Rating: 
Summary: Egosentrisk, men gripande
Review: Gir eit godt bilete av eit svaert saa kommersielt ekspedisjonsmiljoe. Kanskje forfattaren burde ha venta litt lengre foer han starta med aa skrive boka? Anbefales!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The best book I have ever read!
Review: Into Thin Air is the most thrilling, impossible to put down book that I have ever read!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful true story that is well worth reading!
Review: Yes, I say that this is a beautiful story! John Krakauer's recreation of the events that he was a witness to was a beautifully written story. Fatal as the expidition to Mount Everest was, it was also a harrowing event for those that survived. The fact that any human being can live through such a horrendous event is amazing. I am always suprised and greatful to hear of such will to survive from other human beings.The writting is excellent and easy. It normally would take me about two to three weeks to read such a book, but I was glued to the story and finished it in about three days. As for the events, well, you will just have to read it for yourself. I am glad that there are people that are able to survive such events and then be recount the story to others. If it were not for such events, most of us would not know how preacious our lives really are and how much the earth is in control of our lives.
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Summary: An excellent read, but facts have been skewed
Review: This is a very good book, however, in fairness, if you do read it, you must also read The Climb, by Boukreev to gain a true perspective of what really happened and where blame, if any, should be placed.
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Summary: Amazing what a person will put themselves through.
Review: I just finished this account of what a person will go through to achieve what they believe is a worthy goal. It appears mountain climbing (which I have never done nor am likely to do) is similar to any other behavior that is allowed to become self destructive. When you are compelled to damage your mind and body, lose your humanity and put your loved ones to the test it is time to take a close look at yourself. This book was very thought provoking as to how this behavior is exhibited not just in mountain climbing but in everyday life. I must applaud the IMAX crew for their genorosity, and Dr. Beck Weathers must have the most extraordinary will to live. He is truly a role model for those who are tempted to just give up. Another aspect of this story is the commercialization of what should truly be a wilderness.. Does human kind really have to leave their mark on every square inch of the earth? Never the less this is a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Bought by accident; turned out great
Review: I thought the title of this book was INTO THIN HAIR and bought it by mistake. (I am starting to lose some hair around my scalp line.) Instead of being about coping with MPB, it actually wound up being a gripping adventure tale about explorers encountering tragedy on Mount Everest. I stayed up late and couldn't put it down. Highly recommended. (On a sad note , it was such an exciting read I think I lost a bit more hair from the stress.)
Rating:
Summary: Well written and troubling
Review: "Into Thin Air" is an excellent read. Even if Krakauer is exposed as a selfish, hypocrite (which I'm not at all certain he is) the book will still be an adventure classic. On one level, I found myself feeling oddly indifferent to the fate of those who perished. Of course I'm sorry it happened, but on the other hand they were taking an enormous risk and should have expected such an outcome. On the other hand, I was shocked at the staggering indifference the climbers themselves had toward the dying and the dead. The Japanese climbers who passed the dying members of Indo-Tibetan Border Police team, simply ignored them. Then, having accomplished their goal, they ignored them on the way down as well. Why? Was this a high altitude version of the Great East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere? Similarly, I'm wondering, why in God's name did the rescue party leave Yasuko Namba and Beck Weathers for dead when they were still alive? Why was Beck Weathers left for dead or neglected repeatedly? Ironically enough, his principles of rugged individualism were put to the test. Then again, if the Neapalese Colonel who volunteered to rescue Weathers had shown the same sort of selfishness advocated by radical Republicans, then he would have perished in Camp 3. Of course not all of the climbers behaved with such indifference, and not being a mountain climber, my own accessment of the situation is questionable. But, if those people were still alive, I would have brought them to the camp and done what I could for them. Saving a person's life is far more heroic than climbing a mountain.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent account of foolish behavior and its consequence
Review: Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air". Is an excellent account of several fatal attempts to reach the summit of Mount Everest which took place in the same year. When I say "excellent", I mean the book is evocative, well written and contains extraordinary attention to detail. Krakauer is a skilled enough writer to instantly familiarize the average reader with most aspects of mountain climbing and especially with climbing Mount Everest. The reader is also left with some nagging questions. Is Krakauer really, the humble, easy going and under-qualified (yet skillful) mountaineer he portrays himself to be in the book? Or, is he every bit as self-centered, careless, or full of poor judgment as many of the others? Although I liked the book very much, Krakauer's portrayal of himself struck me as too good to be true. The most important question is why two of the most experienced climbers and several of their clients perish on the mountain. In the case of Rob Hall, the highly methodical and experienced guide, Krakauer mildly suggests the obvious: he didn't follow his own safety regulations. Hall ignored his own turn around time and continued to the summit when he knew it was too dangerous to do so. Krakauer suggests that he did this partly out of pride (he had never failed to get clients to the summit before), partly out of fear (his competitor--who also perished in the attempt--might have succeeded in getting his clients to the top), and partly out of obligation (he could not bear the thought of his friend Doug Hansen, who was dangerously lagging behind, not making it to the top). Piled on top of these factors was the lure of reaching the summit itself. I am not a mountain climber, but I'm certain that had I been so close, I too would have found the urge to reach the summit extremely hard to resist. Oddly enough, Hall was completely right when he acknowledged that sooner or later something like this was going to happen. Although I was saddened and moved by the tragedy, I also found myself asking, "well, what did you expect? You took a risk and you suffered the consequences." I do not say this with any lack of respect or regard for the lives lost there. I enjoyed the book very much and commend Jon Krakauer for his excellent account of a fascinating and tragic situation.
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Summary: He reads it himself.
Review: In a very nobel gesture, Krakauer reads his own book for the tape. It is not as smooth as it would be if an actor read the book but it gives you a better feel for what the authors intention of the reading is. I had read the climb first and wanted to find out what Krackauer had said to get Baukereev so riled. In the book he comes across a lot better than he did in the magazine article. After the reviews he got from the magazine, he was better able to put the story together. It had me on the edge of my seat throught the tapes even though I had heard it all before. His insites into Beck Weathers is most facinating. As Krakauer is given full space in this article to tell the story of the climb, it is interesting to hear the story behind his accusations. Apperently the accusations of Backreev came from Krakauer's assessement of another guide's believes in guiding climbs. Some of the accusations of Lopsang came from Ang Dorje. Now how much of this was well remembered from his hypoxic state during the climb and how much is fact is not known. Krakhauer admits his problems in telling the account of Andy Harris, to later find out it was Martin Adams that he actually had the encounter with. Read it but also read "The Climb." Get both sides of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting, but at a cost.
Review: I enjoyed Into Thin Air, it was a very thrilling story. But, I worry that it may actually encourage the very situation it warns about: inexperienced climbers paying large sums of money to be guided to the top! How many people reading this are thinking "It couldn't happen to me..."?
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