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Summary: The emotion is palpable, and that makes the book great.
Review: ITA is not a superbly-written book..one reviewer hit it right on the mark by saying it felt like a long magazine article. Well, that's what Mr. Krakauer does for his job - write magazine articles. He is writing a story where he is as responsible for the tragedy as any one person - and is blasted by it for life. The incredible cascades of raw, nerve-wracking emotion are what make this book one of my all-time favorites. I hardly slept the night after I read it. Buy it and read it - a great portrayal of what life can throw you,
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Summary: Morbidly Compelling
Review: The tragedy of Everest fascinated me in much the same way as some are attracted by auto accidents. I had an almost voyeuristic curiosity to try and understand why these people would dare such a stupid thing. Is it to bring some kind of meaning to their lives?Krakauer answers some of the questions, but this book is more confession, an attempt to exorcise his own demons. He owns up to his own blunders heroically and resists the urge to point out those of the other climbers. He tries desperately to redeem all of them, to not criticize, only lapsing briefly if at all. It points out his essential humanity, but it is a failing for him as a journalist.
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Summary: A Cautionary Tale of Technological Hubris
Review: Part of our charm as a species is our unwillingness to heed cautionary tales. We are often overly optimistic in our risk-taking. At the turn of the century, we built an unsinkable ship that sank on its maiden voyage. In the latter half of this century, we put a public school teacher on the space shuttle, only to be reminded that space travel is still very dangerous. An at the end of this century, we put a reporter, a socialite, an assortment of doctors, lawyers and other Type A personalities on a tour-guided mission to the summit of Mt. Everest. Why should we be surprised when that, too, proves to be very dangerous. The families of the dead may complain, and Mr. Krakauer may have his own devils to answer to, but this story needed to be told. The best memorial to those who died is to have their story told as honestly as possible by someone who was there who can do a professional job of reporting. Jon Krakauer did us all a service by making this story easily understood outside the elite community of high altitude mountaineers. This is a very readable and worthwhile book.
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Summary: Buy This Book!
Review: Told not to write his harrowing account of the Everest disaster until he has got over it, Krankauer does anyway. The book is a vivid, painful and frightening account of one man's guilt over surviving while others didn't. I bought the book for a red-eye flight to England. I thought that I'd read for an hour and then get some sleep. By the time I arrived in London, the book was finished - I simply couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT WORTH THE TIME
Review: I know this is a popular book, but perhaps our standas have dropped. I stopped reading the quotes at the beginning of each chapter after the first half. They were filler. A long, tedious book that would have been better left as a magazine article.
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Summary: EXCITING ADVENTURE
Review: True, trhilling; I felt I was on the Everest top even if I never climbed! Elisa
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Summary: A great book...but an unfortunate tragedy.
Review: I just recently finished reading "Into Thin Air." I came away thinking, why would anyone risk everything to suffer so much. It, in fact, led me to much introspection. Life is full of risk and danger. Human beings merely choose which risks to take. As this tragedy unfolded, I couldn't help but get emotionally involved. When I finished this book, I loaned it to my girlfriend, who works in a coffee shop. She said many people who saw the book she was reading commented on how good it is. She just finished it a few days ago,and we both enjoyed reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: I think that to risk life and limb just to reach the top of a mountain is the height of egomania. Reading this book has not changed my opinion in this regard, only reinforced it. A well written, compelling story, maybe it will dissuade others from taking these risks. I somehow doubt it, though. Young, healthy people seem to be immune to their own mortality until it jumps up and hits them in the face.
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Summary: Courage still exists!
Review: Courage still exists in this world! I couldn't put 'Into Thin Air' down. The bodies of those left on the roof of the world are a monument to the spirit of these men. What better way to leave this Earth then by doing something you want to do in a noble effort. I pray that I will not die in my bed, but die climbing my own mountains of life in the same way 'Into Thin Air' so dramatically describes. I've given this book to everyone I care about. It's not just about climbing Everest, its about how you live your life!
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Summary: A frank account of High altitude reality
Review: Krakauer is a master at telling the story of lives led in the peculiar, vivd, spectrum of mountaineering. The thing that should scare people more than this actual tale is that it is not an uncommon one for that region ofthe world. If one commits him or herself to high altitude climbing one must accept the fact that they may very well end up dead. Krakauer is still around because he has seldom ventured into such climates. Good for us. I look forward to Krakauer's next tale.
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