Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I read this book when it first came out, and it made a very strong impression on me. I find myself still thinking about it a lot.I'm not a mountain climber myself. But I am a reader. When I read some of the other reviews here, I couldn't help thinking that those people never normally read anything. Apparently they were assigned the book for a class. They were complaining that the book is too long. Probably any book is too long for them. I guess they would have preferred to wait until the movie version came out. I liked the personal elements in it: Krakauer is an adventurist himself and the incidents in this book forced him to reconsider why he liked to pit himself against forces of nature and risk death so often. He might have left those thoughts out of the book, but I'm glad he put them in. I do find it hard to remember the title of this book, for some reason. When I recommend it to people it is always "that book by Jon Kracauer about the Everest expedition that got trapped".
Rating:
Summary: Classic first-hand account of mountain madness.
Review: In his chilling classic of mountaineering literature "Into Thin Air", journalist and mountaineer Jon Krakauer delivers a compelling first-hand account of the ill-starred 1996 Everest expedition in which the mountain claimed the lives of eight climbers. While the main focus of his gripping narrative recounts the events leading up to the 1996 tragedy, Krakauer gains a sense of wider perspective by frequently dipping in and out of past tragedies (also hair-raising survival stories) that litter the history of summit assaults on high-altitude mountains. Krakauer airs controversial issues surrounding the history of Everest expeditions ranging from the dumping of used oxygen cylinders turning the mountain into a giant rubbish dump to the "westernisation" of Khumba culture following the boom in Everest tourism. Accusations of showing disrespect to the mountain have been levelled at commercial expeditions such as Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness - led respectively by rivals Rob Hall and Scott Fischer in 1996 - specialising in high-altitude guiding of relatively inexperienced climbers who fork out small fortunes to realise their dream of setting foot on mighty Everest's summit. Hall and Fischer's expedition teamed up for a combined assault on the summit, launched from camp 4, some 26,000 feet high on the South Col, an altitude climbers call The Death Zone. An important safeguard, a pre-set turnaround time-limit fixed by Hall at 2pm at the latest - regardless of how close climbers were to the summit - was extended by default beyond the deadline, Hall's judgement possibly compromised by the knowledge that it would be bad for business should Adventure Consultants fail to put anyone on the summit two years running, especially if the competition, Fischer's Mountain Madness, succeeded. Danger signs such as the insidious trickling away of precious time as some 30 climbers, caught in a bottleneck at Hilary Step, a 40 foot vertical outcrop of rock, moved upwards at snail's pace, and a sudden deterioration in the weather signalling an approaching storm, went unheeded. The worst tragedy ever to befall an Everest expedition loomed as a group of inexperienced climbers, left floundering around in sub-zero whiteout conditions, lashed by unrelenting jet stream winds whipping across the Col, struggled desperately to survive in the storm now blasting through the Death Zone. With the increase in popularity of commercial expeditions, for many, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Into The History Of Everest
Review: I read Into Thin Air for an english literature class. I didn't really enjoy this book very well because I thought there was to much history included in the book. Jon Krakauer should have just told the story of the climb instead of past climbing expedtions. Also I couldn't keep track of all the characters in the book and hated refering back to the index to see who each person was. If you can getting past the boring history of everest then the book isn't that bad. It was just hard for me to stay interested in the story with all the facts and history.
Rating: 
Summary: To sleep or not to sleep
Review: The book Into Thin Air was a very slow book. You really couldn't get into it until after about chapter twelve. The author gave you a lot of facts about the mountain and the expedition but he said so much that sometimes you became confused. After you get through that though the book becomes very exciting and interesting and you start to like it. I liked the facts very much and it taught me a lot but in ways it is somewhat sloppy. The ending has to be one of the most dramatic endings I have ever read though; it's surprising and sad. The ending makes it worth the read so I would recommend the book if you have the patience.
Rating:
Summary: Into Thin Air
Review: I liked that this was a true story, and that Jon Krakauer was there to experience it, and lived to write about it. His story of the expedition with guide, Rob Hall, was unreal! For twelve fairly experienced climbers to die on a mountain in one day shows how strong nature is. I only gave it three stars because Krakauer jumped around between his own expedition with Adventure Consultants to past expeditions, and history from earlier years. He mentions so many people that I had to keep referring to the front of the book to keep names straight. So I think it should have been broken into two stories, one as Krakauers personal account of Everest, and the other as Mt. Everest's history with past climbers. But if you like history, then you would enjoy reading about all of the climbers and their experiences on the mountain, as well as Krakauer's deadly climb.
Rating:
Summary: Diaster On Top Of The World
Review: I gave the book three stars. Because it took so long to get into, you would almost give up on reading it, because he tells you so much about the history of the mountain and past expeditions. After about the first 200 pages things really start to heat up. It isn't until the end of the book where the best part is. If you can indure all the information and stories to get to the heart of the book, then I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Too much character usage, Great Description of Ascent
Review: Into Thin Air is a good book, yet if you don't have a character list next to you while reading this book you can easily become confused like I did. Mr. Krakauer will go on a tirade of character usage and will completely lose the reader's interest because the reader doesn't know who he is talking about. When Jon Krakauer talk's about his personal expedition to the top of Everest, he does such a good job describing the climate and surroundings that it feels like you are there yourself, climbing Everest. At these point's in the book the detail is so great that it is really inticing and interesting, it locks the reader in.
Rating:
Summary: An Interesting And Sad Read
Review: Into Thin Air is both interesting and sad. I learned a great deal about the world of mountain climbing . The story of this event is a tragedy. I was troubled by the actions of some of the expeditions. I would recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Fiction told to be fact.
Review: It's not a bad book if you don't mind being lied to. If you wish to read the truth about what happened on May 10, 1996 read "The Climb".
Rating:
Summary: too much info!!!
Review: The modern day adventure is not what it used to be. The life threatening ordeal is much more interesting now in this day and age. Jon Krakauer was in one of the most dangerous of all, trapped in a storm on the highest point of the earth while running out of oxygen, and he found a way to destroy the suspence and fear factor by continously adding more and more facts to the book. By the time you finish it your head almost explodes with information. It was a good book but had too much information about what, at least I, didnt want to know.
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