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Summary: This book haunts me.
Review: I am in the middle of my second reading of this account and I still find it fascinating. The effects of , greed , pride and high altitude oxygen depletion are illustrated throughout this book.. It is amazing how stupid people get when they climb over 26,00 feet. I feel for the author for being placed in a situation where everything that could go wrong did. Finally, I agree with those who fault the russian "guide" . He was no hero. If he had done his job, there was a good chance that none of this would have happened. The other guides from both teams did their best. What a book!
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Summary: Unforgettable
Review: Jon Krakauer took me to the top of Mt. Everest - and I am glad I made it back unscathed, although I must admit that I made the tour lying on the couch in my warm living room (my preferred way of dealing with the subject). This is the most impressive work of non-fiction I have ever read, an unforgettable experience. I salute the author for his courage, sincerity and humanity and for his ability to pay such dignified tribute to the climbers who perished in the tragedy.
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Summary: one-sided account of the 1996 Everest disaster
Review: Into Thin Air is a wonderful book. The events that took place and contributed to the deaths of five people are well documented and expertly written. However, Jon Krakauer seems to have written a book that caters to his point of view as opposed to a collective point of view of all involved. I've read every article and every book that has been written about the events of May 10-11 1996, and I can honestly say that Krakauer's book is more a self-serving money making gambit than it is a non-prejudicial recounting. Other's on the ill-fated climb paint an entirely different picture of Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, the two expedition leaders who also died on the mountain; a picture that shows Hall as being a selfless guide who wasn't going to leave anybody behind and Fischer as a climber suffering from either a bacterial infection (he was known to be taking antibiotics) or from altitude sickness and severe exhaustion, maladies that may have contributed to his poor decision making during the summit climb. I find it amazing that others blindly adhere to Krakauer's account without first verifying some of the facts through the words of others who were there. While I think you will enjoy this book I also think that you be naive to believe that every word he writes is factual. I also think you will see that his motives for writing the book are as suspect as any decision made on the mountain and that of the people who survived Krakauer is the least heroic.
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Summary: Krakauer Takes Readers Along a Harrowing Journey of Everest
Review: Imagine yourself alone, surrounded by nothing but blinding snow. In the midst of hurricane force winds and sub zero temperatures you are all alone, 8,000 meters above the rest of the world. Home is only a picture in your mind, your body aches with agony. After completing Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, I breathed a sigh of relief that I had made it off of Mt. Everest in one piece. Krakauer's description of the events that took the lives of several of his comrades will leave you breathless.
Krakauer's book combines his oustanding journalistic talents, climbing expertise and his experience of the real life crisis that took the lives of 12 people in the Spring of 1996. No one could tell this story better than Krakauer. With poignancy and compassion Krakauer takes the reader up into the heart of the mountain to explore what drives women and men to push their minds and bodies beyond the limits-- to stand atop the world.
This book is a must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Tragic story, relatively good storyteller
Review: I'm not an outdoorsy type. A friend of mine and I once had a discussion about how forcing someone to climb up a mountain, with inadequate oxygen and subzero temperatures, all the while suffering from exhausting and dehydration, would be regarded as cruel and unusual punishnment. While reading this book, however, I found myself able to understand how someone would actually be willing to pay 65000 dollars for the privilege. Into Thin Air, while not a brilliant piece of writing, is a solid account of a fascinating and gripping tale. Jon Krakauer chooses to concentrate on the personalities of the climbers in addition to narrating the events of the climb; this is what makes the book such a great read. In addition to understanding the facts of the case, you can understand what they meant to the climbers on the mountain. The most amazing thing to me about the book, and what seems to be the discussion surrounding it, is that Krakauer seems to be trying to expunge some of his own guilt about the mountain. Such guilt, while certainly understandable, doesn't seem to fit with his own story. The fact is that climbing Everest isn't without risk; people choose to climb it to some extent because of that risk. Krakauer himself says that a storm such as the one which killed the climbers is fairly routine. Every part of his account, from the tales of frozen bodies on the trails to his commentary on the mortality statistics for 1996 on Everest, point to the fact that climbing Mount Everest is a potentially deadly undertaking. The tragedy may be in the lack of understanding of this fact on the parts of all parties, both at the time of the climb and now. Krakauer points to many people as bearing some responsibility for the tragedy on Everest. He points to lack of experience on the part of the climbers and to poor judgment on the part of the guides. These things, perhaps, created a situation where climbers were stranded on top of the mountain in a storm. Perhaps the tragedy of the story is that people didn't understand that there was a real risk of death on the mountain. Certainly, some of the actions on the part of the guides and the clients were valiant, others less so. However, it seemed to me that there was quite a bit of shock at the deaths on the summit, which I'm not sure how to explain. If you have the time, read the book. It's interesting, and you'll read it compulsively though to the end.
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Summary: Insular lives
Review: Krakauer's book is excellent for several reasons, not least of which is that it lends insight into why someone might choose to attempt Everest or other unquestionably dangerous peaks. Namely, the increasing popularity of high-altitude mountaineering seems directly related to increasing dissatisfaction with the lexan bubble erected around the daily lives of most "civilized" people. The mountain is a leveller that disdains all the trappings humankind has devised to make itself richer and more comfortable; the fact that some seek to be "levelled" is simply a verification of the fact that, for those people, the trappings just don't cut it, however many they can afford. As "Into Thin Air" amply illustrates, money may get you to Everest, but it doesn't get you on top in swaddled comfort.
I would also suggest that a good deal of the criticism of the book, and second-guessing of Krakauer's actions and motivations, stems from the narrow perspective of contented insularity, characterized by a lack of desire to confront the psychological and spiritual deficiencies of a warm, fuzzy, packaged, push-button existence. Anyone unable to step outside of this perspective has no hope of understanding what Krakauer or anyone else on that climb went through, and really has no business judging any of them. Conversely, Krakauer *is* entitled to the judgements he makes, right or wrong; his perspective is from within, not without. That doesn't make him a good guy or a bad guy, just a guy with an *informed* opinion - who happens to be an excellent writer.
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Summary: Back seat Mountaineers
Review: No, I am not a mountianeer, but found the details of this book to be fascinating and the pace to be gripping. As the author states, this is his personal account of the tragedy that unfolded on the mountain. I am offended by the numerous reviewers who accost Mr. Krakauer for his actions and hold him responsible. It makes me wonder if they even read the book that closely. I have no doubts that Krakauer would have given his own life in trying to rescue his teammates if he could have. How easy it is to sit at our computer in our warm home and criticize his actions. We weren't exhausted, cold, and hypoxemic on that mountain as Krakauer was. If Krakauer was looking to redeem himself in a self-serving way, would he have written about his second guesses of his actions? Or would he have simply left that part out of the book to make him look good? I believe Krakauer did all he could and should be commended. So he profits from the book and movie...big deal! That's his profession. You knew that when you bought the book. How else could this story be told? I would follow Krakauer up a mountain any day and have no doubts that his actions on the mountain were appropriate and justified.
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Summary: Caveat re some of these reviews
Review: Enough time has passed since the 1996 Everest tragedy for opinions to have polarized. I believe a few of the posts here were written by people who only read the Outside magazine article, and not the book, which was written after a great deal more investigation and circumspection. If you've only read the Outside article or others, you owe it to yourself and to the author to read the book.
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Summary: Controversy over commercial expeditions to Mt. Everest
Review: I was anxious to read this account since I had previously read Dick Bass's book about climbing the seven peaks. I was not expecting to be challenged with ideas concerning whether or not commercial expeditions were in fact beginning to be less safe because of the money involved. This book was a good read---in fact I was very tired after my bedtime reading every night!
Rating:
Summary: Worthy
Review: A good read for around the campfire. I found the events a little difficult to follow at times.
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