Rating: 
Summary: Into the Mind
Review: Climbing through the sky to reach oblivion in the night, Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer is a very sound read full of life and energy. It might be scary for younger readers although I definitely recommend it for all adults, especially those in to mountain climbing. Even those that don't climb would still be able to read it and understand the content. Krakaeur's descriptiveness is a very strong part of his memoir and is the main article that dominates the book. The people in the book are described partially with analogies and partially with an opinion such as " Whoever it was reminded Athans of a mummy in a low budget horror film." Although the description of people in Into Thin Air dominates the descriptiveness of the book, the descriptiveness of the places is still capable of moving the reader even more such as " Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China, the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet." Even though Krakauer is an experienced writer, I believe that he has apparently bitten off more than he could chew in the writing of the expedition. In the book Krakauer had a little difficulty in the jumping of expedition to expedition. He jumped around so that you could not tell where the expeditions were or who was who. I found myself having to repeatedly go back to the section of the book where he wrote about who was on the mountain. Some of the words in the story are unknown to those that read it and have not climbed in the Himalayas but luckily Krakauer that of taking precautions in both the book and the expedition. Krakauer has made a key in the book that provides helpful info about certain terms or background. I think it lucky that Krakauer put these in. I often found myself trying to get it so that I was very confused until I eventually looked at the signs and remembered the keys. All in all the book was very good in the fact that it was realistic and sound in a way that made you want to keep reading it. I hope that Krakauer stays the ways he is and continues to write in a way that he sees fit.
Rating: 
Summary: The Brave and Traumatized
Review: Few brave souls, young and old, dare to attempt the climb to the top of the world-- Everest. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is told to the extreme. In the book, you view first hand the tragedy that occurred on Mt. Everest in 1996. One part I liked about the book was the people. The people that Krakauer mentioned were very brave and outgoing. They kept the book very intense and made it hard to put down. I couldn't really relate to them, but felt the adrenalin rushes and wanted to climb Everest myself while reading the book. I also liked the description of the atmosphere. It was so good that I saw a picture of the mountain while I was reading. I also could feel the lack of oxygen like Krakauer and the horrible frostbite on Beck's hands. I was especially slumped when Jon told Doug to "Get up slick" and in reply Doug said that he was felling really bad. Doug then told Jon he had hurt his throat during the trip to the top, which was operated on two weeks earlier. Another part I liked about the book was how it flowed. I thought that he mentioned the right things and actions at the same time. He also put all the tragedies in the book to give us the true story. During the book, I never got lost. On the way to the top Everest, Jon Krakauer guided us step by step from base camp to the summit, standing 29, 828 feet tall. He introduced us to his group and the name of each obstacle he faced. He also was brave and risked his life for others. At the end of the book, he left us with nothing but the truth. This book, I think, was the best book ever.
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Summary: Get ready to put on your hiking boots and start reading!
Review: When Outside magazine asks Jon Krakauer, to go to Nepal to participate in a part of an expedition with the some of the world's best climbers. He would climb to the summit of the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest. With no sleep in the last fifty-seven hours, Jon Krakauer on one early afternoon of May 10, 1996 reached the summit. The cost, would be over $65,000, which was completely paid for by Outside magazine. Jon, a regular climber, always dreamed of this challenge and here was his chance. This is the story of a good plan and how it fell apart. Many people died in May of 1996, some survived, due to luck. Even experience couldn't guarantee a safe ascent and decline. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who were two of the best climbers, both died. Many people have criticized the "guided tours" business, arguing that many people who have no right to make this amazing feat have paid their way to the top. Many people died who shouldn't have been on the mountain in the first place. This book takes you through the hard times and triumphs, but it explores more. It tells of people with money thinking, maybe knowing they can buy anything. It tells of people with dreams and goals like the mailman who saved for years to do this. This book is written like A Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, in the sense that it explores the history and lives of the "characters". This is a great book and I'm glad I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in a while
Review: This book is one of the best I have read in a while and I am a very "picky" reader. I would definitely recommend reading this one and am now searching for another book that is as good!
Rating:
Summary: What a great book
Review: Into Thin Air was a great book. It held my attention all the way through. It starts out kinda slow but in the end you will be glad you read it. It certainly will help to put an end to your wondering of what its really like to climb the highest mountain in the world. The suspense will grab you and not let go. I can see why its a best seller.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid!!!
Review: Very well written, Krauker describes his summit of Everst in the disaster of '96. Although I can see the Alaska Range from my house, and on clear days I can see McKinley, I never considered climbing one.From page one, you are taken along the treacherous journey, to discover the thrills, horrors, and secrets of Everest. After reading this, you definetly have to sit down and think. As Krauker describes the members of his expedition, as well as others, you get the feeling that you are meeting the people who went up personally. At the end of the book I cried, and I'm sure I'm not the only one this book has made think. This one is really a changing experience, a thriller, down to the end.
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Summary: Big mountain, Big adventure, Big Disaster and big words
Review: My gripe: too many big words like paucity when scarceness would work. Also, too many terms for mountain-climbers only and not enough definition to tell non-mountain-climbers what the terms mean. Other than those things, an excellent account of an adventure which went awry for some and awry for the survivors. Even I was in shape, I wouldn't try the climb. I hate garbage, and I'd hate finding a body. Climbing Everest would lead me to tons of both. How depressing, as was the book which I couldn't put down.
Rating:
Summary: A student review of the book Into Thin Air
Review: I thought this book have great detail in describing the journey to the top of Mt. Everest. The book was a bit long and not interesting at some point, but all together a good book. Some parts of the book it was hard to put down. Into Thin Air gave me unterstanding of really how hard and long it took and all the struggles everyone went through to make it to the top and get down alive. I would recamend this book to any one who likes adventure books because this is one of the best.
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Summary: A heartbreaking account of a terrible tragedy.
Review: Having recently read, "Lost on Everest," an account of the deaths of George Mallory and his companion while climbing Mt. Everest, I decided to read "Into Thin Air," as well. Krakauer writes compellingly of the various expeditions that attempted to scale Everest in the spring of 1996. More people died that spring while trying to reach the summit than in any previous season. Ironically, some of the people who perished, such as Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, were experienced mountaineers and guides, not foolish and inexperienced dilettantes. Krakauer does what all good journalists do. He sets the scene and brings the story to life for the reader. Krakauer makes clear that the desire to climb Everest is a kind of mania, a compulsion that distorts people's judgement and sometimes makes them act irrationally. Climbing Everest is inherently dangerous, even for experienced climbers. The air is extremely thin at high altitudes and the human body does not function well at that height. In addition, the weather is so treacherous that it is impossible to be completely prepared for the bitter cold and scorching heat that a climber often encounters. As occurred in May of 1996, sudden storms can appear with horrible ferocity. The footing is uncertain, and one false move can send a climber to his death. What makes this masochistic exercise even harder to understand is the tremendous financial cost of climbing Everest--appoximately $65-70,000 for a guided tour up the mountain. Krakauer's account is eloquent, ruthlessly honest and fascinating. He describes the horrifying climax to a doomed expedition with great clarity and in heartbreaking detail.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent first-hand account of this disaster
Review: This book is very well written by Jon Krakauer, who was one of the climbers of Everest when this disaster took place. Though at times, as Jon will say many times, his memory was "fuzy" due to the extreme cold and lack of oxygen, he tells to the best of his recollection the amazing story that he was in the middle of. In 1996, Jon was asked by a magazine he writes for to be part of an expedition to climb to the summit of the worlds highest peak. The cost, over $65,000, was completely paid for by this magazine. Jon, a regular climber, always dreamed of this challenge and here was his chance. He would be part of a team with some world-class climbers. This is the story of a good plan and how it fell apart. Many people died in May of 1996, some survived, due to luck. Even experience couldn't gaurentee a safe ascent and decline. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were two of the best. They both died. Many people have criticized the "guided tours" business, arguing that many people who have no right to make this amazing feat have paid their way to the top. Many people died who shouldn't have been on the mountain in the first place. This book takes you through the hard times and triumphs, but it explores more. It tells of the "slave wages" paid to the Sherpas, who are like mules, just human. It tells of people with money thinking, maybe knowing, they can buy anything. It tells of people with dreams and goals, like the mailman who saved for years to do this. This book is written like A Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, in the sense that it explores the history and lives of the "characters". This is a great book and I'm glad I read it.
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