Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster Paperback – Illustrated, 20 Oct. 1999

This book made me watch tons of videos about climbing Everest, and mountaineering.Now I love having a very good understanding of the common route to Everest summit used by commercial expeditions, and challenges of mountaineering,particularly to the mountains higher than 8.000 meters.The book is a memoir about Everest disaster where five people out of two expedition groups died in May 1996. Author, Jon Krakauer participated in it, and he was one of the survivors.He was a writer in the magazine Outsider at the time, and participated in the expedition on the request of the magazine. And he is himself a mountaineer also. This just makes the book very informative, and real.He wrote his essay about the tragedy in the magazine in September 1996.And it got back the most response from the readers in the entire history of the magazine.This was due to two reasons I think. First it was a real eye witness story of the disaster, andsecond is that his narrative of the events was controversial since each participator has his own version of the disaster.So, he came across criticism of unfair reporting, even he is accused of being egoist saving himself and not helping victims. But he also himself felt some doubts on his own version of the story because he might be wrong with some of the things he has written, which could be very sensitive for those who lost their loved ones.The reason he doubt about himself is that human brain could be unreliable at higher than 8.000 meters with limited oxygen. So he decides to write this book covering entire story as real as and as fair as possible with more investigation.There are 22 chapters in the book. I think in term of themes it is made up four parts.First part is introduction which goes until arrival at the base camp at Everest.Second part is about Base camp and the next two camps.In these parts author describes the participants in the expedition as they come along the story.In 1996 May, there were quiet large number of climbing groups made up of around 300 people.But this book is about two groups.One of them was Adventure Consultants led by famous mountaineer Rob Hall from New Zealand.Jon is in this group. Other group one was Mountain Madness led by famous American mountaineer, Scott Fischer.These two leaders were friends, but also commercial competitors.There were in total 20 customers in both groups, but together with guides, Nepalese rope fixers, helpers number goes up to 40.On the day of climbing to summit, both groups moved together.There is something mysteries in author's writing style that it gives quiet good understanding of the people he is describing. There is sort of rawness beyond realism, coupled with sort of cynicism and sarcasm in his description of people.This makes reader to have a strong opine on the person he is describing.Same goes he villages in Nepal on the way to Camps, and the routes between the camps.And he makes loads of references to climbing history of Everest, special expeditions, accidents, legends of the climbing worlds, technical features of mountaineering.I almost stop and watched one or more videos for all those references.Therefore reading went quiet slow pace. But, it just takes you really up to the mountains, and I loved that. So in these early chapters he prepares the reader very well to the disaster part.In the third apart he covers third and fourth camps, and then climbing to summit and unfolding of events leading to tragedy, and the next day. On the day of climbing to summit, two expedition groups move together. In the next 36 hours leaders of the both groups, one guide, and two customers will be dead.Jon elaborates on the mistakes, psychology, violation of principles, inconsistencies against initial decisions, egoism, commercial concerns vividly.Reader would sense that how a human being with all the expertise can be ignorant, irresponsible, egoist when it comes to ACHIVING some commercial or personal success story.And then in the last part of the book Jon does post disaster evaluationHe looks at back everything happened, reviews them in a judgmental way.He does this sometimes open ended, sometime for certain.Here again reader senses that author is very sensitive on fairness, and emotional and concerned about if he would be accused again on unfair, incorrect narration.But on the other hand he has a stubborn side also keep on insisting on some of his controversial claims. It looks like that another reason he wrote this book is that he has to free himself from this thought of disaster and leave it behind his life.And before finishing I must say a few words sketched illustrations at the beginning of each chapter.At first I did not pay attention them too much.But as I proceed reading and grasping the gravity of situation, particularly psychology, those sketches started getting my attention more and more.Eventually I loved them and kept staring them a lot.I can almost say they describe the challenges, and the gravity of the psychological mood may be better than the book. They are just proof of one picture says more than one thousands words.

Brilliant read

Chose this as an "adventure/exploration" read for our book club. Thought it was well written and conveyed a sense of excitement, thrill of the climb, grim reality of the living conditions and physical challenges and ultimately the horror and trauma of the disastrous outcome. I couldn't put it down.The references to other climbs provided further interest and a more complete picture.Have had other positive comments from the book club although we have not yet had our review session.Was slightly disappointed that this paperback version did not include the photographs listed at the front of the book.

Great book

After watching the movie "Everest," I felt compelled to buy this account. I've just finished this book and feel obliged to chip in.Firstly, it's written extremely well, with explanations for the bewildering amount of mountaineering jargon, aiding accessibility. The account moves long at a rapid rate and it is, to coin a well used phrase, a real page-turner. Krakauer transports you, through the medium of his words, into the expedition's footsteps. Through the filth and squalor at Lobuje to the stacks of empty oxygen bottles at South Col to the frozen corpses that litter the "Death Zone," you are on Everest with him.Secondly, I would disagree with the criticisms levelled at Krakauer regarding Anatoli Boukreev. The book was written from Krakauer's perspective, not an unbiased textbook. In Jon's OPINION, Boukreev was selfish to leave his group behind. Personally, I agree with Krakauer - if you are employed as a guide, you are there for your clients, not yourself. Having said that, no one living, was party to the conversations between Anatoli and Scott Fischer, leader of the Mountain Madness company. They may well have had a philosophy along the lines of: "When we hit a certain point, it's every man for themselves" and advised their clients of this philosophy. The clients in turn, may well have indemnified Mountain Madness to that effect. Who knows?Now, was Anatoli brave in doing what he did? Absolutely and he deserved every award and plaudit that came his way and I don't believe that Krakauer disagrees that Anatoli was brave. I think that Jon felt a lot of guilt over the fact that he was so exhausted and sick after arriving in base camp, that he couldn't assist in any rescue attempts.At the end of the day, we can dissect and argue until the cows come home, but the book is a cracking read and is highly recommended. I paid double its current £1.96 price and I still think it was a bargain.