Rating: 
Summary: Survival of the Fittest
Review: This story is about the tragic and terrifying fight against the world's highest mountain, Everest. Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, is an extremely will written story of the very frightening Mount Everest disaster. Krakauer had previously never climbed any higher than Everest Base camp, but being in the extremely good physical and mental shape, he was one of the only survivors of this disastrous expedition. The way this book was written grabs you and takes you in. Krakauer does a very good job of thoroughly explaining the characters. When the story gets going, and he refers back to some of the people you know whom it is that he is talking about. Another thing that might make Into Thin Air so intriguing and frightening to people is that in most stories when the plot gets sad or scary them most of the time the reader likes to tell themselves, "no, don't be scared, this didn't really happen." But in this story that is not the case. This is as real as it gets. Towards the end of the book you have grown attached to certain people, learned about their family and friends and what they have done to get were they are today. One man, Doug Hanson, held down two jobs just so he could pay for his dream to climb Everest. Doug was one of Krakauer's close friends, and in the book Krakauer mentions how he would rather Doug reach the mountain than himself. Doug had attempted to climb Everest once before but had to leave when he was about 1/4 a mile away from the summit because he was sick and running out of oxygen. He returned this final year so he could, as himself, " Get that dumb mountain out of his life". It would have been very hard for them to turn Doug around again because he could practically see the top of the mountain so they so they let their sympathy over take them. They let him continue. This is just one of the may times when you will fell so concerned for the person that you are almost out of your seat. Some people, myself included, would ask these men why would they ever want to climb the mountain if you knew all the risks included? But Krakauer explains how climbing is part of him just like breathing. Like in ever thing you do if there is no challenge involved it starts to get boring. We al know that Everest is far from boring!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Stunning
Review: I am a smart man. I am very well-versed and have read many a book in my day. This is by far the most engaging story I have ever read. The book is, what, almost 400 pages? I am a damn slow reader and I finished it in two nights. This book is not for just mountain climbers; it is for everyone. Young and old. Sure, it is about a mountain event, but the real story is of the pursuit of life goals, persistence, successes, failures, life. It is very emotional to read, very emotionally written, very encouraging. Awesome book. I give it 6 stars and 3 thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: Writing High Altitudes
Review: "As he squatted, he lost his footing on the ice and went hurtling down the Lhotse Face. Incredibly, after falling only 70 feet he plunged head first into a crevasse, which arrested his tumble." Into Thin Air is a sobering and sometimes heart stopping, account of the '96 Everest ascent by climber and author Jon Krakauer. Nobody is safe on the mountain. Even the Sherpas, born and raised in its shadow, are not entirely immune to Everest. On Everest skill and experience count for little or nothing. A Sherpa's incident illustrates that quite well. "As they resumed their descent, a volley of grapefruit-sized stones came whizzing down from the upper mountain and one of them struck a Sherpa in the back of the head. 'The rock just creamed him,' says Beidleman, who observed the incident from a short distance above. 'It was sickening,' Klev Schoening recalls. "It sounded like he had been hit with a baseball bat.' The force of the blow chipped a divot from his skull the size of a silver dollar, knocked him unconscious, and sent him into cardiopulmonary arrest." The beginning of the book - and the climb itself - was slow going, discouraging to the reader. Krakauer's first couple of chapters are details about the discovery of the mountain, history of specific ascents, the purists blaspheming and then accepting the use of bottled oxygen, the first ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and it's affect on England, the ascent of Everest by Dick Bass (a banker from Texas), and the purists blaspheming Bass's desecration of the mountain. I would recommend reading the first 4-5 chapters after you've become involved with the book, in other words skipping it and reading it later. The writing was excellent, and very descriptive. It provides vivid and sometimes stomach and/or heart-wrenching pictures of Everest. For example, Krakauer describes a Sherpa with HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, not to be confused with HACE which is High Altitude Cerebral Edema). "The sick Sherpa had so much fluid in his lungs, Beidleman recalled, 'that when he breathed it sounded like a straw slurping a milkshake from the bottom of a glass. Halfway down the Icefall, Ngwang (the Sherpa) took off his oxygen mask and reached inside to clear some snot from the intake valve. When he pulled his hand out I shined my headlamp on his glove and it was totally red, soaked with blood he'd been coughing up into the mask. Then I shined the light on his face and it was covered in blood too.'" Into Thin Air is a book that shakes the soul and turns the stomach. I would recommend this book to any person without any actual responsibilities for a couple of weeks or days. The book seriously hinders ones ability to complete tasks, since it requires full attention and is sure to get it.
Rating:
Summary: Into the Mind
Review: Climbing through the sky to reach oblivion in the night, Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer is a very sound read full of life and energy. It might be scary for younger readers although I definitely recommend it for all adults, especially those in to mountain climbing. Even those that don't climb would still be able to read it and understand the content. Krakaeur's descriptiveness is a very strong part of his memoir and is the main article that dominates the book. The people in the book are described partially with analogies and partially with an opinion such as " Whoever it was reminded Athans of a mummy in a low budget horror film." Although the description of people in Into Thin Air dominates the descriptiveness of the book, the descriptiveness of the places is still capable of moving the reader even more such as " Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China, the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet." Even though Krakauer is an experienced writer, I believe that he has apparently bitten off more than he could chew in the writing of the expedition. In the book Krakauer had a little difficulty in the jumping of expedition to expedition. He jumped around so that you could not tell where the expeditions were or who was who. I found myself having to repeatedly go back to the section of the book where he wrote about who was on the mountain. Some of the words in the story are unknown to those that read it and have not climbed in the Himalayas but luckily Krakauer that of taking precautions in both the book and the expedition. Krakauer has made a key in the book that provides helpful info about certain terms or background. I think it lucky that Krakauer put these in. I often found myself trying to get it so that I was very confused until I eventually looked at the signs and remembered the keys. All in all the book was very good in the fact that it was realistic and sound in a way that made you want to keep reading it. I hope that Krakauer stays the ways he is and continues to write in a way that he sees fit.
Rating:
Summary: The Brave and Traumatized
Review: Few brave souls, young and old, dare to attempt the climb to the top of the world-- Everest. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is told to the extreme. In the book, you view first hand the tragedy that occurred on Mt. Everest in 1996. One part I liked about the book was the people. The people that Krakauer mentioned were very brave and outgoing. They kept the book very intense and made it hard to put down. I couldn't really relate to them, but felt the adrenalin rushes and wanted to climb Everest myself while reading the book. I also liked the description of the atmosphere. It was so good that I saw a picture of the mountain while I was reading. I also could feel the lack of oxygen like Krakauer and the horrible frostbite on Beck's hands. I was especially slumped when Jon told Doug to "Get up slick" and in reply Doug said that he was felling really bad. Doug then told Jon he had hurt his throat during the trip to the top, which was operated on two weeks earlier. Another part I liked about the book was how it flowed. I thought that he mentioned the right things and actions at the same time. He also put all the tragedies in the book to give us the true story. During the book, I never got lost. On the way to the top Everest, Jon Krakauer guided us step by step from base camp to the summit, standing 29, 828 feet tall. He introduced us to his group and the name of each obstacle he faced. He also was brave and risked his life for others. At the end of the book, he left us with nothing but the truth. This book, I think, was the best book ever.
Rating:
Summary: Get ready to put on your hiking boots and start reading!
Review: When Outside magazine asks Jon Krakauer, to go to Nepal to participate in a part of an expedition with the some of the world's best climbers. He would climb to the summit of the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest. With no sleep in the last fifty-seven hours, Jon Krakauer on one early afternoon of May 10, 1996 reached the summit. The cost, would be over $65,000, which was completely paid for by Outside magazine. Jon, a regular climber, always dreamed of this challenge and here was his chance. This is the story of a good plan and how it fell apart. Many people died in May of 1996, some survived, due to luck. Even experience couldn't guarantee a safe ascent and decline. Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, who were two of the best climbers, both died. Many people have criticized the "guided tours" business, arguing that many people who have no right to make this amazing feat have paid their way to the top. Many people died who shouldn't have been on the mountain in the first place. This book takes you through the hard times and triumphs, but it explores more. It tells of people with money thinking, maybe knowing they can buy anything. It tells of people with dreams and goals like the mailman who saved for years to do this. This book is written like A Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, in the sense that it explores the history and lives of the "characters". This is a great book and I'm glad I read it.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in a while
Review: This book is one of the best I have read in a while and I am a very "picky" reader. I would definitely recommend reading this one and am now searching for another book that is as good!
Rating:
Summary: What a great book
Review: Into Thin Air was a great book. It held my attention all the way through. It starts out kinda slow but in the end you will be glad you read it. It certainly will help to put an end to your wondering of what its really like to climb the highest mountain in the world. The suspense will grab you and not let go. I can see why its a best seller.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid!!!
Review: Very well written, Krauker describes his summit of Everst in the disaster of '96. Although I can see the Alaska Range from my house, and on clear days I can see McKinley, I never considered climbing one.From page one, you are taken along the treacherous journey, to discover the thrills, horrors, and secrets of Everest. After reading this, you definetly have to sit down and think. As Krauker describes the members of his expedition, as well as others, you get the feeling that you are meeting the people who went up personally. At the end of the book I cried, and I'm sure I'm not the only one this book has made think. This one is really a changing experience, a thriller, down to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Big mountain, Big adventure, Big Disaster and big words
Review: My gripe: too many big words like paucity when scarceness would work. Also, too many terms for mountain-climbers only and not enough definition to tell non-mountain-climbers what the terms mean. Other than those things, an excellent account of an adventure which went awry for some and awry for the survivors. Even I was in shape, I wouldn't try the climb. I hate garbage, and I'd hate finding a body. Climbing Everest would lead me to tons of both. How depressing, as was the book which I couldn't put down.
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