Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by Jon Krakauer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jon KrakauerEdition: Paperback
Published: 1999-10-19
ISBN: 0385494785
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Book Review: Fair, Unbiased, and Obviously Guilt-Stricken
Summary: 5 Stars
In spite of many reviews of this book which suggest that Mr. Krakauer's account of this Everest expedition is self-serving and overly critical of Anatoli Boukreev, I found it to be a moving and unbiased narrative of an event which has obviously devastated the author and left him wracked with guilt.
Into Thin Air is a riveting and exceptional account of the 1996 Everest disaster that left many brave people -- tourists and guides -- dead. If the author, Jon Krakauer, did not try and identify the factors which led to this tragic end, we as readers would be sorely disappointed with the book. Clearly, we want to know what happened and what went wrong. Krakauer tries to describe the events as he remembers them, and he has called upon many of his companions in this nightmare to share their memories as well.
He does not point fingers, and this is an important point for me. An event of this magnitude was too complicated to have a single cause, and no one person or action could be solely responsible. I realize that the relatives (and fans) of Hall, Fischer, and Boukreev don't want to hear about mistakes they might have made, and yet I always found Krakauer to be fair in his observations. Hall's death is tragic, and I cried while reading about it. But still, Hall did not follow his own guidelines that day, and Krakauer explores the reasons he might have acted against his better judgment.
And yes, Boukreev was a hero who single-handedly saved several people -- but his actions earlier in the day had their small part in the impending disaster. Some other reviewers carry on as if Krakauer has identified Boukreev's decision to climb without oxygen as the sole cause of the disaster. He never says that. It's just one detail in a web of causalities.
Krakauer does not spare himself. He makes it clear that he was in a state of collapse in his tent, asleep, while Boukreev was heroically staging a rescue attempt. And he is very, very clear about the role he played in the death of Andy Harris. I think Mr. Krakauer will take that guilt with him to the grave.
This is a moving, well-written, and (in my opinion) realistic and unbiased account. I found it to be unforgettable.
Summary of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.
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 recounts 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."
When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mount 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 by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has us shaking on the edge of our seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is it about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?
Written with emotional clarity and supported by unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.
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