trip, just think back to the experience related here for a gentlemen named Beck Weathers. Mr. Weathers' story, among others, and the extreme hardship of the story making it a riveting yarn. But... Mr. Krakauer's writing style is examplary for someone who is accustomed to writing for newspapers or magazines. Therefore his writing is simple to the point of being simplistic. While that in itself doesn't speak badly of his writing, his frequent use of profanity does. Being in the Army, I am no prude or stranger to a well-turned blue phrase, but when the cursing has no point, it tends to put me off. If he were relating actual verbatim dialog, this would be totally understandable. Overall, a great story seems marred by the story-teller. I'm going to the library to check out "Into the Wild", and hopefully I'm a little more pleased with Jon Krakauer's style of writing.
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