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

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Summary: what about the South African team?
Review: I read the book and was fascinated by the story and the quality of the writing (and the woodcut illustrations). I'm interested that none of the online reviewers has commented on the role of the "South African team". They shamed our nation, as far as I can see. What comments?

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Summary: A Fantastic Read !
Review: I found Into Thin Air an excellent book. I read Into The Wild by Jon Krakaur and so bought Into Thin Air based on Krakauer's name. I couldn't put it down and read it in two days.I was made to feel as if I were along for the climb. I knew how it felt to be increasing short of breath due to the high altitude and how it felt to be afraid, cold and thrilled at the same time!

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Summary: An experience I couldn't get enough of.
Review: I read most of this book on a plane cruising at 33,000 feet. Every now and then I would look out the window and try to imagine people trying to survive at an altitude where NOTHING does! A great book that moved me. I question the interntions of those who summited, died and those that lived. I could never but my family through the horror that unfolded some 29,000 feet above sanity.

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Summary: The Most Memorable Book of the Year
Review: This was one of the most moving and memorable books I have ever read. I have been loudly recommending this book to everyone since I read it. Even if you didn't like Krakauer's Into The Wild, read this book. I doubt I will ever forget it.

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Summary: I gotta be me!
Review: Into Thin Air is a well-told tale of arrogance, stupidity and self-absorption. It was difficult to work up sympathy for any of the participants who, while spending tens of thousands of dollars risking their lives (and the lives of others) at four plus miles altitude, seemed to care so little for spouses and children left back home. Another interesting subtext to the book is the description of low paid Sherpas doing all the real work while the climbers 'aclimate' themselves and presumably grapple with the weightier issues of the soul. After all climbing Everest is a spiritual journey right? Testing oneself. Stretching limits, etc. Can't find meaning in everyday life? Work at a soup kitchen, coach little league, tutor a child, read to the elderly. Donate blood. Stop thinking about yourself all the time.

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Summary: a good book about stupidity and desperation above 26,000'
Review: Man, i snatched this book up the second i saw it because the newspaper made me cry when i read it just after the tragedy occured. I think Mr. Krakauer is being 100% honest about what he can remember from his hypoxia,...but that is just the point. He was in the realm where only 747 jets can survive, without oxygen (DUH), and these amateurs started droppong like flys as the profit minded guides struggled to save them. Why did these men they trusted go wothout oxygen? Forgive the language, but you can't polish a turd, and this is just what they tried to do. They ended up with a shiny turd. (dead heroes). I just know ill never try to climb Everest because nature laughs at those who mock it, just ask the people who said the Titanic was unsinkable.

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Summary: Most Thrilling non-fiction story I've read.
Review: I can't rate this book on how close it is to the truth but it makes a great story. Even though you know what happens, the author creates climax and suspense through his development of the characters and the events preceeding the disaster. He tells an epic tale of tragedy and triumph that compares to the Illiad/Oddesy

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Summary: I want to see Everest
Review: After reading this book I was shocked. I could not believe the conditions that the climbers went through to acheive what they thought was the equivalent of Nirvana. I thought it was an excellent retelling of the climb and I cannot wait to see the IMAX on Everest. Before I die I am going to see Everest (by plane).

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Summary: As it says in the title, it is a "personal account".
Review: Krakauer's book is by all means fascinating. Far from being a literary masterpiece (his writing skills surely do not deserve a Nobel prize), it manages to trigger the fear associated with high-altitude climbing. Rather than comparing the characters' heroics (or lack thereof), the reader should focus on the description of effort and hardship of all of the expeditioneers who were present during those fateful days of May '96. I will read Anatoli Boukreev's book next, in order to gain more insight into the tragedy that captivated so many. In hope of not sounding too redundant, it would be senseless to view this book as a finger-pointing rampage. Krakauer actually praises Boukreev's [valiant] efforts during the crisis. As for us, the readers, please keep in mind that we have no place for judging ANYONE, anyhow.

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Summary: You end up climbing the mountain with him.
Review: For a personal account of any event to work, the author must succeed in making you feel like you were accompanying him on the journey. Mr. Krakauer accomplishes that with this story. You feel the biting cold of the air; you struggle up sheer walls of ice; you wonder if you can trudge another step; you feel the frustrating despair of knowing that others around you are dying, but you are too numb from the cold and exertion to express the emotions you might have in dryer climates. The author did not have to be a great writer to make this book a winner...he had to be a great illustrator. And, he was; I felt as if I was with him every step of the way.