Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.45 You Save: $8.50 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.81 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Book Review: Captivating and Chilling Account
Summary: 5 Stars
"Into Thin Air" is an extraordinary account of an unusual expedition gone awry. Jon Krakauer is able to pull the reader into this bleak world of machismo and ultimately survival-of-the-fittest where 90% of the world population would NEVER dare to go.
I'm not normally a reader of this genre of literature, but I was intrigued by the topic since I know for a fact that I'll never attempt such a feat. I thought it was an interesting way to vicariously experience life in it's most primitive state. I still do not understand WHY a person would subject him/herself to the perilous conditions of Everest, however, and perhaps that is part of the intrigue that surrounds the book.
My only criticism of the work is that I would have liked to have had a glossary of climbing terms to rely on. Although Mr. Krakauer initially wrote his account for "Outside" magazine which is directed at those who are more familiar with the "lingo" of mountaineering, he should understand that he has thrust himself into the general reading public with his more in depth account of "Into Thin Air." Perhaps later printings can include such an appendix.
Book Review: A riveting first-hand account of the 1996 Everest disaster
Summary: 5 Stars
I have climbed Everest.
I have never been in Nepal or Tibet, but I was with Jon Krakauer and his team in spirit as they mounted their assault on the highest mountain and greatest challenge known to mankind (why? because it is there...). "Into Thin Air" is Krakauer's fascinating recollection of famed leader Rob Hall's expedition and its tragic consequences for his team and others. I was spellbound as "we" endured frigid howling gales of blinding snow, crept up sheer ice walls, inched above yawning crevasses and became disoriented in the thin air on the perilous peak as the oxygen tanks gave out. This tale goes beyond the elation of reaching the roof of the world by exploring human nature and the dilemma of teammates choosing to risk sacrificing themselves to save others or making the difficult decision to leave the weak to their fate...and in some cases, welcoming back those left for dead. Krakauer details how the strongest, most competent climbers can be conquered -- in mind and body -- by the mountain and its fury. They remain there today...You won't be able to put down this true story.Book Review: Everest is Microcosm of World - Chillingly
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not a camping out/mountaineering person and I loved this book. The author, Jon, shows the psychology of the people climbing - and to lessor extent those around them - supporters - observers - from the internet community to the press. There are heros and self-servers, diverse nationalities, and best of all ordinary men and women trying to discover how to live gracefully and decently with themselves and others. It is clearly a struggle to do the latter. Climbing the mountain is a climb to self-discovery, and it often is not a pretty one. It is a climb to acceptance of our humanity (we are not supermen/women) and our fraility. To the author Jon I would say: Jon, you are a very self-aware human person - please learn to love and accept your own idealism and your own and other's fraility. And thanks for this frank reality check for others who may be tempted by the glittering summit.Book Review: The Mountain God
Summary: 5 Stars
Into Thin Air is a story of man against nature and man against himself (where man=human). Whether that was his aim or no, Krakauer lays bare the human condition. This is how we are under extreme physical duress. It is an important reminder that in this day and age of technological wizardry we are still at the mercy of nature: the god of the mountain will take his own. To form judgments against any of the participants is ludicrous and arrogant. Only those who were there, and maybe not even they, have that right. Many of the readers' comments point this out very well. As writing it is honest and direct, and interspersed with enough background information to put us in the context of the events. That is enough. The title creates a wonderful image: men and women ascending the ultimate heights, then leaving their bodies behind and ascending even further, into thin air. Yes, it was a tragedy, but was it not a beautiful tragedy, to die for what you love? How many of us will ever get to do that?
Book Review: Very interesting book.
Summary: 5 Stars
The book details very well what happened on Mt. Everest during the climb and the agonies endured by the people who were there.