Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster Features

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By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous! assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself. This updated trade paperback edition of Into Thin Air includes an extensive new postscript that sheds fascinating light on the acrimonious debate that flared between Krakauer and Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev in the wake of the tragedy. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in the postscript, dated August 1999. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored, The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer re! counts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I. In 1999, Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters-a prestigious prize intended "to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment." According to the Academy's citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer. His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."

What Customers Say About Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster:

It put me on the mountain with the author and other climbers. He appeared to be "well read" with a varied background (great food, top shelf beverages, business, and travel to name a few) so I accepted his recommendation (along with his suggestion that I might find "The Perfect Storm" equally enjoyable). I bought the book on the recommendation of a drug company executive I was transporting to the airport. I seemed to experience the cold, the hunger, the primitive conditions, and most of all, the danger. I enjoy non-fiction and this book is pure adventure although it oozes the personal torment of the author as he attempts to deal with not only nature, but the loss of companions. Sometimes he over does the descriptions and he might send you hustling for the nearest dictionary but I found it exciting. In my youth, I could have handled the ascent but now, I have to settle for a well-told documentary of an adventure that should be a part of a lot of people's fantasy. A beneficial, side affect might be to keep the average person off the mountain.

This book was recommended by my son and I read it and gained a whole new insight into mountain climbing. Wow, What an ordeal. If my son ever considers it, I will lock him up, tie him up, sit on him, or whatever it takes to keep him off a mountain like that. I have great respect for the author and the impact his experience had on his life and many others.

I can't explain it, but Mt. Reading `Into Thin Air' was like being on a flight from say. Everest has always been a subject of awe and fascination for me. Akron, Ohio to New York, flying at a cruising altitude of say 29,028 ft., to look out the window and see someone standing out on a cloud, smiling and waving looking eye-level back at me. --- Picture my expression as I read. And anyone who has a deep passion for climbing, or who craves an amazing adventure, or seeks a better understanding the gripping allure these mountains hold, and why climbers are drawn to them will appreciate this account too. The only misgivings reading `Into Thin Air' was that in effort to show this great mountain in all of its grandeur & magnificence, its death-gripping power had to be explored.Without doubt, a tremendous read.

Krakauer grabs your inner advemturer's spirit on page one and doesn't let go. Well written and very descriptive, the author makes you feel what climbing Everest is really like, from the brain haze of high altitude to the bone chilling cold, its all there.

A friend loaned me this book and I couldn't put it down. It captures you from beginning to end, even though I had read what had happened at Everest during that year's expeditions.