Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
Author: Jon Krakauer
ISBN-13: 9780679457527
ISBN-10: 0679457526
Publication Date: 4/22/1997
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 115

4.3 stars, based on 115 ratings
Publisher: Villard
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

17 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

tish avatar reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 384 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
We've all heard about this story but here it is to read. it is exciting and sad.i was left wondering why people climb us to these places???
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on
Helpful Score: 1
A gripping account of some of the darkest days atop Mount Everest. Building the story of a crowded mountain full of professional and celebrity climbers and culminating in just a few short hours of events that led to the deaths of a few. A highly recommended read for those who can only admire the people who take themselves to the ultimate extreme.
JoJo46580 avatar reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 65 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very good read; kept me interested
from cover to cover - plus I learned
alot about mountain climbing and why
people do it - and one mans story of
the tragedy that happened on one
expedition - a good read!
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 725 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
From the dust jacket: "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 has long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning he learned that six of his felow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were in a desperate struggle for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right had would have to be amputated."
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
True account of the tragic Mt. Everest climb from one who was there.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Horrifying first hand account of the disaster on Mount Everest in 1996. The ordeal these climbers went through - and all the people who died - is unbelievable.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on
Great read! Gripping account of the author's personal experience on the disastrous Everest climb. I tore through it in just a couple days. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys personal adventure stories.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 57 more book reviews
This book is riveting, one of the best books I've ever read. Jon Krakauer is an excellent writer, and after I read this book, I devoured everything I could find on the Mt. Everest Disaster that fateful May day. You absolutely will not be able to put this down until you are done, so call in sick and start reading. It's unbelievable what people put their bodies through, and it made me appreciate having a warm bed and a toilet nearby.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 10 more book reviews
Amazing firsthand account of the mt. everest climbing season of 1996.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on
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. 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?
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 79 more book reviews
Fascinating book!
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 28 more book reviews
riveting, interesting, compelling version of one disasterous season of climibing mount everest
patsyjean avatar reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 11 more book reviews
Heartbreaking
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 168 more book reviews
Excellent book! In fact, this is one of my all-time favorites. Krakauer wastes no time on boring stats but just gets right into the story. The writing is immediate, vivid, enthralling. The story is incredible, triumphant and tragic. I have re-read and recommended this book many times.
buzzby avatar reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 6062 more book reviews
Krakauer actually uses the word "cwm", and not in a pangram or a crossword puzzle!
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 18 more book reviews
Amazing book.
reviewed Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster on + 372 more book reviews
A story of wasted lives and money to just say they climbed a place that men do not belong.