Into Thin Air

I have climbed all of the highest mountains in Scotland. I have been on those mountains in zero visibility and driving snow. I have been cold, frightened and found decision making difficult. That ocurred at around 4000 feet. Everest is more than 29000 feet. I think it unlikely that anyone can truly know what being on Everest is like without first hand experience. Krakauer paints a graphic picture in his book and yet my lasting memory will be the bitter disputes which followed the climbing tradedy. The account of the climb and the deaths is compelling reading, but I was left with a feeling of real sadness that an attempt to write an honest account met with such criticism. I have read several well known climbing books, and this is one of the most memorable.

The author’s own account of the 1996 Everest disaster, of which he was part. An open and honest account of the disaster, his role in it, and the aftermath.To his credit Krakauer does not shy away from his own mistakes and responsibilities, though does reinforce the ever person for themselves attitude that he also decries. There is speculation about motives and actions that he could not have been party to, but they do not necessarily feel unreasonable. There is tragedy with this, in his mistaken reporting of Harold being alive and then in the way he likely does, causing more pain for the family, but this was done with the best of intentions.Not a justification of action, or inaction, but an explanation, one that is perhaps hard to completely accept without the experience of being above 8,000m, but is nonetheless compelling and convincing.Critical of the lack of relevant climbing experience of the other members of the group, his own does not seem that impressive for the scale of challenge presented by Everest.Self reflective, and enlightening, the reader cannot help but feel drawn to the personalities as the tragedy unfolds, and poor decision making compounds to big impacts.A must read for anyone who wants to understand more about the 1996 tragedy.

I first purchased this book after seeing the film Everest, that portrayed the 1996 disaster, as I wanted to know more about it. Why do people feel the need to risk their lives? What was it about this mountain that drew people? Was the film accurate?For me, this book helped me understand why people enjoy 'extreme' mountaineering and did explain the draw Everest has on people. I actually found the history of it - from being named the tallest mountain on Earth, to her naming and the repeated attempts to summit, really interesting.As to whether this book and the film accurately portray the disaster... I will say the film mostly matches this book, and the author makes it clear that this is how he viewed the events, that he was not operating at peak efficiency and that a lot of people made small mistakes which added up to make the disaster.The book is well written, and for the most part is measured. It mixes analytical with personal to great effect. Though it isn't a happy read it is an interesting one and I'd recommend this to people interested in the film, the mountain, or the sport of climbing.

I'm surprised at how riveted I was by Jon Krakauer's haunting account of the tragic events that took place on Everest in 1998. He recounts the minutiae of an Everest expedition, from arriving in Kathmandu to trekking to base camp, and explains in laborious detail how it really is to climb Everest - a subject I didn't realise I was so fascinated by until reading this.Peppered throughout are references to mountaineers of yore which had me going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole more than once. Although climbing Everest isn't on my bucket list, I find stories of how people push themselves to their physical and mental limits compelling and inspiring. However, Krakauer's account of what happened on May 10 and how four climbers from his team tragically came to lose their lives - the crux of this book - was of course difficult to read.Much has been made of his criticism of Sandy Pittman and Anatoli Boukreev, but I felt his portrayal of both of them was on the whole handled fairly. Many on the mountain that day made poor decisions in extreme circumstances that led to the final outcome. Krakauer himself doesn't shy away from his own culpability, although it clearly haunts him and must have been painful to write about publicly. If I were to have any criticism of this book, it would be that Krakauer's perception of his abilities and that of others came across at times as hubristic. Whilst I don't refute that many - too many - people attempt Everest without qualified experience (and the mountain has claimed many of those lives), the way Krakauer writes about his own abilities versus that of others felt a little arrogant to me. I also got a little lost later in the book on who was who, which left me puzzled for a while. However neither of these points detract from the fact that this book well and truly got under my skin.I don't give five stars often and I'm not the most avid reader of non-fiction, but this has been one of my surprise reads this year and I would read it again. I'm considering reading Beck Weathers' book now - that truly is a story of survival.

I am not a climber and only bought this book because it was recommended on a radio programme. It is haunting, scary and brutal but I could barely put the book down. This must have been painful to write, and there is an honesty in the acceptance that neurological impairment has made all versions of honesty more questionable than the usual bias of individual perspective and view. This book speaks to questions that go to heart of people in extreme circumstances, even more intriguing because they choose to be there, driven perhaps, but stil a choice. I think the book was written with as open a mind as is possible and I hope I read it the same way.