Rating:  Summary: Chilling book but no new heights in storytelling here.... Review: A personal look at the ill-fated Everest attempts that took the lives of six people in 1996, Krakauer gives his perspective as one of the survivors about the events leading up to and immediately after the event.The true appeal of Krakauer's book for most, of course, is that we get a glimpse of human tragedy up close -- a taste of adventure, a poke at death -- without leaving the comfort of our own little worlds. It is a sound book, well done and informative, with enough perspective for the non-climber to appreciate the real issues modern high-altitude mountaineering and the dangers they pose. Krakauer's skillful reporting and observation, however, don't provide much sense of storytelling. This keeps what could have been a memorably gripping tale one which is simply worth reading -- but not worth raving.
Rating:  Summary: Shakespeare in RL Review: Written from the heart, in simple terms, this book reads like one of Shakespeare's tragedies. A combination of small mistakes that turn out deadly, and you wonder to yourself, "if only..." The pictures and the emotions revealed place you on the same knife edge. It's probably the closest most of us will ever get to climbing Everest.
Rating:  Summary: Wow What a Story Review: An amazing story. At times I wept and at times I actually felt cold. A must read.
Rating:  Summary: Another moving and insightful story from Krakauer Review: Into Thin Air, as with Krakauer's previous book, Into the Wild, does an impressive job of making a pursuit which is almost unimaginable to most of us into an understandable and moving enterprise. The people who pursue "the highest, the fastest, the first, and the farthest" are different from the rest of us; they are driven by impulses which seem almost contra-survival. It's a real shame that the whole "controversy" about Into Thin Air has materialized. I believe it overshadows the fact that no such story as this has been written for a mass audience before. Many readers have made much of Jon Krakauer's frankly expressed personal opinions about the appropriateness of Anatoli Boukreev's choice to climb without supplemental oxygen, his opinions of the relative fitness and experience of his fellow clients, and the decisions made by the guides of the respective expeditions. I consider most of the resulting furor overstated and demeaning to all concerned. Boukreev was a phenomenal climber, and performed heroically on that tragic day. That does not automatically mean all his actions are beyond question. He should be, and was, honored for his role in saving the lives of helpless clients, and his attempts to rescue guide Scott Fischer. He does not need to be canonized, especially simply because he is now no longer living (Boukreev died in an avalanche on Annapurna). No one is the "villain" of the book (I've actually seen that claim made several times in print), and anyone who thinks that is being disingenuous. Everyone there made errors in judgement, and the book makes it very clear how very difficult, almost impossible, it is to think with any degree of clarity when your brain is starved of oxygen and your body is out of fuel. Jon has said himself that he made factual errors in writing the article, and later in this book. He has tried to rectify those errors where they have been made apparent to him. Those who paint him as the villain of the piece for daring to question the actions of the dead tend to ignore that. No writer is flawless in research. It's so much simpler to paint one person or the other as entirely in the wrong, but it is completely wrong to do so. The book stands on its own merits, regardless of any media tempest over personal opinions which some feel were expressed too bluntly. At this point, who said what to whom at which point is not what is important; what is important to take away is the whole question of whether Everest is a place for the wealthy to take an "adventure vacation." As he put it in the book, at the summit of Everest, you might as well be on the surface of the moon as far as rescue is concerned. That is something to think long and hard about before one puts oneself in a place of no return.
Rating:  Summary: Interesting But Sad Review: The 1996 Everest attempts are a good example of what happens when wealthy, self-absorbed people get into trouble. Read the book for that lesson. For an individual look at one of those types of people, read "The Strange, Last Voyage of Donald Crowherst". What a colossal waste of human spirit, drive, and talent! Imagine what they might have done had they directed their resources outward to mankind instead of inward to themselves. From a Christian perspective, the story is also a good example of what happens when people worship the Creation instead of the Creator. Everest is a harsh idol.
Rating:  Summary: We'll take you to the top, but not back. Review: Unputdownable adventure and high drama. It makes you feel as if you're a member of the expedition and imagine yourself in the hazardous positions and exhaustion of the various characters. The events described will keep haunting you for quite some time, especially the climber hopelessly stranded near the top of the mountain at night, as out of reach of help as if he was on the moon, and the guy who's abandoned, frozen into the snow, and the next day stumbles like a zombie into the camp on his own, where his 'friends' put him in a tent, leaving him for dead again the next morning, only to have him come back a second time to remind them he would like to get off that mountain too. Climbers abandoning each other, refusing help to others so as not to endanger their own chances to get to the top or down again, and the route to the top being marked by frozen dead bodies also makes you question whether this whole circus of commercial Everest climbing by inexperienced climbers, temporarily suspending morality and law, should actually be allowed.
Rating:  Summary: Read this book. Review: This is a really exciting book! It is about a blizzard disaster while climbing Mount Everest. In this book a lot of things go wrong. The author of this book was on the climb, so you get a first hand experience. I am not a big time reader but with this book, I couldn't put it down. It is a book with action, comedy,emotion all in one . If you are a reader who likes a good adventure, this a book for you!
Rating:  Summary: My thoughts on Into Thin Air Review: "Into Thin Air" is definatly a book of with an appropriate chosen title. "Into Thin Air" is an account of the horrible Mt. Everest Diaster that changed the life of the author Jon Krakauer. The book is full of suspense, action, and history which is all connected to this 29,028 foot high monster than lurks over all other mountains in the world. This personal account by Krakauer is filled with entries taken while on the journey to the top. It also has history of attempts to climb to the peak and information on the people who have spent their life trying to reach the top. Some of these people which still to this day lie only hundreds of feet below. It is hard not to get sucked into this book with some of the sad storys of climbers who didn't make it or didn't make its back down. For anyone who enjoys the outdoors I strongly recommend it. Especially if you are a climber because you can really see and relate to others who did risk there life just to set one foot on the highest point on earth. The book does move around quite a bit but its easy to understand because as you can see by the title and first half of the book the main subject does not change. Not only does this book put the idea of ones time here on earth in perspective but it shows how some people can become very self centered when it comes to getting what they want. The book has problems between people just like your everday Daniele Steel love story except it is justa little more extreme. There is a funny twist to the book due to the fact that half the accounts could be false. The reason for this is because these climbers brains are almost completely depleted of oxygen causing them to have trouble remembering and performing correctly. Before I give away too much of the story I suggest you go out and finish it from were I left off. I give this book four stars because it kept my attention and was interesting not to mention rather simple reading which doesn't hurt when all you want is a book that makes sense. Great adventure, climbing, and travel best explains this book in a few simple words.
Rating:  Summary: exceptional Review: Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer 1997 This book details the experiences of Jon Krakauer when he joined a commercial expedition to climb Mount Everest. This exciting story follows a group of eight people who have paid up to $70,000 each for the climb. Jon, an adventure writer who is being sponsored by his employers, is an experienced mountain climber. The climb ends in disaster, when, through some very small mistakes by several people and a blizzard, trap some climbers near the summit. Krakauer feels terribly guilty about his failures and is brutally honest about the whole experience. The writing of the book helped him to begin to put some perspective on the whole incident but from his own words, he was a changed man by the experience. The commercialization of the Everest climb had resulted in too many people being on the route to the summit at the same time and it was extremely interesting to see how egos and money led the competing organizations to run very close to the edge and take excessive risks. The number of people reaching the summit in each group was the criterion by which they would be able to sell the next seasons climbing expedition. I enjoyed the book and found that it was extremely exciting, particularly the last few chapters during the actual storm. That men and women would suffer such extreme pain in order to reach the summit is incredible. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:  Summary: Riveting! Review: Only a few hundred hardy souls have managed to reach the highest point on earth, the peak of Everest. The odds of one of them having the writing skills of Jon Krakauer and doing it on the most ill-fated group attempt of all time are slim indeed. We low-elevation mortals are blessed to have a true storyteller's first-hand account of a gripping and gruesome ordeal, one that reveals a lot about human nature--some of it good, some not, all of it fascinating. Jon's descriptions place you with him on the mountainside. You can picture everything. The phone calls to the dying Hall, expedition leader, are quite moving. I admit to being a slow reader. Not so with Into Thin Air. This is a true page-turner. I devoured it. You will too. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.
|