Rating: 
Summary: Go ahead and vote me unhelpful, but this is a bad book.
Review: I decided to write this review the morning after I made a bravest attempt of my life- to read a 400-page book about people trying to climb a really high mountain, and how people died attempting it. True that it is no ordinary mountain- it is the highest geological point on this planet. Still it nags me to just think about how a person "in his right mind" can write a very thick documentary about mountaineering, or what he claims himself as an "odd, immutable aspect of my personality," and what almost brought he and his female house-mate apart. It is evident that Krakrauer does not really think of dangerous mountaineering activities as odd; if he did, he would not have written a book about it and advertises it to the entire reading public. As for the book itself, I have discovered, after boldly fighting my numerous attempts put the book down and never pick it up again, that at least the first few hundred pages of this book are the most life-threateningly boring materials I have encountered in my life. Details after details- every single sentences everybody had said, regardless how inconsequential and content-less, such as "hi Pete, how are you doing this morning?" goes in the book. Also included in abundance, word for word, are downright indecent maledictions, taken in various forms of "Jesus f**king Christ! My feet really hurt!"). Since everything the author put in a book is supposedly what he think is important, we can conclude that the main concern of the author is not to tell us what lessons he learned from his extrodinary experience; his main concern is how to turn a 10-page travel log into something that is 40 times thicker, and sells. So why does over 95% of those who read this book gave it so high a rating? The answer is probably that, feeling terribly bored with life, Kraukaur has found many allies in our modern, over-industrialized society. Since most people who read this book are from this society, they tend to be bored with life themselves and would therefore feel sympathy for the author Similarly, since people who would spend 6 hours a day writing reviews on Amazon.com about books they've read are probably among those who are most bored with life, it justifies the overwhelmingly high rating of Krakauer's manifest on Amazon.com.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This is the first book I had read about Mt. Everest and I greatly enjoyed it. Krakauer does a good job of describing the events as he experienced them during the tragic climbing season of 1996. I have no climbing experience, but while reading this book I felt that I gained a greater knowledge and appreciation of high altitude climbing. You don't have to be a climber to enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Man Against the Elements--1990s Version
Review: Jon Krakauer's account of the Spring 1996 attempts on Everest disclosed the very personal side of mountaineering. It introduced the myriad of guides and clients whose obsessions with Everest ultimately became a disaster. The book is richly detailed in the dreams of both the clients who sought to add to Everest to their list of life's accomplishments, and of the competing guides who sought to either retain their premier position as guide to Everest, or usurp that position from the front runner. The story is about how a struggle to get to the top of a mountain was to become the only important thing in life,--and how life became threatened, and ultimately ended, because of it. Jon described part-time climbers, novices, as well as highly seasoned Himalayan climbers and their daily, and hourly struggle against the elements to take the summit. The story accurately portrays the near-lax attitude about tackling one of Earth's extreme frontiers and how mother nature, and the elements can and did strike back to remind us all of the insignificance of man. Jon's ability to be there in the midst of the operation and better yet, to relate the story to others, is what makes this a very special book that should be enjoyed by more than the arm-chair adventurer. It is to be enjoyed by anyone who shares this planet and has an interest in man and his challenges in life. I personally believe that many victims never read "The Ascent of Everest" by John Hunt, expedition leader in 1953. It should have been mandatory reading.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air
Review: Into Thin Air, by "Outside Magazine" writer John Krakauer, is a riveting first-hand story of climbing the unrivaled Mount Everest.
The magazine asks Krakauer to climb Everest with Rob Hall's Australian mountaineering company and then write an article of the experience. the purpose of this was mainly to draw new clientele to the already-popular mountaineering company. Little did any of them know disaster lurked on summit day, May 10, 1996.
This is a book everyone should read at some point; it is educational, empathic, and appealing. The book is geared toward adults, though it makes a good read for a motivated adolescent. However, so many characters are introduced so impartially that a character chart is recommended for the latter age group. Into Thin Air is meticulously researched, not only including Krakauer's memories but also a history of the famous mountain and a moving epilogue. It is also surprisingly gripping and suspenseful for a true story. Unfortunately, there is a long drag in the middle of the book due to dull consistency. If anyone is going to read it, they really must stay faithful to finishing it; it is well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Greed and fame to misfortune and death.
Review: Krakauer's account of the 1996 disaster is brutally honest. Chilled and numb, just like the climbers stranded on Everest, you left after learning about horrendous mistakes made by veteran guides atop Everest. Krakauer recalls the horrify events in detail, and reduces the tail into our instinct to survive. You will find yourself challenging the leadership of Hall and Fischer and cheering for the improbable survival of Beidlemen. This book will make you think twice about the next risk you take.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent story of man's pride and selfishness
Review: This is the terrifying story of what happened on journalist John Krakauer's trip down Mount Everest on May 10, 1996, which would turn out to be the deadliest season in history. Krakauer takes the reader along with his ill-fated expedition, step by precarious step, from Katmandu to the mountains summit where, plagued by a combination of hubris, greed, poor judgment, and bad luck, they would fall prey to the mountain's unpredictable fury. This story, which reads like an exciting fiction novel, is truly unbelievable and will make those who have thought about attempting Everest (or other high peaks) second guess themselves. Man's selfishness is put under a magnifying glass in this story, as time after time the climbers display an absurd amount of poor judgment due to their desire to tackle the top. Some of these events include a South African team that would not share a radio, guides not using supplemental oxygen, and a determination to reach the summit and refusal to turn around at the specified cut-off time of 2:00 p.m. Certainly much of the poor judgment is due to the tough conditions of the altitude -- not just temperature -- but lack of oxygen. Amazingly, the climbers get half as much oxygen as sea level when at base camp, and only one-third when at the summit. The side effects that Krakauer describes of these conditions is dizzying, and certainly lead to incoherent and often delusional behavior. For instance, Krakauer himself mistook a member of his team (Adams) for another climber (Harris), telling a whole family that he was the last to see Harris. The end of the book stirs up controversy, as Krakauer uses a prologue to battle Anatoli Boukreev's account of the events. Krakauer seems to have not learned his lesson, as his excessive pride leads to this boring and pointless section on whose account is correct, with minute details being debated. All in all, this book is magnificent and should be read by all outdoor enthusists!
Rating:
Summary: So much more than a journey
Review: Jon Krakauer tells the story of his journey to Mount Everest, and inserts his politics about climbing expeditions, but the book is much more. Krakauer provided excellent research into the history climbing Mount Everest, the Sherpas, and the interesting people he met along the way. This is an adventure story that reads like a novel. What a great read!
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Tale
Review: I first read "Into Thin Air" right after it was first published five years ago. It haunted me at the time, and it continues to do so today. By now, the story has been told so many times and by so many different people that it hard to remember that Krakauer's original account is the one that made it famous to begin with. Were it not for his incredible abilities as a storyteller, it is doubtful that anyone outside the world of mountaineering would remember what happened at the peak of Everest in that fateful May of 1996. Krakauer's account is so compelling because it reads like a book length confession, which it is in a sense. The author worked through his very considerable feelings of survivor's guilt in the book's pages. His descriptions and not inconsiderable opinions have become legendary. For example, how many people read of AOL Chairman Robert Pittman's recent outster from the company and remembered him as the husband of Sandra Hill Pittman, who personified the rich amature climber who buys their way to the top of the world's tallest peak and who has no business being there? Krakauer's descriptions of Mrs. Pittman on the mountain are an example of his simple but devastating observations. Krakauer's highly readable prose make the book read like fiction, probably another reason why it was so popular. He signed on for the Everest climb intending to write a standard mountaineering magazine article. That he chose the fateful May 1996 climb is simply a rare case of someone being at the wrong place at precisely the right time. Though it caused him plenty of personal torment, it also allowed him to write a story for the ages. Overall, "Into Thin Air" fantastic storytelling make it one of the best non-fiction books published in the last decade or so.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful
Review: I picked up the book as past of the 2001 College Mock Trial season requirements. This is the best required reading I have seen in my life! The non-fiction account of the 1996 Mount Everest season is gripping and breathtaking. I read this piece in less than 24 hours something I've never done before. Literally could not put this book done.
Rating:
Summary: Great "stroy" teller with strong emotion and prejudice
Review: Jon Krakauer is a great story teller with strong emotion. What he said in his book is full of assumptions and prejudice against his climb partners. I agreed that he don't have to feel guilt because it's not his fault. But I can not agreed with him at all when he put fingers on Anatoli Boukreev , Sandy, and other climbers. It is horribly unjust. If you want to know the truth, check with the following Books:
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston Dewalt : Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest
by Beck Weathers, Stephen G. Michaud (Contributor) and if you can read chinese, the Taiwan climber Kao Ming-Ho also write one which mentioned a lot for what happened when he and Scott Fisher were left there for Die and how he got rescued.
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