Into Thin air : : a Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Locations
Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Literary / Krakauer, Jon
On Shelf At: Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Literary / Krakauer, Jon	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Literary / Krakauer, Jon	4-week checkout	Due 04-22-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Biography / Literary / Krakauer, Jon	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Highly Recommended submitted by Sara W on June 21, 2011, 2:47am Anyone who loves to read about extreme situations is going to be interested in this book. There's adventure, suspense, danger, tragedy, mistaken identity, heroism - a million elements of a good story, including a great storyteller.

Because this is a true story and because there was tragedy, this is an emotional retelling for Jon Krakauer, but between his connection to the events and his journalistic standards for fact-checking and post-event interviews, it is extremely well done. He is honest about his doubts, personal errors and regrets. But he also tries to make sense of what happened and imagine ways things could have been avoided. He also takes criticism for having done that, but I think it was important to him to try to answer the question of "why" in this way.

Krakauer layers Everest lore in with his descriptions of his teammates, the culture of base camp and his own personal thoughts and concerns. This is a story that grips the reader, until you find yourself gasping as action sequences unfold.

one of the best books I have read! submitted by pmysore on August 18, 2011, 4:36pm This is a gripping novel about a mountaineering adventure gone bad! The author didnt just interview everyone who survived and write about it. He was actually part of the adventure. It also provides an insight about the drive (madness?) of the people who undertake these ascents.

Harrowing, But Good submitted by Meginator on June 17, 2017, 6:40pm This is an incredibly well-written book that gives the reader a very vivid view of the Everest climbing experience in general (as it was 20 years ago, at least) and of the tragedy that Krakauer witnessed. Krakauer's journalist's interest in providing a fair account, and avoiding blame, is evident, as is his narrative skill. This book has rightfully earned its place as an essential read for anyone interested in Mount Everest and/or Himalayan mountaineering.

Interesting and memorable submitted by kassafrass on July 19, 2018, 10:58am This book was a memorable, somber read with interesting ideas about the history, purpose, and dangers of mountaineering that surprised me. I was surprised by how compelling it was to read, even though I began the book knowing it would end in disaster, and the inevitability of it weighs heavily during the whole read.

Intense submitted by zmclaugh on July 29, 2018, 11:06am This is an intense account about the people who decide to climb Everest. I definitely recommend this.

It taught me more about climbing than I knew existed. submitted by tbbrown76 on August 18, 2018, 12:26pm A true account of Everest, and the people who attempt to summit. Highly recommended.
Tom

Mt. Everest submitted by avrogers1 on August 22, 2018, 12:53pm This book highlights the author's experience at the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a rogue storm.

grim but engaging submitted by John Staunton on August 30, 2018, 9:41pm does a great job of telling the story of the disaster from multiple angles

A Thrilling Read submitted by sVfGI7Glt2pz7GZgVB90 on July 15, 2020, 10:47am I was doubtful about how exciting a climb up a mountain could truly be, regardless of how disastrous the outcome. I am glad I was wrong about my estimation. Krakauer gives an enormously vivid and thorough description of what happened on the fated Everest climb. The intertwining narrative of the characters and what they have to endure just to have a shot at climbing Everest is enthralling. I actually felt I was there and felt wretched for all the distress they were enduring!

Showed me a different life submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 18, 2022, 11:22pm This is going to sound kind of funny, but I needed a book that wasn’t about people being awful to each other, so I deliberately looked at my reading pile for a White male author, because (broadly speaking) White men get to invent hardship in ways that women and POC have forced upon them. It turns out that _Into Thin Air_ served that purpose precisely. (And I'm a White woman, to be clear.)

Krakauer is an excellent writer, and the history of Everest and events of his trip are interesting, compelling, and horrifying. They also left me shaking my head. I personally do not understand the urge to do something THAT dangerous. White people pay ridiculous amounts of money to do dangerous things, damage the environment, and pay local POC crap wages for dangerous work that they functionally *have* to do for economic reasons. They get sponsorships and run social media campaigns and write books about it. It’s baffling.

Nonetheless, this particular book gives a lot of great history and paints a clear picture of the challenges and events of the 1996 disaster on Everest. It was interesting to read, and showed me a different life than the one I know. Isn’t that what books are for?