Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10,1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step by step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has his readers shaking on the edge of their seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is is about Everest that has compelled so many poeple--including himself--to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense? Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.From the Paperback edition.

FINALLY crossed this off my list. As promised, an absorbing read. Not anything more or less astonishing than other disaster account type literature, though.

Rating: 7.3/10

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is a compelling look into the nitty gritty of Everest expeditions, every detail painstakingly described. A bit too painstaking for my taste but it was still an interesting story. The main problem I had with this book was the nonstop naming and in-depth descriptions of characters who would have almost no impact on the story or better yet, would never be mentioned again in the story. This issue might have had a smaller impact if I was reading the book physically, so I could have flipped back and forth between the pages to keep better track of the characters, but in audiobook form, it was a hopeless endeavor. I had to make a tangible effort just to remember the names of the most important members of Krakauer's party

The story itself was chilling and showed just how quickly things can go wrong on the slopes of the world's tallest mountain. Something in particular that stood out to me was the author's honesty about his mistakes in the expedition and how he was all but the reason for a friend's death on the mountain. Additionally, I learned that oxygen is actually not a necessity for everyone when climbing Everest. It certainly helps, but based on certain genetic factors and intense training, one can climb the peak with no oxygen assistance whatsoever. I always assumed that a ton of oxygen was required at such altitudes.

In conclusion, the subtitle for this book is “A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster” and that's exactly what it is: an account. For better or for worse, Jon Krakauer spares no detail of his run-in with Everest. I would not recommend this book, too much commitment for too little payoff (about two chapters of gripping action)

I recently realized I love real-life adventure tales. Memoirs of extraordinary journeys that are true tales. Into Thin Air is one such telling of a trip to climb Mt. Everest by a journalist writing about the commercialization of Himalayan adventures. Things go horribly wrong and the result is one of the worst years in history for climbers. I've never wanted to go to Everest (well, maybe base camp could be fun) but after reading this I feel cold just thinking about it.