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

I picked this book up as a tonic for the hottest days of summer and found I had to put it aside several times as the story felt so immediate and personal. The desire to reach the fullness of the story was in direct opposition to a palpable sense of dread that grew with each chapterâ€"the writing is that good.

A fairly gripping nonfiction account of tragic events during the author's ascent (with a group) up Everest. I enjoyed this, although I found it a bit self-indulgent, and the author has admitted since that he probably wrote it too soon after the event--he said he got some details wrong, and his story was affected/distorted by the emotional aftermath. But definitely worth the read. I liked Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven and Into the Wild as well.

Other books about climbing that I recommend more strongly than this one are "K2: A Woman's Place is on Top" and "Touching the Void". For other nonfiction books on extreme sports: "To the Edge" is a phenomenal book about ultramarathoning and "Winterdance" is a terrific account of the Iditarod sled race, and "Shadow Divers" is just a wonderful book about deep wreck diving.

This book is worth reading as an example of the best journalistic prose that we can get these days. Readable for those into travel and adventure books; interesting about the psychology of risk takers; inspiring tale of survival; cautionary story of guilt and recrimination and damage to reputation.

Wonderful, thought-provoking important, book.

I really liked this book. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Mt. Everest. When someone says they are going to climb Mt. Everest I am truly impressed. I liked it so much that I sent a copy to my nephew in the army.

This is very engaging book on one of the deadliest climbing seasons at Mt Everest. The author does a good job pulling you in and letting you know just what it's like preparing for, and climbing Mt Everest.

Then things go bad. A lot of things. Quickly. Personally, my feelings toward the author and some other members of the expedition varied: envy, pity, shock, and outrage. I almost came away from reading the book feeling intense scorn for the author... but it's a different world under different rules there.

Good book that may challenge you to think what you would do in a similar situation.