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Summary: Climb It
Review: INTO THIN AIR, by Jon Krakaur the author of INTO THE WILD. Ever wonder what it would be like to ascend the tallest mountain in the world. In this book you feel like your up there with them. Climbing the mountain with twelve others, he encounters many challenges. In the book, you also learn the lifestyles and past of many other climbers on the team. This would be a great book to read if you like the outdoors and enjoy reading. It's a rather long book but you'll find yourself done reading quickly as you never want to put the book down. In this book, there are so many details that you might miss some in the first read. After reading, INTO THIN AIR I guarantee you will think differently about mountain climbing. I would recommend purchasing this book.
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Summary: A Captivating Story--5 Miles High
Review: Want to climb a really tall mountain? This book vividly describes high altitude mountaineering and offers a safe way to mentally experience the horrors that can happen when things go terribly wrong in thin air. The writer, a survivor of the single worst Everest climbing tragedy in terms of lives lost, chronicles events that took place in May 1996. Other survivors and observers may see things differently, but this saga will certainly keep your interest.
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Summary: Increadible story, which is also well written
Review: The Amazon review of this book gives you the basic idea of the storyline, but in my opinion does not prepare you for the drama that is contained within the book. I've found Krakauer to be a responsible author whose views I can identify with. This becomes important because there is much contraversy as to the account of the 1996 climbing season on Everest. The author gives his first hand account of what happened on the mountain and his views of the actions of others without being overly judgemental. Rather, he educates the reader as to mountaineering protocol and to difficulties associated with high altitude climbing. I had seen a couple of documentaries about the '96 season on TV, but was still excited to turn the pages to find out what happened next. I recommend this book based on the extremely strong story and the writing, which I feel is well done. However, I believe that Jon Krakauer's finest writing is in the book Into The Wild. I highly recommend it as well.
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Summary: exciting storytelling but dishonest
Review: Krakauer tells an exciting story, well-written and captivating. But what is for real and what is fanciful writing? The lack of truth and credibility took away from my enjoyment of the book. This book caused so much outrage that Anatoli Boukreev and others who were involved in this disaster later wrote their own books to get the story straight. Krakauer makes assumptions and implicates people as at fault, mainly to have a good protaganist in the story. Its disturbing that this book has won so much acclaim. Exaggeration is one thing, but ripping apart people who risked their lives to save others isn't meritted. Krakauer certainly wasn't out there rescuing people.
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Summary: Frightening ascent to Mt. Everest
Review: What a spectacular book! I was hooked right from the beginning. This is a personal account of journalist's trek to the summit of Mt. Everest. This book was so hard to put down because I always wanted to know what happened next. This book was so well written you could almost feel the cold they were feeling. Although it is a tragedy, this book is about the courage to stay alive.
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Summary: Top Class Journalism
Review: I can not comment on the morality or otherwise of the dramatic personae. This is a harrowing and realistic account of the tragic 1996 events. The book was written by an experienced journalist and mountaineer who captured this most dramatic of stories first hand. He has succeeded most vividly in providing an accurate and fair account. His journalistic ability ensures that almost every angle to the story is looked at. Krakauer only just lived to tell the tale, and as an experienced mountaineer did enough to ensure his own survival. He has produced one of the best books on mountaineering I have read. It is a sad tale, but those who took part should have known the risks. It is sadder to think about the death of guides who sacrificed their lives in order to try and get their clients to the top and down.
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Summary: Points of View
Review: This is an interesting book, made even more interesting by the fact that it is a true story. However, it is told from the point of veiw of a writer not an expert climber. For this reason the author makes some assumptions about Anatoli Boukreev that may or may not be true. If a reader wants a more complete picture of events or to view the event from both perspectives I would also suggest reading, The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev.
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Summary: Into Thin Air - A Tremendous Book
Review: As an eclectic reader and non mountaineering person, I was hesitant about my enjoyment of this book, however, Into Thin Air is one of the best books I have ever read .. Extremely well written and gripping, one of the few books that I actually could not put down, and had to wake up in the middle of the night to keep reading ... this will not disappoint anyone who reads for fun and adventure!
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Summary: Magnificent, beautifully written
Review: This is a marvelous read even if you had absolutely no interest in climbing Everest or mountaineering. I had previously read a half a dozen other first-person narratives of the 1996 disaster, but this book towers head and shoulders above any other participant's memoirs. Krakauer is a gifted storyteller with the talents of a novelist, yet the experience of one who has climbed perilous peaks and lived to share the knowledge with others. He has the unique ability to paint a portrait with words that leaps out from the pages and lets the reader *see* and *feel* what is happening. Perhaps Krakauer's greatest strength is deftly describing the personalities and quirks of the other people in his climbing party. The reader comes to know them all; liking some climbers immensely (The Texan Beck comes to mind) and loathing others for their petty self-absorption and monstrous egos (Sandy Pittman to a "T"). The best part of the book is the actual summit experience by the author and the devastating sequence of events that transpires after he slowly descends. The effects of HACE, high altitude and the frequent absence of reliable oxygen bottles is gripping. So are the deaths that occur because of a brutal storm that sweeps the mountain as Krakauer stumbles down to Camp 4. Whether you are a Everest buff or a world class couch potato, this is a superlative book: well written and engrossing. A splendid read!
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Summary: A truly moving yet totally thrilling read
Review: I don't need to tell you the scenario as all the other reviews do that. But let me just say if you want to be excited, appalled, thrilled, saddened and in total wonderment read this incredibly written book.
I loved it and at last I know why people climb mountains and why I never will.
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