Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: Absolutely excellent! Ten minutes into this book I found myself unable to put it down. John's account of his trek up Everest is so intense and descriptive you're bones will hurt at times. A must read for the adrenaline junky. Be warned though - this is an addictive story. After reading this book you'll rent the IMAX video, watch the specials on Discovery and perhaps develop an irrational desire to visit, maybe even summit, Everest. You've been warned!!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good read
Review: For years, I'd heard a lot of good things about "Into Thin Air." However, I'm not a climber, and I thought I'd seen and heard enough about the Everest disaster. I finally picked up Krakauer's book, and I'm glad I did.For starters, the book is fast paced (for the most part) and is written for both climbers and non-climbers alike. Krakauer takes responsibility for some of the tragedies of Everest in the book, but you can also understand how some of the poor exercises in judegement were exacerbated by the lack of oxygen above the so-called "death zone." Krakauer does a fair job of just telling the straight facts, but of course you know that it's just one point of view on the story. For instance, Krakauer was not a fan of Anatoli Boukreev, a fellow climber from Russia who was serving as one of the guides. Of course, there are two sides to every issue, but it does make you question the judgement of others, not just Krakauer's. It was also interesting to learn more about the Sherpas, the trip to the mountain and just some interesting tidbits I never really thought about. For instance, there's a field of empty oxygen bottles up near Camp Four. I never really thought about it, but all those people do produce trash, and if they don't remove it, it just stays. Luckily, there is an effort to clean the mountain. I had also been interested in perhaps going to Base Camp if I ever had the chance, but after reading about the camp where you have to stay before you reach Base Camp, I'm having to reconsider. This wa just a good book to read from just a sheer adventure point of view. I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgetable
Review: I write this review from a perspective of several years so I'll be short on specifics and long on impressions. I will never go mountain climbing; the mere thought of it makes me quesy. However, after reading this book, I went out and got the next two books that came out on the subject of this infamous incident. Although the other two books were enjoyable, I realized that Krakauer's account IS the definitive story on the subject. Haunting is the first adjective that comes to mind in describing his account. His insights to the whole Everest experience was intriguing. I will always remember his well-phrased images of the piles of empty oxygen canisters (not to mention the accumulations of human waste) in this pristine location. The reader gets all the essential background of what it is like to venture into this mystical locale including all the risks and affects of the altitude. Krakauer makes you understand what it is like to have been there. The various characters in the groups that climbed together were well developed and we find ourselves developing our own opinions of them. The drama of the storm and the deaths at high altitude is compelling as is the rescue and the strange case of Beck Weathers. What is hard to understand is that the author did it all in such a short book. This book is an experience and one that you wouldn't want to miss.
Rating: 
Summary: half good book should be half price
Review: Hello my name is Aaron and I read this book for my senior world literature class. For my great teacher Matau :) Into Thin Air was definetly a well written historical thriller about the recent travesty in 1996 on Mt. Everest. The chapters varied from random tidbits about the mountain with information that sounded like it was straight from a text book to an action packed drama.
The book had me clinching to it not being able to put it down one minute but then the next minute I would find myself taking aim at the garbage can wishing it wasnt the school's property.
Thus I give a score of a three stars. It was a five star book one section and the next a one, if math has taught me anything the average is three.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Read!
Review: an elaboration of the article published in Outside magazine. A real life account of the 1996 Mt. Everest expedition, Krakauer tells the tale of his wonderful summit, and terrifying descent.
13 stars!
Rating:
Summary: Surviving the "Death Zone"
Review: I had heard nothing but great accolades towards this book from people all around me. Thus, after years of seeing it in bookstores, I finally decided it was time to do myself justice and read this facinating piece of work. The thought of "Mount Everest" conjures up images of adventure, heroism, and mysticism...even as kids, we all imagined ourselves triumphantly planting a flag on the peak of Everest after a hard climb to the top (in truth, we just scaled a rather large ant-hill). Thus, the mere image of Everest invokes emotions in people of all ages...both young and old. It was only after reading this book did I realize that the mountain had a dark-side...a side that has taken the lives of hundreds of people who have attempted to "conquer" it. I first heard about the disastrous events that occur in this book a few years back, but never really followed up on it. However, I can honestly say, I will never forget these events till the day I die...such power lies in this book, that it leaves you feeling cold, numb and possibly frost-bitten every time you put the book down. However, like the climbers described in the book, who are close to death, unable to think, let alone move, and yet continue to scale the mountain, the reader simply cannot put this book down... I finished the book in under two days. It is evoking and mind-provoking. Above all, it provides a clear picture of how the human spirit can endure, even when the physical body it occupies is dead (literally). I was utterly amazed to hear that some of the climbers survived negative -100 degree weather...I practically cry when the thermometer drops below 50 degress...how could novice climbers survive and live to tell this tale, while others, like Scott Fisher and Rob Hall (considered the most experienced climbers in the world before their deaths) succumb to mortality. I dont know, nor can anyone really say...fate, luck, skill or sheer good will by the Gods? We will never know... Regardless of theory, the author does an expectional job in providing the details and events that led up to this catastrophic event. His explanations are non-biased and full of technical expertise. In short, you cant go wrong reading "Into Thin Air"...it may even make you want to climb a mountain (probably not Everest though)!
Rating:
Summary: But what REALLY happened...?
Review: This is a very entertaining book, but it does not give credits to the real hero, Anatoli Boukreev. He was the one who saved lives, not Krakauer. Krakauer is not even able to admit that he was nothing but trouble to everyone.
I recommend Anatoli's own book, "The Climb", to be read instead of this one.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Review: I loved this book~ Jon did a wonderful job telling about the Everest Disaster. At times while reading I found myself actually gasping for air~ I did have the opportunity to meet Jon when he came to Dallas, (Richardson, Texas) to speak, his slide show was excellent. He is an increadable man and I admire him and his honesty and very candid account of what happend during the fateful climb. This book is a MUST READ for anyone ~ intersted in Everest or not , you will love this book~ Well worth the purchase. This book is a real page turner. Only leaving you wanting to read more. Buy this Book! You will be "glad you did"~
Rating:
Summary: Not a Beck Weathers fan
Review: I read INTO THIN AIR and learned alot, both about geography and about a sport I've never explored before. The biggest flaw to me in this book was the character development. As he introduced the people they began to blend together and didn't distinguish themselves until chapter's later...some of them didn't develop at all. As a journalist I was intrigued that Beck Weathers graduated from a high school just 10 miles from my TV station and graduated from the university in our town. I contacted him about doing a story that most are unfamiliar with in the area and he declined with a sense of arrogance. Krakauer also saw that arrogance and mentioned it in his book.
Other than some confusion with character development the book played out as a thrilling drama. I would definately give Krakauer another shot at entertaining me.
Rating:
Summary: To 29,000 feet up and back
Review: My name is Katie and I am a senior in high school. I read the book, Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, as a lit circle assignment in my senior English class. Though the book was mostly a history lesson, it was also some-what interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read long novels about real life, dramatic occurrences, people's pain and hardships, and the prices one risks to take an adventure to the heights of the world. When you read this book you will get a sense of the events happening on the mountain, and what the people in the book are feeling. It's almost as if you are there yourself. It's a story you will never forget.
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