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

Like many other one star reviewers here, I read Into Thin Air first and found the story quite compelling. After reading The Climb and Above the Clouds, its clear Into Thin Air was hastily written and poorly researched. I also question Outside magazine's journalism in the original article as its easy to question the fact checking involved in that article.

Don't spend your money on Krakauer.

I read this after seeing the PBS doc Storm Over Everest and found it quite an interesting adjunct. I note that all the one-star reviews here say read Boukreev's book and see what a liar Krakauer is, but I doubt it's that cut and dried. I don't see that he's as egocentric here as many say, nor that he is as noble. He seems a little of both to me, ie a human being.
In any case, the book reads well, though it's no great piece of literature, just a solid, somewhat overlong narrative of a fascinating and tragic event.
Sandy Pittman must be thoroughly ashamed of herself if half of this is true; she tried to buy her way to the top while getting sherpas to carry her espresso machine and satellite dishes, and good people died as a result. The Taiwanese climbers seem equally egocentric and uncaring for others. Then again, the guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer may be equally to blame for encouraging people who weren't ready to make the climb, just so the guides could make more money and get more recognition.
Looks pretty much like the Mother Goddess spanked them all damn hard, and in some ways this reads like a straight-up Shakespearean tragedy, with all the hubris and drama that entails.
Worth reading.
I'm looking forward to reading Boukreev's book, but I think in the end there'll be three sides to this story...

I just read this book while on vacation in Mexico for a week. Talk about gripping! Each successive camp takes you higher and higher, as the suspense builds. You really get a feel for the determination and ultimate tragedy that drove and still drives people to climb Everest. Some people take issue with Krakauer, but you should give it a read and decide for yourself. PBS recently ran a two hour documentary on this trip that was simply breathtaking!! GREAT BOOK!

Personally, Jon Krakauer is my all time, hands down favorite author. I am an adventure junkie. This was the second book i ever picked up of his and i seriously could not put it down. I am in college, normally college students have tons of other things to do than read, but i put things off just so i could read this book. I LOVE IT! If you are an adventurist, adrenaline junkie, a climber, a camper, a hiker... read it...

This story is a page turner which I read in a single night. It's the gripping tale, told in a powerful way of how too many climbers and competing agendas led to a major disaster on Mt. Everest. I saw the story as one of power and control run amuck leading to the loss of too many lives. Of one man who sat down to die, and of another who refused to die even when left for dead three times. The story takes many twists and turns and involves dozens of key characters, so it would be hard to read over too long a period of time since there are a lot of details to track. Never the less, it's a great adventure story that illustrates the dangers of miscommunication at the top of the world.