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Summary: A breathtaking account of tragedy and adversity.
Review: Into Thin Air was a suspenseful and breathtaking account of the devistating year of 1996 on Mount Everest. You are guided from the lowest reaches of Katmandu to the roof of the world.Through the way you are told of each climbers triumphs and tribulations. Jon Krakauer bears all when he describes the climbers and paints a crystal clear picture of the settings. You find out how utterely terifying the Icefall is and how beautiful the summit of Everest is on a sunny day. Eight relatively inexperienced climbers embark for the summit on the night of May 9 at 11:30 P.M. They set out thinking that all the fixed lines had been installed to make their climbing as easy as possible. When they reached a dificult part in the mountain they were slapped in the face with the reality that there were no fixed lines. Whether this was a mistake on the guides part, or disobedience on the Sherpas part we'll never know. The first person to reach the summit that year was Jon Krakauer at 1:12 P.M. He stayed on the roof of the world for a couple of minutes and then began his arduous descent. Jon reached the summit an hour before the fixed turn around time. Rob Hall was known for his immaculate schedule and his strictness to rules. It will always remain an unanswered question as to why Rob didn't turn his clients around until 4:30. What pursued after that was horrific and barely imaginable. A terrible storm insued and left 18 climbers stranded in the "death zone." As time has proved sometimes the most powerful guides are left at the mercy of Everest. Anatoli Boukreev made a valiant rescue of those who were stranded in the "huddle." All other rescue attempts failed. When all was told two of the best guides, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall had perished along with 13 other climbers. This is a must read book. The raw emotion that is displayed will bring a tear to your eye. Once you pick this book up it grips you in and you have to finish reading it.
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Summary: "A true account of life on the mountain... GRRRREAT!!"
Review: A personnal account of the trials and tribulations of working on the tallest mountain on Earth. The author, Jon Krakauer, an experienced climber, tells the story of the tragic events that occured on the 1996 Everest expedition. Krakauer's immense knowledge of climbing and it's history allows the story to be told in great detail and with the power to bring the reader into the story. In the beginning of the story Jon takes you through the amazing history of the mountain and its past expeditions. Describing the sheer, overcoming power of Mt. Everest with facts and personal accounts about the great mountain. He slowly brings you into the story, filling your mind with knowledge of climbing, allowing you to better understand this great novel. It literally feels like you are on the mountain because of the extreme use of detail and past experiences. You learn all sorts of new things such as diseases caused by high altitude and the extreme cold. This novel takes you through harsh, deadly times, and also through the happier, more exciting periods of the climb. You feel for the climbers and the problems they are having, and you soon realize the horrible reality of the toll climbing takes. I guarantee you'll love this gripping novel, no matter what your past experience with climbing is. It unlocks some of the greatest mysteries of this tragic expedition and why these events occured. You'll never want to put this book down once you've started!
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Summary: Treking High into the Sky can Provoke Joy as Well as Sorrow
Review: As you begin reading Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, you must be prepared to brace yourself. Do not let yourself be disillusioned that you are about to engage in reading that will make you feel satisfactory and blissful at the end. Be prepared to cry tears of anger and sadness. You may feel slightly proud of the ones who did make it to the top, but not enough to overcome the deep pain of the loss of people's lives. This book will take you back to a time period in a few individual lives, when they were completely happy and peaceful. The people in this book were doing what they absolutely love to do. They were feeling free and strong. There may have been a few times when people on this giant mountain were feeling a little cold, numb, delirious, and much like they were ready to die. However, even that may be a major understatement. No one can even begin to imagine waht life was like for these unforunate souls in the six weeks that they were away from home.A group of people, some arrogant and self-centered, and some shy and in touch with reality, make an unthinkable trip to the "roof of the world." This enthralling novel will draw you in and take you to the top of Mount Everest with them. However, following the group down through your reading will be a little nail-biting at times. Their encounters with harsh illnesses and near death experiences might change your mind about traveling to a third world country, just to see what the world looks like from the highest point on Earth.
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Summary: "Into Thin Air", although informative, was not enjoyable.
Review: Reading "Into Thin Air" as a school assignment takes some of the enjoyment out out it. If read for personal enjoyment, however, I am sure that it could be somewhat entertaining as well as interesting. Like many others, I found Jon Krakauer's account of the 1996 disaster heavily tainted by his own opinions. I found it remarkable that Krakauer was able to see into the minds of almost everyone on the mountain and therefore pass judgement on other people's decisions. In addition, I found Krakauer's writing style, although incredibly detailed, somewhat annoying at times. He has a way of breaking off onto a tangent at every turn, and I often found myself wishing that he would just get to the point. The difficult vocabulary served only to confuse and detract from the story. However, I appreciated Krakauer's themes of human mortality and perserverence, and I was moved to examine my own life. I would recommend this book for the adventure-seeking reader who can overlook the flaws and concentrate on the value of the story.
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Summary: A thrilling page turner!
Review: I could not put this book down. Jon Krakauer's tale of triumph over man and nature grabs and does not let go. The detail to which his story is portrayed makes for an amazing ride into the nether world of books. His knowledge of climbing and his personal biases towards it make for an even more interesting view of life at the top of the world. Especially enjoyable were his accounts of other climbers and their states of mind throughout the climb. This book will give the reader a feeling of being an extra party to the expedition. A must read for all who wish to know the limits to which man can push himself and return.
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Summary: Jon Krakauer "Into Thin Air" was a wonderfully epic tale.
Review: "Into Thin Air" was a well written novel recounting the tragedy on Mt. Everest. Jon Krakauer gives a detailed, journal like account of the amazing and dangerous events in 1996 with a slightly more personal flavor. The fact that Krakauer was acually on the mountain and expierienced all the pains and satisfactions of going from base camp to the summit, and back down in a terrible storm makes it a very good book. Also, the fact that he was on a personal level with the climbers, he was able to recount their personal feelings extremely accurately. The only things that I did not like was unneccesary profanity from Mr. Krakauer. Although he was going for a realistic portrail, we don't need to know everything. We also didn't need to know about how he relieves his stress. Overal, I think that "Into Thin Air" was a well written book. It is a worth while book for anyone to read.
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Summary: This book cannot be used in a factual context.
Review: This was an entertaining book, but was not very factual. Jon Krakauer was constantly stating what all the other climbers were thinking, but actually had no way of knowing their thoughts. It is a good book if you want to read it for entertainment purposes, but the reader must always keep in mind that this is only one man's point of view. I felt Jon Krakauer used the book to tell about what a wonderful climber he was. His writing was very powerful, but was a very one-sided point of view. If you would like to get an idea of the full spectrum, read The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev. (He was a guide for a team that worked closely with the team Jon Krakauer was on). I'm not saying that either Boukreev or Krakauer are correct but it will give you the other side of the story. Jon Krakauer constantly criticized Anatoli's actions on the trip and Anatoli tells his totally different point of view and recount of events during the ascent. I do suggest this book as an entertainment read, but do not use information in this book as absolute fact.
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Summary: This book is the epic tale of adventure on Mount Everest.
Review: "Into Thin Air" is the unbelievable thrilling novel of of the struggle for life and death on the deadlist moutnain in the world. In the book Jon Krakauer takes you from his home in Seatle, Washington to the slopes of the highest mountain in the world. He describes his relationship with his fellow climbers and of the life threatening disater they went through. By reading this book,it will open your eyes to the wonders of the world and to Mount Everest.
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Summary: It was very well written.
Review: I think that the book Into Thin Air was extremely well written and very well portrays the tragedy of the 1996 Everest expeditions. He really gets into some on the thoughts and feelings of his teammates. He shows how all of the mistakes put together caused the problems and not just on thing went wrong, it was a group of things. Some parts I think should have been edited out such as the references to Scott Fischer's cannabis addiction. He also could have done without the reference to him "smoking a fatty." One other thing that could have been left out was the profanity it is completely unnecessary. Overall the book has been on of my favorites and was extremely heart felt. I have read the book twice now and am still amazed at what happed, and how little problems on Everest turn into big problems quickly. In my opinion this book should be read by everybody and should be in the schools curriculum.
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Summary: Everest: The Unconquerable Mountain
Review: A gripping saga of man's quest for the ultimate adventure. It is a chronical of triumph and defeat, hope and despair. It is an example of great courage, blind ambition, and shattered dreams. At the end, we are reminded that the world's highest mountain can only be visited by man, not conquered.
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