Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster | 
 enlarge | Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  1499 reviews
Sales Rank: 1381
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0385494785
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.522092
EAN: 9780385494786
ASIN: 0385494785
Publication Date: October 19, 1999
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Product Description
AT THRU-HIKERS COMPANION 2009
Amazon.com Review
A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster. With more than 250 black-and-white photographs taken by various expedition members and an enlightening new postscript by the author, the Illustrated Edition shows readers what this tragic climb looked like and potentially provides closure for Krakauer and his detractors. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in a postscript dated August 1998. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in a avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I. Krakauer further buries the ice axe by donating his share of royalties from sales of The Illustrated Edition to the Everest '96 Memorial Fund, which aids various environmental and humanitarian charities. --Rob McDonald
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1494 more reviews...
 Breathless December 26, 2008
I was on lunch break at a previous job and reading Walden Pond by Henry David Thoreau for the second time in my life. My co-worker comes up to me and said, "is that a good book, I've never read it?". I told him it was a book I could relate to, because I too like being outside and surrounded by nothing but nature and the way Mr. Thoreau described his experimental sojourn out in the woods was exactly the way I preferred to live too. My friend told me, "I have a book that you would probably like, It's called, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I'll bring it with me tomorrow and give it to you to borrow." I immensely enjoyed that book!
Beginning of this year while browsing in the nature section at a book store, I came across Into Thin Air by the above same author. I thought to myself, "Jon Krakauer told a very fine story with Into the Wild so maybe I should give this book a chance." It didn't disappoint me.
Riveting December 20, 2008
Even non-outdoorsmen (that would be me) will enjoy this true story of triumph over the mountain. I highly highly recommend!
 Not the whole story December 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Let me state up front that I'm a Krakauer fan, that I've read (and own) many of his books, that I consider his short story about climbing the Devil's Thumb a true classic in mountaineering literature, and that I've read "Into Thin Air" several times. It is a page turner.
Recently however, I discovered the point of view of someone else covering the same tragedy. I am referring to The Climb by Boukreev and DeWalt. For those that don't know, Boukreev was a guide on the mountain that terrible day and he is cast as a villain in Krakauer's book. To be honest, I was disinclined to hear his side -- I thought it would be some sort of white-wash, I was not interested in hearing a point of view that differs from Krakauer's sharp, no-holds-barred analysis.
But I finally read The Climb. And I must say that it gives one some much-needed perspective on the entire drama. It makes it clear that Krakauer is not unbiased, that he has probably worked too hard to assign blame for the tragedy. According to Krakauer, the main villains are Sandy Hill Pittman (a client) and the professional guide Anatoli Boukreev. From this other perspective, one can understand that Boukreev's actions were completely understandable and correct. One also gets the distinct impression that Krakauer had already made up his mind before interviewing Boukreev and that perhaps the Russian / English language barrier prevented Boukreev from adequately explaining himself.
An unbiased analysis of what happened at the summit of Everest that day might very well assign much blame to expedition leader Rob Hall who was distracted with getting Doug Hansen to the top. This was a misjudgement that eventually cost Hansen, Hall himself, guide Andy Harris, and Yosuko Namba their lives. Yes, Namba's death could be laid at Hall's feet. It was Hall's job to turn Hansen around. It was Hall's job to get his guides and his clients down the mountain. It was Hall's job to account for poor Beck Weathers, who sat freezing on the "Balcony" throughout the day. All these things were Hall's responsibility, yet Krakauer never comes down on Hall in the way he criticized Sandy Pittman or Boukreev. Hall is dead, I know, so it would be in poor taste to criticize a dead man ... especially one who said such poignant things to his wife back in New Zealand. It just wouldn't make for as good a story, would it?
Being critical of Sandy Hill Pittman is manifestly silly. She was a client and as such cannot be blamed for taking too much gear up the mountain. She is not a professional and so should be forgiven such a miscalculation. As for Boukreev, it is clear that he had very good reasons to go quickly down the mountain -- he had fixed rope to the top,
then was worried about getting people down off the route and felt he could best assist down low. He cleared this with his boss, Scott Fischer, who also thought it was a good idea. This plan actually turned out to be prescient -- it was Boukreev, and only Boukreev, that had the energy and the courage to go out looking for the stranded clients on the South Col in the middle of the night. By doing this he saved three lives that would otherwise have been lost. Moreover, he was not in control of the many slight miscalculations that ended so tragically. If we are to blame anyone for that, it would have to be the expedition leaders, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.
So it is a page turner, yes, and Krakauer is a very smart man and is worth listening to. Like many smart people however, he also suffers from the fault of being maybe a little too certain of his own conclusions.
 Amazing adventure story about the 1996 Mt Everest Climbing Disaster December 15, 2008
As a journalist for Outside magazine, Jon Krakauer was assigned to climb and cover a guided trip to the top of Mt Everest. After being dropped off in Kathmandu at the end of March 1996, where he soon meets his guides and co-clients, he is on his way to a memorably grisly adventure. The group slowly makes its way up the mountain, stopping at a series of base camps during a six-week period designed to acclimate their bodies to the extreme altitude. Up until the last day push to the summit on May 10, the trip is exciting, but mostly uneventful. It's only after Krakauer reaches the top and heads back toward camp that a sudden (though not unusual) storm arrives to wreak havoc on the climbers. From that point forward, the situation goes from dire to disaster. The weather situation, combined with a series of unfortunate occurrences (miscommunication between the guides and the clients about the turnaround time, several expeditions choosing to go for the top on the same day, and certain members of the various teams not completing pre-established tasks designed to improve safety) and topped off with the impaired mental and physical condition of many of the climbers leads to a tragedy of epic proportions. When it was all said and done (p xvi) "nine climbers from four expeditions were dead, and three more lives would be lost before the month was out." In his characteristic action-packed style, filled with facts about everything from the mountain to the participants and everything in between, Krakauer paints an excruciatingly cold, snowy, scary picture of what it was like to scale the world's highest peak during a death-record breaking year. Unfortunately, his decision (seemingly due to a combination of survivor's guilt and regret over altitude-affected, incorrect information he provided to prospective rescuers) to include a post-climb "epilogue" chapter takes away from an otherwise objective, near perfect account of the disaster.
Into Thin Air lovers may also enjoy: Into the Wild by Jon Krakaeur, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, The Yellow Spruce by (Krakauer wanna be) John Vaillant, and The Good Rain by Timothy Egan.
Awesome, gut-wrenching....loved it December 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT AFTER READING THIS BOOK, I WANT TO START MOUNTAIN CLIMBING. THERE IS THAT SOMETHING IN ME, THAT SAYS YOU CAN DO IT. THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE VICTIMS. READING THE BOOK ALONE CANNOT EXPLAIN THE FEELING OF CLIMBING AT 29,000 FEET, IT MUST BE SCARY. THE IDEA THAT SOMEONE WOULD LET SOMEONE ELSE DIE ON A MOUNTAIN SO THAT THEY COULD CLIMB TO THE TOP IS ASTOUNDING. WHILE I UNDERSTAND IT, IT IS WILD. I COULD GO ON FOREVER, JUST READ THE BOOK.
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