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

What an amazing book! It should be mentioned that there are other perspectives to this disaster (some which can be read in this Salon.com series of articles), and other books have been written about it, but this does not affect the fact that this is an incredibly well-written book. It reads like a suspense novel. It's just so tragic that you have to keep reminding yourself that these people were real. Real lives were lost.

In 1996, when this book is set, I was living in my home country of England, and I don't remember the story at all, so unlike some who read this book, I never saw the news stories flying about at the time. I would not normally read a book about mountaineering, but this is a book about the people involved and the narrative reads so well, that even those without any interest in the subject should find it gripping.

So the burning question is, what do people do after they have invested months of their time, thousands of their dollars, and superhuman effort to say they have reached the summit of Mt. Everest, and within a short climb from the top their very lives depend upon abandoning the summit? Well, they go on of course! And that is how it came to pass that eight climbers lost their lives in an attempt to reach the summit of Everest. This non-fiction account of that fateful trip comes to us from Jon Krakauer, who was there to chronicle the entire journey. Populated with a large array of characters, who although difficult to keep track of at times, Krakauer's account keeps us turning the pages if only to figure out how people can be so stupid. One society lady had to reach the summit so badly, one of the local Sherpas literally had to drag her up at the end of a rope, all but unconscious. Of those who died in the ill-timed blizzard, included were a professional Everest guide, who continued the climb even after his own established time to give it up had gone by. That's what you do when folks have paid you thousands of dollars to get them to the top! People certainly are strange. Throw in some egos and bragging rights motivations, and they become stupid. By the way - I LIKED this book! And I do recommend it. (Along with everything else Jon Krakauer has written).

Very gripping non-fiction read. Krakauer's writing style is easy, engaging and illuminating. Highly recommended.

Unbelievable story of hardship and struggle and mans unwillingness to give in. I highly recommend this book.

I loved the way Krakauer wrote this book. It was fast-paced and exciting, without too much technical jargon to bog it down. And if he did mention something that the average person might not know, such as a climbing maneuver, piece of equipment, or historical detail, he always briefly explained it in a footnote.

I'll be the first to admit, my experience with mountain climbing is climbing the steps to the third floor to my kids' messy bedrooms to clean. Stupid me, thought you go to the bottom of the mountain, climb up, say "yippee, I'm on the top", and climb back down. This was an eye opener to the REAL trials and tribulations of climbing - and I mean serious climbing. There are weeks of "acclimation", where you go up a few thousand feet, spend some time there, and go back down - to try to get your body used to the increasingly thin air. The affects of this atmosphere and climate on the human body is unbelievable. Punishing. Borders on fatal each step of the way. Of course it makes you think "why? why would you want to do this?", but I suspect it is like anything else we are passionate about - the incredible sense of accomplishment, pride, self satisfaction. This is an incredible book and I highly recommend it, whether you are interested in climbing or not. I learned a ton!