Rating: 
Summary: Amazing arrogance
Review: I agree with many of the other reviewers' criticisms of Kocour's writing style and her contemptuous attitude toward other climbers. I would add that for her to refer to her experience as "extreme" shows her complete lack of credibility as a climber. Ms. Kocour was bored, cold and scared, and her feet got cold -- that's all. Meanwhile, others died in the same storm. If you want to read about an "extreme" experience on Denali, try Davidson's Minus 148 or Waterman's In the Shadow of Denali. I also second those who recommended the Boardman-Tasker Omnibus.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a work of literature, but a good read
Review: I don't disagree with the criticisms of her writing, but I have to admit that while I was reading the book, I found the story compelling. Yes, Into Thin Air was much better overall and much better written, but give the woman a break --it was still an interesting account and refreshing to hear from a female climber stuck in a male climbing world. For the hour or so it took me to read it, I did not develop any animosity towards the author and simply kept reading to find out what happens. And boy was I glad to be able to walk outside and get some sun when I finished.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy it, read it, share it...what a great book!
Review: I don't know which book Kirkus was reading, but it couldn't have been this one. I didn't buy it because of the review but when I got it for Christmas was I surprised! I started reading it that night and couldn't put it down. The writing is tight, descriptive, entertaining...what a bunch of idiots climbing with Kocour! I'm going to buy it for my several of my friends and would recommend this book to anyone... ....
Rating:
Summary: New title for the book: Boredom on Denali
Review: I found the author to be overly dramatic and dreadfully overused tired cliches and crude, offensive language. She was absoulutely obsessed with outdoor urination and defication. The only redeeming quality to the book is it's meticulous description of the boredom of being trapped during a storm for days on end in a small frozen tent. She talks about being offended by people being interested in the deaths and gore, yet she endlessly talks about body bags, the removal of the dead Koreans, etc. If you want to know climbing from every conceivable angle, it's worth a read, but don't expect too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Good bird cage lining
Review: I give this book one star because it made nice lining for my bird cage. Others have described, more eloquently than I can, why this is not a good book to read. I found the author mean, pompous and racist. As a climber of many years I can honestly say I would never tie into a rope with her.
Rating:
Summary: 250 pages of egocentric smugness
Review: I had hoped to read a well-written book by a amateur woman climber in the style of "Into Thin Air" or Peter Boardman's "Shining Mountain.". Instead, I plowed through this tedious, annoying book to find that the more I knew about Kocour, the less I liked her.She continuously harps on the most minor failings of others, while viewing herself as superior to the other clients that she's climbing with. Rather than trying to understand her teammates, she only talks about them in order to point out their mistakes. She is so smug that she routinely reveals her own failings as a climber without realizing it. By the time I was finished with this book, I had great sympathy for her teammates. I only had to tolerate her for 250 pages. They had to live with her for weeks! If you want to read a good mountaineering book, try the Boardman-Tasker Omnibus. It's five books (published as one) written by Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker in the 70s and 80s. Sadly, they disappeared together on Everest in the early 80s, but their books are great!
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: I have read all the bad reviews about this book. She tells us at the beginning of the book that this is "her story" the way she lived it. She admits that there are other stories to be heard. My opinion, this is a good read. Maybe she did put down most of the other climbers and is arrogant and a bit intolerant. .... It is her story and this is who she is - the end. The story engrossed me. I couldn't put it down. I learned more about mountain climbing than I imagined. What more can I say. I highly recommend it. I can still feel the snow blowing. Brrrr.
Rating:
Summary: Krakauer Lite
Review: I have to agree with others reviewers that Kocuour's ego is a huge obstacle in reading this book. I'm reminded of people who in conversation do nothing but bad-mouth others to compensate for their lack of confidence. Everyone else is weak, unrefined, stupid, or otherwise worth mocking. I'm stuck with the passage where she gets mocks a fellow climber who has brought a book to read about jet airplanes. That's the depth she goes to in her pettiness. The story itself is interesting and should be compelling, but getting past the author's tone soured the reading experience for me. I have many mountaineering books. Ones I'd heartily recommend are Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman's "The Boardman Tasker Omnibus", Jim Whittaker's "A Life on the Edge" and Peter Potterfield's "In the Zone". These authors not only write well, but can convey the challenges and trials of mountaineering without narcissism. These books all sit proudly in my bookcase. Kocuour's book is in a cardboard box in my basement.
Rating:
Summary: Krakauer Lite
Review: I have to agree with others reviewers that Kocuour's ego is a huge obstacle in reading this book. I'm reminded of people who in conversation do nothing but bad-mouth others to compensate for their lack of confidence. Everyone else is weak, unrefined, stupid, or otherwise worth mocking. I'm stuck with the passage where she gets mocks a fellow climber who has brought a book to read about jet airplanes. That's the depth she goes to in her pettiness. The story itself is interesting and should be compelling, but getting past the author's tone soured the reading experience for me. I have many mountaineering books. Ones I'd heartily recommend are Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman's "The Boardman Tasker Omnibus", Jim Whittaker's "A Life on the Edge" and Peter Potterfield's "In the Zone". These authors not only write well, but can convey the challenges and trials of mountaineering without narcissism. These books all sit proudly in my bookcase. Kocuour's book is in a cardboard box in my basement.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous writing from a woman's perspective on top
Review: I loved this book! Once I started it, I could not put it down. Finally there is a story that's written so well it gives the reader an accurate glimpse of what it is like to climb mountains. I've climbed many, but after reading this I'm not sure I want to go to Denali...brrrrrr. In places the writing is so good I'll admit to feeling chilled myself.
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