About:
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction book telling of the authorâs ascent to Mt. Everest. The author participated in an expedition which lost several members during the ascent.
- 332 pages
- Publisher: Anchor
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385494785
My rating for Into Thin Air â 4
Buy this book in paper or elecÂtronic forÂmat*
Thoughts:
Iâve heard much about Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer and when I saw it at a library book sale, I immediately picked it up. However, it took me a few months before I got to it (my blessing and my curse).
Iâve also had a fascination with mountaineering since my trip n South America where I went up and down on a few âlowâ mountains and was for several months staring at the majesty of the Andes. The beauty and majesty of tall mountains simply take my breath away.
Mr. Krakauer does not shy from telling the reader what an achievement, both physical and psychological, it is to climb the worldâs tallest mountain. Even though Everest has received âbad pressâ, saying it is not a difficult climb, it is still a very challenging and difficult even which takes months and dependent on the elements for success.
The author does not shy away from describing the physical ailments which attack the human body at such high altitude and the dangers they cause. Combining those ailments with physical exhaustion and the effects on the brain creates a most hazardous situation.
The strength of the book is in the way Mr. Krakauer tells the story, combining an adventure with social commentary without resorting to dry timeline lists. Some environmental issues, government bureaucracy (mostly Nepalese) and significant historical accounts are also weaved into the book, however they do not take away from the main storyline, but only add context.
The book moves at a good pace, until the Everest disaster happens, and then it switches gears to lightning speed. From the beginning the reader knows what he/she are getting themselves into and know who will make it to the end and who will succumb to the mountain. Nevertheless, this is still an engrossing and gripping read.
Since most of the story takes place in high altitudes, there are several versions of what exactly happens. The author uses interviews, timelines, common sense and logic to put events in their place as accurate as he can. If youâve seen the IMAX movie âEverestâ, the producers play a role in the rescue as well since they were shooting the movie at the time.
In the edition I bought, the author uses postscripts to correct previous editions and answer critics (mainly Anatoli Boukreev, a guide on the Everest) to his previous position. If you are interested in mountain climbing this is certainly a work worth reading,
Buy this book in paper or elecÂtronic forÂmat*
Zohar â Man of la Book
DisÂclaimer:I got bought this book.
*AmaÂzon links point to an affilÂiÂate account, the money is usually spent on books
One Comment
I was obsessed with that book when it came out and hadnât heard thereâs an updated version. Might have to give it a reread.