 |
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
Book Summary InformationAuthor: Jon Krakauer Brand: Liberty Mountain Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 1999-10-19 ISBN: 0385494785 Number of pages: 332 Publisher: Anchor Product features:
Book Reviews of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest DisasterBook Review: Enthralled for a Second Time Summary: 5 StarsI reread this old favorite and found it just as enthralling as my first reading several years back. Into Thin Air is one of those books that you find yourself returning to to pick up again, which in itself is testamont to its power. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, so it's a plus that they are all listed at the beginning of the book. Sometimes, I'd refer to this list to remind myself who this person was and what expedition they were taking part in. You don't get to know any of these characters on an intimate level. They are largely thrown together and become a "team" at the last minute and you see them through Krakauer's eyes, and even he isn't seeing clearly at all times. That is largely the absurdity of these guided expeditions that attempt to climb Everest. Other than some of the guides and some of the sherpas, and maybe a client or two, no one has worked together before. No one knows the others strengths and weaknesses. No one truly knows one another. No one knows how they might rely on another. Add in the effects of extreme cold and wind and altitude on the human body, and even more importantly the mind, and it is the ultimate recipe for disaster. Just picking up the book to learn about the physiological affects 'thin air' has upon the body and mind alone makes for worthwhile reading.
As a reader, I sometimes felt contempt for the attitudes and hubris of some these people. There's little that makes most of the clientele in any way qualified to climb Everest, other than the large financial sums to hire a guide. But in the end, I felt sympathy for most and was haunted by their fate. If some of them suffered from an incomplete understanding of the demands of Everest beforehand, their thinking was even more clouded on Everest, if not totally disjointed. It's a descent (or ascent in this case) into irrationality. Many of the clients had already succumbed to this madness the moment they signed up for the expedition and decided they were qualified for such a deadly undertaking. For others, including the guides, the madness sets in on the mountain.
Summary of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest DisasterA 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 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." 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. With more than 250 black-and-white photographs taken by various expedition members and an enlightening new postscript by the author, the Illustrated Edition shows readers what this tragic climb looked like and potentially provides closure for Krakauer and his detractors. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in a postscript dated August 1998. "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 a avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I. Krakauer further buries the ice axe by donating his share of royalties from sales of The Illustrated Edition to the Everest '96 Memorial Fund, which aids various environmental and humanitarian charities. --Rob McDonald
|
 |