Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME, GUT-WRENCHING....LOVED IT.
Review: I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT AFTER READING THIS BOOK, I WANT TO START MOUNTAIN CLIMBING. THERE IS THAT SOMETHING IN ME, THAT SAYS YOU CAN DO IT. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE VICTIMS. READING THE BOOK ALONE CANNOT EXPLAIN THE FEELING OF CLIMBING AT 29,000 FEET, IT MUST BE SCARY. THE IDEA THAT SOMEONE WOULD LET SOMEONE ELSE DIE ON A MOUNTAIN SO THAT THEY COULD CLIMB TO THE TOP IS ASTOUNDING. WHILE I UNDERSTAND IT, IT IS WILD. I COULD GO ON FOREVER, JUST READ THE BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best of the Climbing Genre
Review: Krakauer was writing an apologia but his story captures the imagination - and I believed his protestations that he was being honest, accurate, in his depiction. If you enjoy the subject - mountain climbing, Everest in particular - or if you are interested in the most deadly year on the mountain, 1996, you must read this.

Rating:
Summary: THE CLIMB vs. INTO THIN AIR
Review: If you have or plan to read INTO THIN AIR without also reading Anatoli Boukreev's book THE CLIMB, then you are only getting one side of the story. You'd also be participating in an injustice to the unfortunate people who lost their lives on Everest, people that Mr. Krakauer would not help in their hour of need. Read both books, and one gets a clearer picture of what really took place on that mountain. "Everyone has their side of the story, and somewhere in the middle lies the truth."

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and insightful
Review: What I admire most about Krakauer's work is how good he is at explaining the inexplicable. I certainly have no desire to climb Mt. Everest, but after reading this book, I understand why others might. Of course the reasons are complicated--the thrill of pushing yourself, the clarity that comes from focusing on a goal. And to cheat death when death seems unreal must be a powerful impulse. I was amazed when Krakauer said at the end that he'd never been to a funeral!

Rating:
Summary: What a guilt trip!
Review: The only thing this book has to give is a guilt trip to the other members of the team as Jon never takes the blame. Because he is one of the only survivers his word is taken as the truth. Read this book with an open mind-- open to the fact that Jon could be making most of his sorry little story up!

Rating:
Summary: I was touched!
Review: I JUST finished reading Into Thin Air and I think this book was exceptionally well written! The beginning started off just a little slow for me, but then after a while I was adjusted to his writing and I just loved it! It was very touching and towards the end I found myself wanting to read more and more. The descriptiveness was excellent and I could just see the mountain! I loved it, but it was very sad. I would highly recommend it though as it gives you a lot of knowlege of what it's really like!

Rating:
Summary: This was my first mountain climbing experience.
Review: An exciting account of the disaster that occured on Mt. Everest. My only complaint was the difficulty I encountered trying to keep the cast of characters straight. The story itself was exciting, and difficult to put down, dispite knowing in advance the outcome of the expedition. I also enjoyed INTO THE WILD by this author. I am now interested in reading other accounts of cllimbing .

Rating:
Summary: The audio CD made for great listening during my commute.
Review: Fascinating and well written. I did get lost in all the names sometimes.

Rating:
Summary: Gut-wrenching
Review: Reading this book was like watching The Titanic. Even though you know the final outcome, you find yourself agonizing over every mistake made and hoping against hope that it might somehow end differently. I challenge anyone to read this book slowly. It simply isn't possible

Rating:
Summary: An honest account of a disaster.
Review: This book moved me greatly as the impact of what happened on that mountian 2 years ago sank in. What impressed me so much about this book is the honesty with which it was written. Krakauer made it clear from the beginning that he was presenting his view of the events as he can recall them. I was very disappointed to see so that so many people have taken this book as an attack on others. If anything I got the impression he blames himself more than anyone. I found it to be fair and as objective as a tragedy such as this can be reported. To those who have accused Krakauer of negligence, please put yourselves honestly in his shoes. I know that I would have done far worse after 57 hours without sleep, adequate oxygen, and high altitude illness. This on top of climbing over 3000 vertical feet and back, being in the middle of a blizzard with -100 degree windchill factor on a mountian where one misstep can result in a very painful death.