Rating: 
Summary: I got vertigo reading this
Review: I've read three of Krakauer's books including this one. Into Thin Air is eclipsed by Kenneth Kamler's Doctor On Everest, but Krakauer's own Under The Banner Of Heaven and Eiger Dreams are in a class by themselves. I have never had a fear of heights, but the stories in this book, particularly the one of his climb of the Devil's Thumb, a volcanic chimney in Alaska, lifting hundreds of feet into thin air is perhaps one of the most evocative pieces of writing I've ever read. If you are fascinated by mountins and the madmen and crazy women who climb them, this is your book. Either it will make you drop everything and head for the high remote places of the world, or render you at least sane enough to say, "I think I'll take my adventure in another way." Say in some weird polygamous community in southern Utah or northern Arizona. Krakauer knows mountains, and he knows how to take us with him, shaking, sweating and not daring look down, up a shear, icy face. This is great outdoor adventure writing. Highly recommended. wfh
Rating:
Summary: Surprising Variety
Review: If ever I thought that a collection of mountain climbing stories would be a little stale from lack of variety, EIGER DREAMS certainly shattered my preconceptions in this regard. Krakauer writes on a diverse assortment of subjects relating to outdoor climbing, superbly avoiding monotonous repetition. Whether musing about the derring-do spirit of the denizens of Chamonix, the flyboys of Talkeetna, or humoring the reader with candid confessions of what it is like to be tentbound, Krakauer displays great range, penetrating insight, and clear style with his writing ventures. I liked this book every bit as much as INTO THE WILD and INTO THIN AIR.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Krakauer compilation
Review: If you are looking for great perspective on your next adventure to Chamonix, Alaska or the Himalaya, check this one out. I found the paperback to be a great escape during business trips.
Rating: 
Summary: No Hill for a Climber
Review: In my humble opinion this book is not in the class of Krakauer's other two books. The stories were, undoubtable exciting (I especially liked the K2 account), but it didn't reach the height of Into thin Air or the depth and discovery of Into the Wild. Well worth the money, but not quite as hair-raising.
Rating:
Summary: Kept me hanging on for dear life!!
Review: Incredible. Breathtaking. Terrifying. These words don't even begin to describe this overwhelming hike to the edge of the cliff. I had to catch my breath and remind myself that it wasn't me hanging tenuously by a thin rope thousands of feet above the ground. As I typed this, I felt a tightness in my chest and shortness of breath.Jon kept me interested and looking for more with every turn of the page. Each story held me captive out in the wilderness, or, high up on the edge of the world. How can Jon and the friends he writes about take so many chances? It may be that stepping up to the edge, and getting so close to death, brings them that much closer to life. If you read "Into Thin Air", you owe it to yourself to read this one. It dispenses with the impending doom while replacing it with a whole lot of fun. This book is destined to become one of my favorites for escaping the humdrum of metropolitan living.
Rating:
Summary: disaster on Everest
Review: Jon has, in deatail described the mt Everest disaster. it has moved me and made me think about the presousness of life when it hangs in the balanc
Rating: 
Summary: good stories, some better than others
Review: Krakauer is a good writer, but some of these stories seem old and less well-written than his recent stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Mountaineering and Mountaineering Culture
Review: Krakauer is fine author. His stories read like well honed long magazine articles and capture the drama and danger of high altitude mountain climbing (Into Thin Air) as well as mental soloing(Into The Wild). Eiger Dreams is a collection of stories about mountaineering and mountaineering culture. This collection of a dozen or so chapters (I suspect all were magazine articles first) regales the reader with the danger of high-altitude climbing, the uniqueness of attitude among many of the climbers and a slice of the culture that surrounds the climbing world. On the whole the stories are gripping and interesting. It falls short only in one or two instances when the author delves into set place stories like describing the town near Mt. Blanc that seems to derive it's personality from the towering rock and those who are drawn to it in great multitudes each year. The chapters on individual climbs introduce the reader to the thrills and dangers of high-risk climbing, without the chance that one will tumble out of an armchair 10,000 feet to become part of a mountain. Particularly enjoyable are the articles on the North face of the Eiger, the author's own journey to solo climb Alaska's Devil's Thumb at age 23 and a chapter on the Burgesses -- two mountaineering hobos who combine moxie with single mindedness as they climb the world's tallest peaks. I also enjoyed the chapter detailing early attempts to divine whether or not Everest was really the tallest mountain -- some of the journeys associated with ascertaining the claims of competing peaks remind one of Scott's Polar expeditions -- fueled more by British resolve than planning and logistics. One wonders at the bent of mind that draws climbers to the highest climbs. Mountains like Everest and K-2 are littered with well over a hundred corpses (it is to arduous in the thin air and brutal conditions to haul reachable bodies down -- and impossible for those who tumble a mile off the edge or several hundred feed down a crevasse). Something like one person perishes for every four who reach the summit of Everest. A strikingly large number of survivors endure amputations of fingers or toes. It is the same or worse at some of Nature's other monoliths. This is a sport that makes auto racing and boxing seem like rational athletic endeavors. One is left to ponder why (perhaps no better answer exists than Mallory's "Because it is there") some are willing to risk life itself for the privilege of standing ten or so minutes atop one of the tallest mountains. Krakauer does not pursue this question directly, though the brief character sketches he paints of climbers -- including himself -- offers some conclusions. A fast read and entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Mountaineering and Mountaineering Culture
Review: Krakauer is fine author. His stories read like well honed long magazine articles and capture the drama and danger of high altitude mountain climbing (Into Thin Air) as well as mental soloing(Into The Wild). Eiger Dreams is a collection of stories about mountaineering and mountaineering culture. This collection of a dozen or so chapters (I suspect all were magazine articles first) regales the reader with the danger of high-altitude climbing, the uniqueness of attitude among many of the climbers and a slice of the culture that surrounds the climbing world. On the whole the stories are gripping and interesting. It falls short only in one or two instances when the author delves into set place stories like describing the town near Mt. Blanc that seems to derive it's personality from the towering rock and those who are drawn to it in great multitudes each year. The chapters on individual climbs introduce the reader to the thrills and dangers of high-risk climbing, without the chance that one will tumble out of an armchair 10,000 feet to become part of a mountain. Particularly enjoyable are the articles on the North face of the Eiger, the author's own journey to solo climb Alaska's Devil's Thumb at age 23 and a chapter on the Burgesses -- two mountaineering hobos who combine moxie with single mindedness as they climb the world's tallest peaks. I also enjoyed the chapter detailing early attempts to divine whether or not Everest was really the tallest mountain -- some of the journeys associated with ascertaining the claims of competing peaks remind one of Scott's Polar expeditions -- fueled more by British resolve than planning and logistics. One wonders at the bent of mind that draws climbers to the highest climbs. Mountains like Everest and K-2 are littered with well over a hundred corpses (it is to arduous in the thin air and brutal conditions to haul reachable bodies down -- and impossible for those who tumble a mile off the edge or several hundred feed down a crevasse). Something like one person perishes for every four who reach the summit of Everest. A strikingly large number of survivors endure amputations of fingers or toes. It is the same or worse at some of Nature's other monoliths. This is a sport that makes auto racing and boxing seem like rational athletic endeavors. One is left to ponder why (perhaps no better answer exists than Mallory's "Because it is there") some are willing to risk life itself for the privilege of standing ten or so minutes atop one of the tallest mountains. Krakauer does not pursue this question directly, though the brief character sketches he paints of climbers -- including himself -- offers some conclusions. A fast read and entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but not based on the Eiger
Review: Krakauer lives up to his strong reputation in this collection of short works. Do not expect a full book about the notorious Eiger mountain! That is but a small portion of this book. Look forward to meeting other climbs, from fifteen-foot boulders to the 20,320-foot Denali. Makes a nice plate of appetizers if you're interested in Krakauer's writing.
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