Rating: 
Summary: 'Into Thin Air' whispers 'what would YOU have done?'
Review: How many of us have thought.. "If I go down this path, I'm doomed, but I've made my point clear to others and to rescind now would be a cowardice act"? In business, war and health, this is a common scenario that often leads to tragic results, and Everest Quest 1996 was no exception.
Krakouer takes us on the Everest journey from his perspective, but continues to question the acts of himself and others throughout the terrible ordeal - leaving the reader consumed with thoughts of, "what would I have done differently?". It is this constant self-evaluation that is the true appeal of "Into Thin Air".
More than a classic adventure novel, here is acute adventure teamed with psycology... massively entertaining and educational, and most importantly, unique.
Bravo! Krakauer shows the world that Nature makes the rules, but people interpret the rules - and depending on how they see themselves and others - the interpretation can be tragically flawed.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating story, skilled storyteller make book a classic
Review: As he did in "Into the Wild," Jon Krakauer begins with a riveting story and uses his impressive skills as a researcher and writer - and observer - to turn "Into Thin Air" into a great read.
Unlike most writers, Krakauer doesn't let his style and his words interfere with the story by trying to elicit this emotion or that emotion from the reader. This is difficult with a book like "Into Thin Air," mostly because the story of the Everest disaster is so well-known by now, and was told so wonderfully in Krakauer's article in Outside magazine.
If you were moved by the article, or by the recent "Turning Point" broadcast about the events of last May 10, you'll want this book
Rating:
Summary: It will upset your stomach ... and heart.
Review: The mind-wrenching story of Sagarmatha '96 has sadly become a cottage industry in '97. And it is Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air that, no doubt, will become the fulcrum for discussion and second-guessers for decades to come. And for good reason. The work is a superb, powerful and hauntingly engaging book...not just for the alpine crowd, but mainstream America. Just as it was for those who went to the summit a year ago, it's impossible to turn back once you've started. The book joins a long list of epic mountaineering books such as K2, Anapurna, The Freedom of the Hills, The Conquest of Everest, Seven Summits, etc. as an adventure classic. Only Into Thin Air may be the best ever, not just because of the magnitude of the mountain or the disaster, but because of the reporting skills of his author, participant. Certainly, the other "classics" were captivating, but were penned by those whose primary function in life was something other than journalism. Krakauer, as he proved in Into the Wild, is the Rob Hall/Scott Fischer of Outback Journalism.
Without question, it is a grand account, with details that will upset your stomach as well as your heart. However, it fails to properly address the many ironies that drip from this story. Krakauer was sent to Everest by Outside Magazine to report on the commercialization of the mountain, yet this tragedy, as stated, has become a cottage industry. There are web sites while Outside and Men's Journal still compete for the latest updates. A year ago Life Magazine shocked us with a decaying corpse and there are movies (IMAX and Cinemax?) currently in the works. And when does the 29-city book tour begin, Jon? But interestingly, the biggest irony of all is that the one person who was vilified as the biggest media hog, is the one now who has tastefully decided to remain quiet. I respect Sandy Pittman for her silence while the media machine throws six figures and starbeams at the other survivors.
And although I greatly admire Krakauer for his journalistic skill, which is so apparent in this book, I also see him as a hypocrit. Why is he trying so hard to sell this story and at the same time trying so hard to sell us that he remains so haunted by it. He complains that a day doesn't go by when he isn't troubled by the events of a year ago...but frankly, a day doesn't go by when he isn't talking about it somewhere. Nobody forced him to write the book, nobody forced him to be on ABC's "Turning Point," nobody forced him to be the cover story for "Outside." Jon, I suspect that if you're having trouble forgetting Everest, it's because you're having trouble not selling the story. Don't get me wrong, I am GLAD you chose to share the story with us in all the ways you have. And, certainly, I don't begrudge the fact you are making a tidy sum for it...just don't complain about it, spare us the righteous re-cycled puppychow. If you are still troubled, simply do as Sandy Pittman: SHUT UP ALREADY.
One or two final comments: Where were the Krakauer photos? Finally, Krakauer writes, "Traditionalists were offended that the world's highest summit was being sold to rich parvenus--some of who, if denied the services of guides, would probably have difficulty making it to the top of a peak as modest as Mount Rainier."
Christ, Jon! Talk about hypocrisy. Pages earlier you talked about how it had become fashionable to "denigrate" Everest as a "slag heap." Wasn't it your point that one must respect the mountains, that at any one point they can kill you? Isn't ironic how Krakauer also denitgrates a mountain in his own backyard; The Mountain where one of his own mentors (Willi Unsoeld) died? And a mountain which was the site of this country's single-worst disaster? Jon, let me remind you it was "modest" Mount Rainier in 1981 where 11 persons died in a single accident. Check my math, but I believe that is three more than Sagarmatha in '96. And besides nobody turned it in to a cottage industry, either
Rating:
Summary: Read the book, stay off the mountain
Review: While Krakauer's book (and the article of the same name in Outside magazine) has been the source of much debate and second guessing on the part of reviewers and other climbers, my review really isn't intended to address these issues. Instead, I just want to ease the concern of Outside readers (which I shared before I read it) that the book would be nothing more than an extended version of the original (and lengthy) article. While it obviously covers some of the same ground, the book is much more expansive and shouldn't be missed by anyone who has even the slightest interest in mountaineering and/or what occured on that tragic climb up the world's highest peak
Rating:
Summary: Riveting chronology of the everest disaster
Review: As a native Seattlite and outdoor enthusiast, I
appreciated Jon's fair and detailed account of the ill-faited expedition. He co-mingles personal sketches and mountaineering information
with actual events of May 1996. I've found it difficult to think of much else over the last week since finishing the book. The eery
confluence of impaired judgements, guiding competitiveness and unpredictable high-altitude weather brought this promising expedition to a tragic conclusion. I've found it difficult to seperate controllable v. uncontrollable factors and like Jon am filled with many postulated questions: like why did the guides violate their own tenants of climbing, failing to stick to their own prescribed turnaround
times? Why did the IMAX team forego an ascent on May 10 due to the jet stream location and not inform other ascending teams? Why did Hall go
to such lengths to get Hanson to the top? Why didn't the 2 sirdar sherpa's from Hall and Fischer's teams proceed ahead of everyone to set
ropes, as planned? Many, many questions.
The discouraging thing is that few if any lessons may be learned. It appears the publicity may
generate more climbing interest by marginally capable high-altitude climbers.
The other compelling part of this story is Jon's own mental pain and suffering. His feeling's are palpable. As a reader , it was hard not to feel his pain which for me was indicative of a well-told story.
Rating:
Summary: Page by Page Suspense
Review: Even if you already know the story of the deadly Mt. Everest expeditions of 1996, you will appreciate Jon Krakauer's own first person account of the Adventure Consultants and the Mountain Madness groups. Both of these expeditions were led by well-seasoned Everest climbers---Rob Hall from New Zealand and Scott Fischer from the States--and had the aid of expert guides, Sherpas from Nepal and "outsiders". But we soon find that even these experienced people are not immune from the human frailties of greed, denial and self-serving. Those Achilles' heels will cause both expeditions to completely fall apart. At the same time, human error combined with the unforgiving terrors of high altitude climbing sets the scene for heroism in many of the climbers and crew. Krakauer, a journalist who signed on with Hall's expedition to do a story for Outside magazine, doesn't disappoint as weaver of a tale. I took the book everywhere with me while reading it, always eager to find out what would happen next. If a book that explores deftly our desire to reach an unreachable summit appeals to you....especially when that book does not shy away from the tragedy caused when the desire to reach it undoes common sense and humanity....I highly recommend "Into Thin Air."
Rating:
Summary: Riveting chronology of the everest disaster
Review: As a native Seattlite and outdoor enthusiast, Iappreciated Jon's fair and detailed account of the ill-faited expedition. He co-mingles personal sketches and mountaineering informationwith actual events of May 1996. I've found it difficult to think of much else over the last week since finishing the book. The eery confluence of impaired judgements, guiding competitiveness and unpredictable high-altitude weather brought this promising expedition to a tragic conclusion. I've found it difficult to seperate controllable v. uncontrollable factors and like Jon am filled with many postulated questions: like why did the guides violate their own tenants of climbing, failing to stick to their own prescribed turnaround times? Why did the IMAX team forego an ascent on May 10 due to the jet stream location and not inform other ascending teams? Why did Hall go to such lengths to get Hanson to the top? Why didn't the 2 sirdar sherpa's from Hall and Fischer's teams proceed ahead of everyone to set ropes, as planned? Many, many questions. The discouraging thing is that few if any lessons may be learned. It appears the publicity may generate more climbing interest by marginally capable high-altitude climbers. The other compelling part of this story is Jon's own mental pain and suffering. His feeling's are palpable. As a reader , it was hard not to feel his pain which for me was indicative of a well-told story.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't stop reading it...
Review: This tale is Jon Krakauer's personal account of his attempt to summit Mt. Everest. Rob Hall is the leader, a guide with impeccable credentials who is also a man of caution...yet a daring individual, as anyone would have to be to climb Everest (especially time and time again). Rob leads the team up the mountain, and everything is going fairly well until that fateful day where everything seemingly went wrong. It's almost hard to read this book knowing there's a tragedy coming, but I couldn't put it down to find some heroism also involved in this story...the will to survive is amazing, and it is demonstrated clearly in this book. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Best read at sea level...
Review: I tore through Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" in what was, for me, record pace. Ironically, my reading took place at an altitude of over 30,000 feet on United 805 from San Francisco to Chicago. When Krakauer mentions that the summit of Everest sits at a height approximately equivalent to the cruising altitude of a commercial airline, I looked out the window and down, and felt small. When Krakauer details the effects of the thin air at such a height, I noticed my breathing in the cabin becoming more labored. All told, he creates a vivid world for the reader to experience the May 10, 1996 and the events that lead up to it. I've spoken with a number of other readers of "Air," and all have agreed: it makes you never want to go to Everest, and want to hire a guide and book airfare to Kathmandu tomorrow. Strangely enough, any negative feelings I have towards the book started to materialize after I had actually finished the story. I expected the Author's Note section at the back of the book to provide more detail as to what's happened since. Instead, Krakauer proceeds to acknowledge a massive list of contributors to the book, including his agent. As a subscriber to Outside Magazine, I then read Krakauer's interview with the magazine's editor-in-chief. It spends a good deal of time rationalizing the profit which he yielded as a direct result of the experience. Lastly, just today I logged on to Amazon.com and noticed that an audio cassette of "Into Thin Air" has been added to the offering. All in all, I suppose it was simply a little more than I wanted to know. When I initially finished reading "Into Thin Air" I immediately wished I could have a chance to share a quiet cup of coffee and some conversation with Jon Krakauer. If I ever have that chance, after all the talk of agents, profits, and movie deals, I know I'd be fairly comfortable with him picking up the tab. Don't get me wrong, though, I'd still have that cup of coffee. Since releasing "Into Thin Air," Krakauer has been tarred and feathered both in conventional publications and on the Web. While the book provides a rich picture of Everest as a desolate and fearsome place, it also reveals more than a hint of Krakauer's conscience. While he does identify faulty judgement, he also points out that even good judgement can be worthless above 27,000 feet. And while he does point the finger at guides, at other expeditions, and at teammates, he also points it more often than not at himself. In the final analysis, though, Krakauer has skillfully crafted a picture of a place I'll likely never be, an event I'll never come close to experiencing. Regardless of any profit motives, any fault finding, and the rights and wrongs of the situation, "Into Thin Air" expanded my horizons, and that made it worth reading
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air
Review: I read this book some time ago, but haven't written a review. The book was very interesting. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. However, the writer, Jon Krakauer, was very critical about the actions of Anatoli Boukreev. Boukreev was actually a hero on the mountain while Krakauer was too out of it to give any help. Krakauer even gave information to Fisher's wife making her believe that he was alive.
While Krakauer did a good job at writing the book, he was self-serving in making it look like what he did was Ok and Boukreev should be blamed for some of the deaths. One thing that most people didn't realize is that Krakauer and Boukreev were on different teams and none of the climbers from Boukreev's team, with the exception of their leader, died on that climb.
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