Rating: 
Summary: Satisfactory
Review: I felt that Jon Krakauer did an adequate job in the book of relating the difficulty and sacrafice that one must undertake in order to climb Mt. Everest. The climbers were all aware of the risks involved and the writer should not be blamed for their tragic deaths.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book, but it doesn't answer all the questions
Review: I was captivated from the beginning of this story, which Krakauer lays out nicely. It has the page-turning effect of a fictional story, but sadly this really happened. And after reading it the question remains: WHY did this happen ?We'll never know all the details of what transpired that fateful day, but one thing is for certain - great climbers do not necessarily make great guides. Both Rob Hall and Scott Fischer made serious mistakes, and Anatoli Boukreev(who's book The Climb I just finished) didn't seem to understand the guide/leader concept. To say the least, it was unfortunate. The book does highlight how much of an individual sport climbing is, but it doesn't explain why these peple would leave their families for months, travel across the globe and risk their lives for no explainable reason. I have a respect for the athletic ability required to accomplish such a feat, but I also now know how selfish and ego-inflating the sport of climbing is(if you do! n't agree, think about Fischer's two young daughters, or Hall's pregant wife talking to her husband as he froze to death on Everest). Krakauer should be commended for being able to put together a book about an experience that was obviously painful for him. And I for one am thankful that he was able to survive and tell this tale, instead of ending up like the poor soul's whose frozen bodies will remain on Everest forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving, personal account that takes you to Everest and back
Review: I actually listened to this on Audiotape, and then went back and bought the book. This book is fascinating. I think for most of us, we think of climbing Everest, if at all, as just a lot of steep climbing. Krakauer does a good job of taking you through each difficulty faced, and what it is like to be there, and how it is difficult to remember things for a book like this even if you HAVE been there. I found myself shivering from the cold, and touched with warmth from the most touching moments in the book. Just like a good writer should.
Rating:
Summary: A good read but...
Review: The three star rating is misleading because it's more in the 3&1/2 range. Anyway, I liked the way Krakauer told the story. Great attention to detail. But on the other hand, I didn't like the book because I just felt like he was laying all of his problems of dealing with what happened on Everest on us. This is one of those books that you'll read and be entertained, but a month later you'll remember it about as well as you would your basic hollywood blockbuster. You remember what went down, but it doesn't matter much.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: This is by far the greatest book I have ever red. Mr. Krakauer did an amazing job putting the reader right on the mountain with him. Because of this book I am now interested in mountain climbing and Mt. Everest
Rating:
Summary: A magnet to your hands
Review: you will never put this one down. it is a great book although I read it for school and had to study it, it was a really fun book.
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!!
Review: I am 15 years old and am a Boy Scout. This was my second book by Jon, my first being "Into the Wild." This book was probably the most incredible book I have ever read. This book shows how people actually think while at 25,000 to 29,000 feet. This book will either draw you closer to climbing Everest, or push you farther away (probably the latter being the most acurate!) This is a non-fiction novel that is not boring. It will keep you hooked until the very end! It adds an entirely different twist to climbing Everest, coming from first-hand accounts of the 1996 disaster. This is a definite buy!! I would also recommend seeing the IMAX, "Everest", before reading the book. I did and it helped me visualize each step they took and I also see who some of the characters were he talked about. Great job Jon, keep up the FANTASTIC work.
Rating:
Summary: Punishing truth of the Tragedy
Review: I am glad that Jon told the story as honestly as he could. I am even more glad that he defended his story when he was criticized. Few people are strong enough to admit their own mistakes, especially mistakes that get people killed. And families members of those people who made the mistakes will seldom admit the mistakes too - the memories of their loved ones are too precious to be tarnished. By recreating the events of the tragedy, Jon has done everyone a favour by pointing out everyone make mistakes and Mount Everest is not made safer by climbing with experienced climbers.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes the mountain wins.
Review: Jon Krakauer shouldn't blame himself for the tragedy on Everest. He is only one man. All his effort and all his strength-if he had any left-couldn't have saved those people. I hope that he will in time, be able to put it all behind him. As for the book, I felt it jumped back and forth in time too much. I like a book to get to the point and stay there. This book doesn't do that. Krakauer speaks of historical accounts quite often and interjects them between his own account. I find this book difficult to follow at times, for that reason. That does not, however, diminish the story in any way, regarding the tragedy. All who were involved are heros.
Rating: 
Summary: Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of Jon Krakauer's Ego
Review: Jon Krakauer spends a remarkable amount of this book alluding to the fact that he is a much stronger individual than most of the other paying clients. I was impressed by his original story in outside magazine, this book didn't add much (apart from the fact that the second time around he got his facts straight). Near the end of the book he endlessly whines about the fact that nobody tried to wake him to help with the rescue, despite the fact that he already mentioned that someone tried (and failed) to wake him to help with the rescue. In the end I was surprised that I hadn't really learned any more from reading this book than I had in reading the original story in Outside. It's a good story, if you aren't bothered by Jon's ego trip. I was.
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