"Into Thin Air", non-fiction at its best.

Although I am not a climber myself, I have been fascinated by those who aspire to climb the highest points on earth. Watching the television accounts of Hillary and Tenzing at the first successful assault on Mt. Everest in 1953 had me hooked as a then 6-year-old.
Jon Krakauer is a unique combination of journalist and mountain climber. I had read a condensed version of this book several years ago, but wanted to have a copy of my own.
Jon was sent by OUTSIDE magazine to participate in, and write about, a guided ascent of Mt. Everest in the Spring of 1996. He was part of a team led by Rob Hall, a well-known guide. His account of what happened on that disasterous assault is particularly vivid and accurate, as he was a part of it, and not just someone who researched it. There were actually several groups from various countries attempting a summit bid at the same time.
Jon brings us glimpses of the colorful personalities, the motivations of individuals, and examples of tremendous courage as well as inexplicable acts of callousness.
We are drawn into the extremes of climate, thin air, fatigue and the technical complexities of such an undertaking. We can see how different people react to meeting their own 'worst nightmares'. This is a look at an 'extreme' sport, at the extreme end of the scale.
The culture of the Sherpas is put into perspective, as is the 'business' and bureaucratic side of mountain climbing. We are given a look at more of the 'iceberg' of climbing, not just 'tip' as is generally reported.
Although factually conveyed, Jon Krakauer tries to be as compassionate as possible, even as a number of individuals were against his writing this book in the first place.
If you relish a frankly related chronical of a famous REAL event, this book is for you. I had serious trouble putting it down once I started reading. Reading next to a warm fire would be advisable. Enjoy.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

If you are going to read any book about the Mt. Everest tragedy of 1996 which claimed a dozen lives, including guides Rob Hall and Scott Fisher, this is the one to read. Having read a number of books from various people who made the trek that year, this is the absolute best. It is the most factual, the easiest read, filled with helpful maps and footnotes, and a real page turner. Surprisingly, this is not a book of any genre I would ever be inclined to read, and it landed in my lap by accident. WHAT A FIND!

If you saw the IMAX documentary, you owe it to yourself to read this book, which gives you a more intimate behind the scenes play by play of what went wrong.

This is a book I will long remember and plan to read again. Having read the books of others, they truly pale in comparison, not only in the author's ability to convey a well written story, but in the factual details.

While there were many treks that May from a number of guides, Jon Krakauer was on Rob Hall's expedition. Some of the authors were not part of Rob's team and could only write second hand information, a poor substitute in my opinion.

A treasured work of documented history, this is one book which will forever stand the test of time.

Interesting Words

Jon Krakauer did a decent job of writing this book. It gets your attention the way an accident on the freeway does, when you slow down to 10 MPH to see it.

Jon was invited on an expedition to climb the highest mountain in the world in May, 1996. A freak storm came up and his experience was much different than what he expected. Many people died, and some were permanently injured (maimed), including the expedition leaders. Some folks were inexperienced climbers, paying for a golden paved road to the top.

The descriptions almost make you feel as if you were there. I was disappointed by Jon's inability to look at the way things really were on the mountain, due to his lack of seeing reality, he accuses several people of not saving peoples lives. Even after he safely made it back to his tent in the storm, he couldn't be bothered to get up to help one of the surviving guides to go outside in 100 MPH winds, with a minus 100 deg wind chill, to look for the group of people who were huddling outside with no shelter. So, the guide went out by himself. He found some people as the storm started breaking, brought a few back. 2 were left for dead, although they were still breathing. Jon said he and the others agreed it was the thing to do. At that altitude, you only have so much energy, people were exhausted, you can hardly move, let alone think. No one had the energy, including Jon.

I thought this book was written by a hypocrite. As well written as it is, it really is subject matter for "The Enquirer" magazine, filled with the accusations from "the expert", Jon Krakauer. If you read this, read the books by the people he accuses of leaving people to die, or not do their part. Interesting.

Into Thin Air By, Jon Kraukauer

Into Thin Air: A personal account of the mount everest disaster. Nonfiction: It is a great adventure book rated by many as one of the all time best, it reccounts struggles unimaginable to the common human. The persistence and determination among the characters of this book will not only have you questioning their sanity but questioning your self, it will have you wondering about your own potential, whether or not you could put up with the hardship that is summiting Mount Everest. The situations climbers go through in this story of victory, and tragedy will give you a new and sometimes disturbing perspective into the minds of extreme climbers, and will redefine your ideas of how much the human body can endure.

Into Thin Air Recommendation

I am normally a reader of true crime, but when I bought this book I could not put it down. This view of the disastrous climb to the Mt. Everest summit in 1996 reads like fiction, but it is all too real. The author of this book is an accomplished climber and highly respected, but some of his views do not coincide with those of others who were on Everest that same fateful night. I think the writing of this book is brilliant and I respect Krakauer's attempt to put this tragedy to rest. Unfortunately, there are other views that need to be seen in order for all who were there to contribute to the confusing story and happenings of this particular quest. I suggest that you also read "Climb" by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt alongside this book to get the alternate view. Also there are some great websites that will help you to understand the controversy caused by the publishing of this book.