Into Thin Air

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Summary: A captivating, horrifc recount of the true price of Everest
Review: Read this book! It is one the greatest accounts written about the fight for survival at 29,000 ft.. Krakauer produces an amazing ability to capture the true essence of human victory and suffering, simultaneously. His difficult task of writing permeating description of raw nature around him is complemented well by frequent digressions into the the state of his psyche during the climb , as well as, myths of the revered mountain. As one whom has heard Jon Krakauer speak live, I am not surpised at his way of intensely luring the reader into an incomprehensibly hellish world. He remarked, when I heard him speak, that he received no formal training in writing. Yet, if anything, this lack of fundamental writing theory adds a beneficial, down-to-earth style of writing (which is not to say that Krakauer doesn't achieve frequent moments of literary brilliance). This self-taught method enables a reader to absorb exactly what Krakauer was thinking when he drafted the piece, avoiding cumbersome and unnecessary passages. I digress. What I genuinely mean to say is that Into Thin Air, Krakauer's attempt at purging his soul of the worst experience of his life, is a beautifully descriptive book. The reader will, literally, seem to feel a slight chill in the air once well into the book. As I mentioned before, however, this detailed narration of the ascent and dreaded decent of Mt. Everest has another side woven into its core. This remaining message is easily and unmistakably a plea from Krakauer's soul about the commercialization and waning respect for the mountain over recent years. His regrets and torment hit the reader with a resoundingly sympathetic and humanitarian reaction. So fascinated and obliged did I feel to read this, that I consumed the book in one day, consisting of only a handful of intense and self-reflective sittings. Without the ability to proceed in words to do this book and this author justice, I end this review with not just a recommendation, but what could be interpreted as a plea: If and when you read this book, something will 'click' in your mind and entice you to examine your own existence. When you do this, during and after reading about the Mt. Everest disaster, you will no doubt realize and be truly thankful for the things which we so often take for granted.

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Summary: Keeps you turning pages
Review: Into Thin Air was good book, in the sense that it kept readers interested and involved throughout the story. Where it is at fault however, is the blame the author lays on other people. While he was sleeping in his tent there were people dying on the mountain. I will not pretend to know anywhere near the pain and state of mind he was in at the time,however, if he is willing to point the finger at the actions of others he must be willing to receive part of the blame himself. It is a thrilling read and one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read.

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Summary: The tragic epitaph of Scott, Rob, Doug, Andy, and Yasuko
Review: I recently purchased Jon Krakauer's bound and illustrated edition of his excellent book "Into Thin Air"--even though I already had the paperback version--and I found the purchase well worth it. As it is widely acknowledged, this is an incredible tale, and Jon Krakauer's writing style is vivid, stark, and quite brilliant. The many photos further illuminate this story, and serve to better orient the reader with the many characters and physical features of the Everest area. Jon's decision to include a postscriptum regarding differences between he and Anatoli Boukreev was a judgement call, though Im not sure it was worth the effort, given the rather obvious flaws in the late Boukreev's version found in "The Climb." Its clear that no amount of inkslinging and jawing by anyone can cover up the fact that the Russian's idea of a Guide's responsibilites was completely out of step with what is normally expected in a commercial climb with paying clients. I read "The Climb" in order to get more information on this fascinating if appalling event--it did that, though it was cluttered with an unconvincing apologia, and suffers greatly stylistically in comparison with Krakauer's master work. Thus the reader may wonder that the postscriptum is perhaps much ado about rather little. After all, Boukreev, a great climber, has passed on too. It is to Krakauer's credit that the revenues from this edition are pledged to the 1996 Everest Memorial Fund. For me the lasting impressions of Into Thin Air are the tragic figures who were lost to the mountain, from Rob Hall's incredible ordeal in an completely exposed bivouac atop Everest, to what was no doubt a nightmarish struggle by Andy Harris and Doug Hansen, to Yasuko caught in the ice, and finally and perhaps most sadly the Scott Fischer story. I dont believe Jon's account was unduly judgemental. Scott's team made it down safely in the end, and he alone perished due to a rogue storm and his own human error in climbing while apparently sick with an intestinal parasite. Like other I am sure, I wish he'd turned around at two oclock, that seeing all his clients successful in the endeavor, had seen the irrelevance of his own summitting of the peak at such a late date, and that more was done to save him from that frozen ledge. It painful to realize that Scott apparently emerged from his supposed comatose state long enough to take off his gloves and jacket and bare his entire shoulder (an effort to inject some medicine?) I read an online interview conduced in 1996, where Fischer was asked what he feared the most. His reply--to die in the mountains and leave his family behind. Would that it were not so!

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Summary: Into Thin Air takes you along on the climb
Review: Jon Krakauer, though exhaustive research, takes the reader along with him and his fellow climbers on the ill-fated 1996 expedition. The final conversation between Rob Hall, trapped alone on the South Summit, and his wife in New Zealand is heartbreaking. I cannot imagine being that cold, that alone, that tired. This book is a good read.

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Summary: This is absolutley the best adventure book ever written.
Review: Jon Krakauer is a great author. The way he describes his bone-chilling adventure/disaster atop of Mt. Eversest, had me on the edge of my seat before throwing me out of it. It is a sad harrowing tale that will forever leave a mark in your memory.

Rating:
Summary: entranced
Review: I didn't want to put it down, form first page I just wanted more, I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It felt like I was right there with them and it scared me to death. Everest is a force to be reckoned with. This is a great book for the adventurer in all of us.

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Summary: Gripping, but written by an egoist
Review: I absolutly loved this book. I read it almost a year ago and the vivid images and passionate feelings this book arose are still with me. The text was insightful and understandable. It's only fault is that it was written by an egotistical man. There are a lot of selfish undertones and blame placing. I wish Mr. Krakauer had spent more time documenting than trying to take away his own fault.

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Summary: An incredible story!!
Review: This is a GREAT book!! An intriguing story told by a master storyteller. I had no previous interest in mountain-climbing and had to be talked into reading the book. I'm so glad I did! The book moved me, inspired me, and best of all, I learned so much! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.

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Summary: Its the most gripping true life expedition I've ever read !!
Review: Jon really does an excellent job of making you feel the Victory and the Misery of a mountain expedition. He takes you from hopelessness in one chapter to triumph in the next chapter. I couldn't put the book down. Its an amazing piece of work. Great Job Jon!!! I reccomend it highly

Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: Krakauer took my mind and emotions to the top of Everest and back. I felt fear, horror, exhiliration and awe. I experienced the entire expedition in way that I have found myself unable to explain.

I finished the book at 2 AM and for the first time in 35 years, turned immediately to page 1 and started over. Don't pass this one up.