Rating: 
Summary: A Riveting Account
Review: This book has siome of the tension of al Alfred Hitchcock movie where you know something terrible is going to happen, and watch with horror as it slowly unfolds. The center of the story at the top of Everest is terrible to behold. Along the way the author brings all of the different characters vividly to life, and shows how the commericalization of our world has transformed what used to be the most remote place on earth. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Just As Good The Second Time
Review: I enjoyed reading this book so much when it was first published that I jumped at the chance of listenning to the audio tape. It didn't take long to again become totally awed by the experiences of the people on the mountain that day. Having never experienced wind, snow, and temperatures found at high altitude, it is very difficult to visualize through the written ( and spoken ) word, what these men and women experienced. To help me and to add to the awe and amazement I looked at the excellent National Geographic published, Everest: Mountain Without Mercy by Broughan Coburn with pictures by David Breashears.There has been so much written since the tragedy I just hope the lessons to be learned have been and the families of the victims have found acceptance and forgiveness.
Rating:
Summary: Cliffs of Greatness
Review: Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" is the chilling account of an ill-fated expedition to the top of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest. The novel is Krakauer's personal chronicle of the events that led to the death of several people in 1996. Krakauer had been a member of the commercial expedition that was caught in one of the worst storms imaginable on the summit of Mount Everest. Along with his own account Krakauer includes reactions from members of his team. "Into Thin Air" is an attempt by Krakauer to explain and share the tragedy that occurred on the snow topped mountain of Mount Everest. The novel revolves around the lives of the men and women who tried to overcome Mother Nature and summit the tallest mountain in the world. The small group of eight individuals consists of men and women from all different walks of life. The members of the group came from different locations such as Japan, the United States and other locations. They also are members of different lifestyles such as doctors, lawyers and blue collared workers. There is also a vast difference in each of the character's climbing backgrounds, ranging from experts to those who have never been on a mountain before. The novel is told from Krakauer's own point of view as a reporter for "Outside" magazine. The magazine offered the assignment of writing a story on the commercialization of Mount Everest to Krakauer. Krakauer has always had the dream of climbing the mountain and agreed after some negotiating with "Outside" magazine. He was soon assigned to Adventure Consultants, a commercial organization, which leads novice mountain climbers up the dangerously high mountain for an unbelievably high price. Rob Hall, a well-known mountain climber, whose reputation is almost as great at the mountain itself, runs the company. Krakauer and other adventurers wishing to summit the mountain arrived in Nepal. Nepal is an entry point used by climbers in order to embark on the hazardous adventure of climbing Everest. In order to begin their journey in attempting to summit the mountain Krakauer and his small group of professionals follow their guides up the mountainside through a flurry of snow and ice. Krakauer's small group is not alone on the mountain; in reality other groups craving the same glory of reaching the summit of the mountain surround them. Krakauer and the other members of the team go through a number of trials and ordeals in trying to reach the top of the mountain. An example of the ordeal was when the group must venture up and down the mountain to help accustom their bodies to the lack of oxygen in the higher altitudes of the mountain. The novel is the compilation of Krakauer's experiences and thoughts as he went up the mountain with his group of fellow climbers. He also includes a number of stories explaining the history of the mountain and the history of climbers in general. And there are also a number of sections that are nothing more than insights into the lives of the climbers accompanying Krakauer up the mountain. In the concluding section of the novel Krakauer makes inferences about the deaths of the climbers based on evidence he gathered. The inferences are purely presumptions and Krakauer makes a point to tell the audience that they are to be taken as presumptions and nothing more. Krakauer used the cover of a reporter doing an article, to feed his long repressed desire to climb Mount Everest. He had been an avid climber in his more youthful days, but ended the dangerous sport to start a family. He then became a free lance writer doing articles for magazines such as, "Outside," an American based magazine catering to the adventurers seeking new challenges. After the ordeal on Everest, Krakauer went on to write his article for "Outside" and eventually the novel "Into Thin Air". His article about the ordeal angered relatives of those who died on the mountain because of his assumptions into how the climbers felt up in the mountains. He has since apologized and tried to explain that his only purpose in writing was to explain the events as concisely and accurately as possible. The book was extremely well written and drew the audience deep into the pages of the novel. The layout and plot of the book flow easily and keep the reader entertained and intrigued. The account is so vivid, that readers can feel the excitement and the pain of the characters. The book may be about mountaineering, but even readers with no knowledge of the sport can follow easily thanks to the detailed description of the technical aspects of mountain climbing. The characters are brought out of pages and into the lives of the reader as details and facts about the characters are shared. The novel seems like a fantastic fantasy, but it is actually the detailed account of the events that occurred in early months of 1996 upon the frozen rock, known as Everest. The genre may be nonfiction, but the writing is so detailed that the reader may wonder if all of it is true. Krakauer's greatest tool is the imagery of the cold and isolation the mountain contains. His descriptions of the cold are so powerful that many might feel shivers as they read. The sections surrounding the tragedy in which several men and women died are so powerful and descriptive that the reader can actually feel the hopelessness felt by the men and women stranded in the mountains. The dialogue and recollections of events is remarkably surprisingly clear, considering the near delusional state Krakauer was in due to the lack of oxygen and strain on his body. Krakauer's writing is very concise and to the point leaving out too much filler and giving the details that he knows the reader would want.
Rating:
Summary: Slick, fascinating, impossible to put down
Review: This book has become the definitive version of the tragic season on Everest in 1996. This is because it is the best written and most complete account. Boukreev's The Climb is an essential second version, and I would highly recommend reading that after reading this. As Krakaur himself admits, his brain was not working 100% correctly on the fateful days in question, as the oxygen content at 8800 metres is far below that required to sustain full human life and function. Thus, it cannot be considered the "true" account of what happened, but merely a "probable" account, and Boukreev disagrees with some of his interpretations.For pure reading value, however, this book is highly recommended. The account is fascinating, chilling, and haunting.
Rating: 
Summary: "Into Thin Air"
Review: This book was a recap of the ill fated ascent of Mt. Everest by Jon Krakauer. On the climb 9 climbers lost their live in the worst storm in the mountain's history. In the book Krakauer puts almost every step into great detail and just gives numerous facts about the moutain. Krakauer just explains exactly what happens on the ascent. This book was not a very entertaining book and was very boring at many times. I did not enjoy reading this book because of how Krakauer puts to much detail into simple things like oxygen tanks and how they had to climb over the crevaces and deep holes in the mountain. The book gives too much detail on little topics. I would not recomend this book to anyone unless they enjoy reading documentaries. This is not a very exciting book and other people that I know who have read "Into Thin Air" did not like it aswell. I would not recommend this book to other people. It was very boring and the plot moved too slow. This documentary was not meant to be a book and Krakauer has talent, but should not write non-fiction. This book was dull and should have had more action for what happened on the mountain when they were descending. He should remove a lot the information about Everest's history and the pasts of the other climbers in his expedition. "Into Thin Air" was not a good book to read for fun, but it might apeal to people who want to climb Mt. Everest. Jon Krakauer was a good author and character, but the book was not well written because of the too numerous amounts of facts about things of little importance.
Rating:
Summary: Hubris,negligence,competition,heroes - a great tragic story
Review: It's hard to believe that this book is so interesting. John Krakauer tells a story about a disaster waiting to happen and then it does. The story involves a strange mix of characters... brillant, experienced guides, and inexperienced climbers focused on attaining the ultimate trophy, the summit of Mt. Everest. If not for the tradegy, it would be comical... the mountain is overcrowded with climbers, highly paid guides, and local sherpas. Climbers ignore basic rules; they ignore the instructions of high paid guides, and too many pay the ultimate price for their mistakes... they died on the mountain. Their hubris, and negligence contributed to the deaths of their heroic guides. This is a story with everyday villans, climbers who march by other dying climbers to pursue their own quest for Everest. And, it is the story of unexpected heroes, like the film crew for IMAX who gave away their oxogen to help weak stranded climbers. At the time, the IMAX crew thought that they had given away their chance to summit Mt. Everest. I cried as the lead guide from New Zealand was dying just a few hundred feet from base camp. Although he was able to talk to his pregnant wife in NZ, he couldn't be rescued. I can't remember when I last cried real tears when reading a book. This may not be a classic, but it is a great read!
Rating: 
Summary: "Into Thin Air," a book recommended very much to read
Review: "Into Thin Air." Just by the title describes the whole story of how a group of people climbed the famous mountain of Mt. Everest and how they went on an expedition that led them into thin air high above the clouds. It explains how each step the crew took was difficult for them, which put their lives at risk It was a well-written book. Knowing that it was a true story made it moving to read how dangerous the climb was going up and how even more dangerous it was for Jon Krakauer (author/narrator) coming down one of the most dangerous mountain in the world. Mt. Everest was difficult for Jon Krakauer and the rest of his crew to climb. I thought it was full of impact to know that the mission was difficult since it was one of the worst seasons to climb Mt. Everest. The tone of this book made me feel shocked, thrilled, and intense which made me to keep continuing to read on about this voyage up 29,000 feet mountain. With so many people involved in this expedition, the people in this non-forgetful story showed a lot of character. The main character Jon Krakauer describes how tough of a person he was mentally and physically throughout the whole expedition. He explains how deadly the voyage was for him because he was in a life or death situation when he was descending from the top of the mountain and so many lives were lost on Mt. Everest made him lack confidence that he could make the whole expedition. Loosing brain cells and a lot of other things that was occurring to him developed a very strong character for him. Other people who lost or almost lost their lives were important on this voyage. People like Rob Hall, Scott Fischer, Yasuko Namba, Andy Harris and others were great inspirations to Krakauer throughout the expedition. Krakauer encounters many dangerous situations and becomes a person who motivates himself throughout the whole story and makes decision to write about this devastating experience probably made it hard for him since he also a person who slightly made it. The novel's social significance was very valuable and understanding. Jon Krakauer is a brilliant author and that's why he has one of the 'New York Times' bestsellers. It is an easy book to understand because he guides you throughout the whole story beginning at the Mt. Everest's summit. I enjoyed reading the novel and I really did not have any criticism about it. The novel made me really think how valuable your life is and you should live to the fullest, but don't take advantage of it or don't even take every day for granted. I thought that this was a key theme to this book even though I thought there were many other themes to this novel. I really recommend that if you have the chance to read this book, you should read it.
Rating:
Summary: A must-buy book
Review: I'm 15 and I hardly ever read anything longer than 5 pages. But this book is just one of a kind. I hate reading but i couldn't put this one down. I have never read a better book.
Rating:
Summary: [A very good book]
Review: This is a very good book. For me it was a page turner, I could barely put it down. It is very exciting. The only bad part about it is that it is real. Which means those 12 people actually died. Jon Krakaure did an exellent job explaining the events of that ascent in very good detail. It felt as if I were there with them. So if your looking for a good exciting book to read, pick this one up soon.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book about Mt. Everest disater
Review: Into thin air by John Krakauer tells the tragedy on Mt. Everest in 1996. He tells his story of the tragedy on May 10, 1996, in which 8 people died. Twelve people died during the season of 1996. Krakauer who is a writer for Outside magazine wrote his account of the tragedy. Krakauer wrote a wonderful interpretation of the tragedy on Mt. Everest. It was a life long dream for him to climb the mountain he went for Outside magazine. Krakauer said that inexperienced climbers and a crowd to get to the top of the world. All the extra people were taking up all the saved oxygen tanks. A freak snowstorm led to tragedy. After the expedition Krakauer regretted going to the mountain because of the deaths. Krakauer does a good job of describing the terrain of the mountain. For example he says in the book "The ink -black wedge of the summit pyramid stood out in stark relief." After returning from the mountain Krakeur regretted going to the Mountain. Saying that he wished that he had never heard of the mountain before. Krakauer blames one death on the mountain entirely on himself. In the book anyone could pay one of the climbing groups $65,000 and they would be able to climb the mountain. This lead to many deaths because this created too many people on the mountain at once and there was inexperienced climbers on the mountain. Krakauer makes this book easy to read because he tells the story of the tragedy how it is and doesn't leave things out. Also it was better for him to write this book rather than someone who wasn't there because he knows all the details of the story. Such as where people were and how they died. I highly recommend that you read this book. Even if it you don't like mountain climbing you'll still enjoy reading this book because it is very interesting you are constantly wondering what is going to happen next.
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