Rating: 
Summary: This was a powerful, disturbing book
Review: This was one of the most distressing books I have ever read. I read it twice in two days and then bought copies for everyone I know. It was an experience, but I still can't understand why anyone would want to climb that mountain. Buy this book and read it. You will never forget it.
Rating:
Summary: Five stars is inadequate!I give it six, with two thumbs up!!
Review: A MUST READ!!!! No words can do justice to the story behind this book. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, had placed me as an observer in one of the most horrific struggles for life atop Mount Everest. Once I began reading, I would become so entranced that I could not put the book down until I was forced to do so. At the end of the book the details intensify so greatly that no one, no matter how strong they may be, can be pulled away from the mountain and its bewildering powers. No matter what sort words I write in this review, they cannot even come close to doing this incredible story justification. I feel that there are only two ways for one to truly understand this extraordinary book. To find out, one would have to either read the book or climb Mount Everest. If you choose to climb, be sure to begin your summit push when a storm hits, and the storm has to be so severe that it leaves you stranded atop the mountain, it's unruly forces are unleashed, with no hope of rescue. Feeling disoriented, and your brain begins to turn into mush (from the deprivation of an adequate amount of oxygen). You find yourself having to make the most difficult decision you have ever been faced with, life or death? Weighing the reasons, in order to make this decision you ask yourself, is life worth such relentless anguish, with only the mere possibility that I may one day return home to all that I know and love? Or should I give up, and allow death to overcome my practically lifeless body so that the suffering will stop? Personally I suggest you read the book, because it dangerously brings your mind into the "Death Zone" and gives you a feeling for "Summit Fever," without putting your physical well-being at risk. A story that hits you deep within is one that you will never forget. Books with this character seem to be about firsthand accounts in the struggle for life. Other books I have read and recommend are The Diary of Anne Frank, Number the Stars and Zlata's Diary.
Rating:
Summary: The best book about setting goals and never giving up!
Review: This book was so awesome because Krakauer made you feel like you were there climbing with him. The way that he gives you background information and what was going on with definitions was cool because you can understand and visualize what he was talking about. This book was great because you hear this smazing story plus it also make you look at yourself and analize what you would have done. I really got to see what was important in my life and to think about how we complain daily over things that many don't even have. This is a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, disturbing, a real page turner
Review: Although I'd heard about this book I was not going to read it as I am not interested in mountain climbing, but my book group decided to read it. So to be a good sport, I plunged in. It was fascinating. I had no idea what all was involved in climbing a mountain. I'd read a little bit, discuss it with my husband and then read some more. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. A great book.
Rating:
Summary: A balanced, painfully honest account of a disaster
Review: I was deeply moved by this book. I'd already read the paperback version, but when the Illustrated Edition came out I decided to spring for it in order to see the pictures. The pictures are great, but another reason to read this edition of the book is the new postscript, where Krakauer answers the charges leveled against him in The Climb, by Boukreev and DeWalt. Another reason to buy this book is that Krakauer has donated all the proceeds to a memorial fund that helps needy Sherpas. I thought that was pretty cool. I don't understand the reviewers who think Krakauer was unfair to Boukreev, or those who think The Climb is more honest than Into Thin Air. I suspect that people who think The Climb is honest have not read the Illustrated Edition of Into Thin Air (and its postscript). This postscript convinced me that The Climb is a manipulative, dishonest, self-serving book, designed to boost Boukreev's reputation and generate controversy in order to sell more copies of the Boukreev-DeWalt book (the blame for this probably belongs to Weston DeWalt, IMHO, not Boukreev). DeWalt apparently decided that the best way to generate controversy and sell his book was to claim that Krakauer was unfair to Boukreev, and to level personal attacks on Krakauer and his credibility. The Climb presents the illusion of being honest because it is raw and rough and crudely written, sort of like the literary version of Cinema Verite. But it is a mistake to equate poor writing with credibility. My biggest problem with The Climb is that it's impossible to tell when the writing is really Boukreev's and when it's DeWalt pretending to speak for Boukreev. Don't get me wrong. Anyone who is interested in the Everest disaster should read both books. Boukreev was a hero (which Krakauer pointed out quite clearly, I thought), and his version of what happened is interesting. But you should take what Boukreev writes (or what DeWalt writes claiming to speak for Boukreev) with a big grain of salt. I wish Boukreev had found a better writer than DeWalt to do his book for him. What a wasted opportunity. The Illustrated Edition of Into Thin Air is by far the most interesting and credible version of what happened on Everest.
Rating:
Summary: Just the best book ever written!!!
Review: Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, has been the best book ever written!! Totally inspiring, and incredibly written by Mr. Krakauer, who not only focuses on the problems everyone might have had, but also, and in a very humble way, admits how his actions might have caused the death of a few of his partners. I feel great admiration for a man who has the guts to live with this burden and also puts it together for us in a superb way!! Only thing left to say is, THANK YOU MR. KRAKAUER!!!! For being, original and most important of all for being a human being!!
Rating:
Summary: "A gripping page-turner with a depressing conclusion."
Review: Have you been above 25,000 feet, in the so-called "Death Zone?" At this unbelievable altitude, your body is in a tremendous state at which you are deteriorating and dying every minute. This book leads you from the town of Kathmandu to the pinnacle of the summit. You are lead by depictive details so that you feel that you are actually on the journey to the summit. Through vast knowledge of the terribly haunting past that Everest accounts for, Jon takes you through the first climbs and important deaths that Everest is responsible for. Every chapter, you are informed of the history of each section that this enormous mountain holds. He also coaches you on his teammates and their climbing experiences along with his. You are introduced to the basics of climbing to help you better experience the climbing of the largest mountain in the world and the treacherous section, known as the Khumbu Icefall, that is so dreaded by the author. Once you have experienced acclimatizing the mountain, you are lead through the wait until, the SUMMIT DAY! You are taken to the summit, while Jon informs you of the terrible effects of this climb, such as HAPE and HACE. Both of which severely affect the mind and body, which make it hard for you to do everyday things that you used to be able to do. You are in a hypoxic-state, in which you need to be aware of every little thing you do, so you do not put your life in jeopardy. I feel that you will never, I mean never, want to put this book down. You are informed of every little tragic event that occurs on the mountain and almost as though you could suit-up and join the team. This may even change your outlook on life and give you a better understanding of the mysteries that Everest holds. I can tell you this, that after reading the book for the ninth time, I still want to learn more about one of the events I hope to accomplish in life. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: This book will change your views on those who climb Everest.
Review: Jon Krakauer's personal account of the 1996 tragedy on Everest. "Into Thin Air," is a great book for those who enjoy suspense. Since he does write the book with a special appeal to the trials of mountaineering you learn a lot. He explores not only the tragedy, but also gives an extensive history on the mountain, the trials of climbing at high altitudes, and he also explores the sherpa culture. The sherpa are the indigenouspeople to the Himalaya that are hired to carry supplies up and down Everest. I learned that, if you really want to do something, and you really willing to sacrifice some of yourself, you can achieve. Jon makes this clear. Every person on that mountain had a will to succeed in getting to the top. Some, like Doug Hansen, had tried before but were not able to summit. Doug would summit on this trip but would pay the ultimate price for it, his life. The book is a chance to learn about the technique used for scaling 8,000 meter peaks. You learn how ropes are strung and the difficulties and worries associated with them. A big part of the book is the mountain illness related to the high altitude. HAPE and HACE are the main diseases that will affect the climber on Everest. But report horrible cramps and feet "looking like hamburger." It is very hard to comprehend what these people are thinking when they try for such great heights. Jon Krakauer tries to solve this puzzle by adding excerpts from great explorers and those who may have tried Everest before every chapter in the book. There is also a detailed list of everyone that was on Everest during those weeks prior and after the tragedy that changed so many views on Everest. It details where they are from, the group they are in, and their full names. My personal opinion on the book was pretty high. Since this book is not the genre I usually read it was hard to be accepting. I was surprised by Krakauer's style of writing and how detailed it was. I became interested in the events that had led to this tragedy. Jon Krakauer has proved himself to be an excellent writer and someone whose books I will be looking for at my local library. I will recommend this book to most anyone. It is for mature people though because he does use some vocabualry that left me with a dictionary naear me at all times. With words like brouhaha this turned out to be a complicated read. It was a relatively flowing book with very few breaks in the action. In the end I will have to say, read this book!It is great for most people. Do not pick it up if you don't like tragedy or a story with no sense of a happy ending. It will change your view on those who try to summit the worlds highest peak though, guaranteed.
Rating: 
Summary: A personal account of tragedy and triumph.
Review: When Jon Krakauer began his ascent to the pinnacle of Everest he could in no way imagine the emotional and physical encounters that lay ahead. Beginning in Katmandu, Krakauer would climb to an elevation 29,028 feet above sea level. Throughout this 26,794 vertical foot endeavor, feelings of love, hate, desire, and loss are expressed. Into Thin Air is a roller coaster of facts, fiction, and reality. Krakauer does an excellent job of intermixing personal account, truth, and mystery into a continuous flow of events. On May 10 Krakauer found himself face to face with not only his aspirations but in addition, his fears. Suffering from fifty-seven hours without sleep, oxygen deprivation, extreme cold, and hypoxia he began his decent. Immune to the pain and fatal warning signs that would later cost the lives of many climbers, the persistence of humanity pushed others onward. In the end, fifteen would be dead, friends would be lost, and the greatest disaster ever recorded on Everest would be engraved into history. Into Thin Air is a harrowing account of personal conquest and human triumph. I urge any reader, both young and old, to experience the bittersweet failure and success of Everest.
Rating:
Summary: It was Great!!
Review: Into Thin Air was an amazing story of one man's journey up the powerful Mt. Everest. John Krakauer goes into detail of the physical and physcological states of his fellow climbers and describes the hardships of their ascent. He thoroughly explains in detail what happens on the mountain and the outcomes of all these events. We begin as he starts preparing for the climb, until the bitter end. I thought this book was very well written and left no questions to the reader . He describes the history of each of the climbers he is with and continually tells of their physical and mental states as they get higher and higher to the summit of the highest mountain in the world. He shows deep concern for everyone on the expedition and wants everyone to make it to the top and back again, as much as he wants it for himself. I am not personally into rock climbing and I can't see why anyone would want to put their lives in danger just to climb a mountain, but this book did a very good job of describing the climb. For anyone that is interested in that kind of thing or is just looking for an exciting book to read, this is it!!
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