I first read "Climb" by Boukreev as recommended by my friends in the climbing community, and then I read this book.

If you read both, there will be no doubt in your mind about what really happened that day. Krakauer is a better writer, but in this case, he is neither a better climber nor a reliable witness.

Boukreev's account provides a different perspective on the events that took place on the mountain. His detailed descriptions and personal experiences give readers a more in-depth understanding of the challenges and difficulties faced by climbers.

On the other hand, Krakauer's book may have some biases and inaccuracies. While he is a talented writer, his climbing skills and judgment may not be as good as Boukreev's.

Overall, reading both books can help you form a more comprehensive and objective view of the events. It is important to consider multiple sources of information and not rely on just one account.

Unfortunately, the kind of person who is programmed to overlook personal distress and continuously strive for the top is often also programmed to ignore signs of serious and immediate danger. This is the core of a dilemma that every Everest climber ultimately faces: to succeed, you must be extremely driven, but if you're too driven, you're likely to die. Moreover, above 26,000 feet, the line between appropriate enthusiasm and reckless summit fever becomes dangerously thin. As a result, the slopes of Everest are littered with corpses.

"Into Thin Air" describes a disastrous day on Mount Everest in 1996 when 8 people lost their lives. The author, a journalist and an accomplished climber, was among those attempting to reach the summit that day and recounts what happened to the best of their ability. The tragic events of that day seem to have multiple causes, including a build-up of small errors in judgment, perhaps combined with a touch of hubris and machismo.

Krakauer does try to reject the idea that mountain climbing is only about ego and adrenaline junkies. He writes, "Above the comforts of Base Camp, the expedition in fact became an almost Calvinistic undertaking. The ratio of misery to pleasure was greater by an order of magnitude than any other mountain I'd been on; I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium, and suffering, it struck me that most of us were probably seeking, above all else, something like a state of grace."

I'm not entirely sure I'm convinced. Throughout the book, I often found myself scratching my head in confusion, wondering "why on earth would anyone want to put themselves through this?" Maybe it's because I have no urge to conquer anything...except perhaps the mountain that is my to-be-read pile. However, it's a testament to the author's skills that, even though you know the outcome before you start reading, this book is such a page-turner and the suspense is maintained throughout. It's a thrilling read.

Alongside the paperback for reference, I listened to the audiobook of this, narrated by Philip Franklin. He was mostly very good, except when he did New Zealand or English accents, which were a bit cringe-worthy.

I live in Seattle. On a reasonably clear day, Mount Rainier, soaring at 14,000+ feet, graces the skyline with its majestic beauty and mystique.

Sometimes it seems as if you can simply reach out and touch it. It has an undeniable allure. Every year, there are countless climbers ascending it. It is a highly desirable North American peak that still offers challenge, excitement, and danger. High altitude mountain climbing is not for the faint of heart.

Yet, it is easy to understand how people can be seduced by the idea of conquering such a big feat. But when you look at Everest, you wonder why anyone in their right mind would risk their life to go up there.

Aren't some things and places in nature better left alone? Apparently, humans can't help themselves. “Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality.”

Jon Krakauer was offered the opportunity to join an Everest climb so he could write a magazine article. He ended up on a historic climb that turned tragic for several in his party as well as a couple of other expeditions on the mountain at the same time.

Krakauer is a very good writer. He conveys the magnitude of the operation, the challenge, the personalities, and the journey quite well. That he managed to survive could be attributed to some fairly good decisions on his part, despite his relative lack of experience at this level.

It is tough to breathe up there, let alone think. Although he had climbing experience, this was a first for him. Seeing the journey through his eyes was fascinating.

With the benefit of hindsight, he levels criticism at some of the planners, guides, and fellow climbers. This may be warranted but understandably was met with controversy by loved ones and some in the elite climbing community.

Nonetheless, it is the true story of a harrowing climb that few ever attempt. It's a gripping story.

This book is truly harrowing.

I have to admit that I never expected it to be otherwise. However, the way the author recounts his story and that of his fellow travelers is quite haunting.

The story within these pages details the highest death toll on Everest up until 1996. That season was one of the worst in terms of fatalities due to a major storm that occurred while most of the climbers were near the summit of Everest. There were numerous things that went wrong, and many that could not be helped. But this book tells the whole story, and it was both thrilling and tragic to read.

I have to admit that I really don't want to say too much about this because I believe it is much better told from the author's own words and perspective. Nevertheless, it is a story that needs to be shared. After reading this, I don't think I would ever want to attempt to climb a mountain. If it is even a tenth as terrifying as it sounds, I simply wouldn't be able to handle it!

I admire those who are able to reach the peaks, but this serves as a reminder of how dangerous they can be. It is brilliantly written and terribly sad. Five stars.

When I initially picked up this book, my assumption was that it would be Jon simply researching and providing an account of what transpired during a Mount Everest hike, but as a journalist rather than as an actual climber. However, to my surprise, he did indeed climb the mountain! This serves as yet another reason (#93824 to be exact) why I could never be a journalist, as it demands such arduous tasks as, well, climbing Mount Everest!

That being said, this book managed to capture my attention. I had very limited knowledge about hiking Everest, aside from what I saw in a documentary on Netflix, so this provided a decent overview. Nevertheless, since the focus was on the tragedy and what went wrong, I felt that Jon's personal experience took a backseat to fleshing out the lives of those he climbed with. This, ultimately, made the book a bit of a burden for me. There was a cast of over 30 people, and I found it extremely difficult to keep them all straight, especially when listening to the audio version where names don't stick easily. The attempt to create a woven narrative of each person's trek and their ultimate fate on the mountain became laborious to remember and decipher. The characterization wasn't distinct enough for me to truly differentiate between any of the individuals.

On a positive note, I did appreciate how the book showcased the physical exertion and the technology required to hike the mountain. However, considering that this book is now over 20 years old, I think it would be fascinating to read a more recent account of what it's like to hike Everest with our modern technology. I recall seeing a Snapchat story once of someone climbing the mountain and sharing their daily adventures. It seems that the experience today would be completely different from what is described in this book.

Krakauer's writing style remains outstanding. The way he explores timelines and cause and effect is equally meticulous. My main gripe with this book is that I just didn't feel as though I was truly there on the trip with him. This was due in part to a lack of detailed physical description and the sense that I didn't fully understand who each person was and where exactly we were.

I had absolutely no clue what shelf this should be placed on. So, I came up with a brand new one. This shelf, lacking the required number of characters, should be named "True Stories about Things I Would Never Do or Try to Do." But perhaps that's a false statement. Just like Krakauer, I too have had a near-death experience while engaged in "climbing." Similar to the doomed individuals in this book, my own life was potentially endangered by faulty decisions made by those who are paid to know better.

My own experience was rather uneventful and was resolved within a few moments. Possibly, if my parents had been the litigious type, I could have bankrupted the Boy Scouts and still be suing them for the experience, blaming every anxiety and problem I have on this moment. However, that would be a huge lie. (My own experience occurred at summer camp. I didn't want to rappel, but I was persuaded to give it a try. I was tied in, and as I stepped backwards over the lip so that I was on the vertical part of the rock, the knots on my harness and carabiner started coming undone. I freaked out. Some teenage kid had tied me in who was assisting the guy in charge. The real guy in charge retied my harness, and for some reason, I decided to try it again and actually enjoyed it. Although I never did it again after that and probably never will.)

Seriously, though, this book is about people engaging in something extremely dangerous and paying the price for it. It's messed up on various levels. Anyone who knows what it's like to climb into the danger zone of high altitude and then goes ahead and does it anyway just so they can claim to have stood on the top of the world's highest mountain, you can't feel too sorry for them (or at least I can't). Sure, it's a testament to the human spirit to overcome obstacles, and being able to do this is something I know I would never be able to do (or want to do). It's truly amazing that people can do what it takes to climb these high mountains, but it's also extremely dangerous, and people die doing such things all the time. (Historically, up until 1996, 3% of all people who climbed just above base camp on Everest died. That's not even necessarily the people who made it all the way up to the final reaches near the summit where the events of this book took place.)

What I learned from this book is that accidents happen, and they can be terrible. Being at really high altitudes seriously affects you in ways I had no idea about. I also realized that maybe man shouldn't meddle with nature so much for profit, and that perhaps the commercialization of things alters the perception of the real risks involved. Nature and high altitude don't care that just because you paid a lot of money for the ride up to the top, they should go easy on you and make your trip like Club Med. I also learned that certain South Africans are jerks, and unfortunately, they didn't play as significant a role in the narrative as other groups of people, which is a bit of a pity because there was something absurdly funny about them.

I am just one of the countless readers. When I assign two stars to this book, it precisely reflects my reaction to it. This is the way I rate all the books I read. This book was okay! That's what two stars is meant to signify on GR! It doesn't imply that it was bad. Let me explain why I have reacted as I did, hoping that you can more easily determine how you might react to the book. Why all this elaboration? Because I'm concerned that if I only give this book two stars, it will create an unfavorable impression, yet it isn't a bad book. I'm tired of everyone rating books favorably when that isn't truly how they felt about the book. You see it all the time. People claim they liked the book and then give it a five-star rating. A five-star book is supposed to be extraordinary. You're supposed to be left dazzled by a five-star book. Sorry for the long-winded explanation, but this has been bothering me.

Jon Kraukauer is a journalist who has written for the sports magazine Outside. His climb of Mt. Everest was prompted by a request for an article on the commercialization of the mountain, the highest in the world. Such an article preceded the writing of this book and set the tone for it. I was unaware that the commercialization of Mt. Everest would be a central theme of the book. I was also unaware that the book would be targeted at mountaineers and sports enthusiasts, given that it originated from the article in the sports magazine. If you're a mountaineer yourself, you'll be more interested in the detailed account of who has climbed which mountains, when, and with what equipment. (I prefer trekking and I'm not gear-oriented.) The history of climbing is interesting, but here you get a rundown of each climber's achievements and failures. I couldn't keep all the different "big names" straight, and there are many, both in this expedition and in the numerous others mentioned. This information disrupts the telling of what happened in the 1996 Everest disaster, which is what attracted me to the book. Who was at fault? Why did it happen? What can be done to improve safety? Is there a single answer? No, of course not. Sandy Pittman/Sandra Hill has written articles and spoken about her perspective on what happened. There is also Anatoli Boukreev's book: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. In his book, Krakauer clearly criticizes Boukreev, yet it was Boukreev who saved Sandy's life. All three were there, along with many others.

Climbing Mt. Everest has become a business, a commodity to be sold, and on that day when the storm hit, there were so many people that there were bottlenecks and queues near the summit. Mountaineering, at least on Everest, is not a solitary sport! So at the bottom lies also my dislike of "the crowd" and of a sport that seems ridiculous to me. If people choose to put their lives at risk, then they better be prepared for the consequences. Krakauer's belief that it might be worthwhile to forbid the use of bottled gas, which enables far too many people to attempt what they are untrained to do, is not a bad idea. But how do you enforce that? Do you deter people through exorbitant fees? All of this is discussed. Very little of the book is exciting, and at the end, I don't know if I have any clear answers.

The author narrates the book himself. Not a bad job, but I did laugh at how he pronounced the Swedish mountaineer Göran Kropp's first name. Someone could have informed him. It's such a common name. It made me wonder if he mispronounced other names, such as the Sherpas'.

Finally, I think this book should have made clear what draws people to the mountaineering sport. I still don't understand that. Krakauer just says it has an attraction for some and once you're hooked, well, you're hooked! I want to understand what they feel, see, and experience. I only saw the business side of the whole thing. He states that the view at Everest is unexceptional, and at high altitudes, you can easily damage your body! So why do they do it? This book never answered that question for me. It can't be for fame or recognition because so many don't succeed. So what is it?

**************
Into the Wild 4 stars

If a crow is teleported suddenly from the sea level to the summit of Mount Everest, what exactly would its situation be? Even without being there together, it can be definitely said that within a few minutes, it would have to fight with death.

When a person climbs a mountain day after day, with the increase in altitude, some specific changes in the environmental elements occur. Among them, the most important is the amount of oxygen. Besides, at the altitude of 29,029 feet of Everest, many physical changes also occur in the body of a mountaineer. What kind of physical and mental pressure a mountaineer is under at such a drastic altitude is perhaps almost impossible for us to experience. And what if it is combined with a natural disaster?

The magazine Outside assigns the responsibility of writing about the guided Everest climb to journalist Jon Krakauer. In March 1996, he went to Nepal to participate in an expedition. The expedition is led by the famous New Zealand mountaineer Robert Hall. On May 10, their team reaches the summit of Everest. But they have to pay a very high price to reach the summit. On the day of reaching the summit, in the grip of a severe storm, Robert Hall and four other mountaineers lose their lives. On the same day, a total of nine people from four other expedition teams also die. Basically, from the beginning of this adventure, journalist Jon Krakauer describes the horrible story of what exactly happened on that fatal day in the book Into Thin Air. The description of the real event is as exciting as a fictional story, and at the same time, it is breathtaking.

Due to the interest in mountaineering, the book is quickly read and sold. My running stops suddenly at a dense mountain. However, very soon, I will move towards the high mountain ranges of Bengal and Bihar. I hope that in the meantime, I will find some more good books on mountaineering.

The translation of the book's bibliography is more or less good. If one can read the original book, it would be even better.

I need to collect my thoughts. This was a dizzying read.

Recently, I took a course in writing narrative non-fiction. The professor's opinion that memoirs suffer when the writer is too close to the experience really intrigued me. It made me think of a memoir I had read where the characters seemed almost cartoonish. Clearly, the memoirist hadn't gained enough distance to write about them fairly or three-dimensionally. However, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster might be a legitimate counter-example.

Krakauer, an ambitious mountaineer and journalist, seized the opportunity to climb Everest with a guided tour to write an article for \\"Outside\\" Magazine. His group, along with others ascending simultaneously, consisted of people from all walks of life, with different levels of experience. They were willing to endure incredible hardships (except perhaps the woman who brought an espresso maker and two laptops) just to reach the summit. But as we later discover, the hardest part is actually coming back down.

Tragically, it was an ill-fated mission. Krakauer survived to tell the story, relatively unharmed physically, but many others didn't. A terrible, unexpected storm, bad timing, some irresponsibility on the part of the guides, and other factors combined with very sad results.

Some might argue that this tale could have been told better with more perspective and distance. However, the rawness and immediacy really affected me. So many themes emerged, such as man vs. nature, the narcissism of setting impossible goals and pushing through against all better judgment, and the price we pay for it. There's also arrogance and being humbled, things beyond our control, and how they sometimes combine with petty failures to control what we can.

Despite its intensity, there were times when the narrative felt overly detailed and character-heavy, and it bogged down a bit. Overall, though, it was a harrowing read that made me grateful to be safe in my bed and not facing the challenges of a mountaintop.

As I delved into this book, the thought constantly萦绕 in my mind, "Why on earth would anyone undertake such a thing?!"

However, I surmise that there are certain individuals who possess a sense of adventure that verges on the suicidal, a trait I will likely never fully comprehend. Krakauer is one such person, and within the pages of this book, he meticulously chronicles a疯狂且难以理解的悲惨之旅——攀登珠穆朗玛峰。

Just as in all his books, this author and adventurer narrates his story with meticulous care, unwavering honesty, profound self-reflection, and incisive criticism. It is a truly shocking tale that I will not easily forget.

Krakauer has a unique writing style that makes nonfiction read as if it were fiction. Although I wished this story were merely a fabrication, I am glad I had the opportunity to read it, and I believe it will continue to occupy my thoughts for some time to come. Highly recommended.

For more reviews and bookish delights, visit http://www.princessandpen.com.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

“Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality.”

Welcome to one of Kelly’s creepy obsessions! (Advance apologies - this might get rambly.) I'm completely obsessed with all things Everest. I can't wait to see the movie that details the same tragic events covered in this book. I've spent the past month watching everything Everest-related on Netflix and YouTube. I highly recommend the television series Everest: Beyond the Limit and Ultimate Survival: Everest. The IMAX Everest documentary wasn't so great though.

Anyway, back to my fangirl squeeing. I had no idea that Into Thin Air was an Everest book or that it was THE Everest book about the storm of the century. I had read Into the Wild and liked Krakauer's storytelling, but wasn't crazy about the whole story. Then everyone started reading Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, which brought him back to my attention. And that's how I discovered he wrote an Everest book!

I have no desire to climb Mt. Everest. I'm fat, terrified of heights, and the idea of dying from my brain swelling or drowning in my own lung juices is just too much. But I did the next best thing - I read this book while walking at a 30% incline on my treadmill. I can't understand why people would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a vacation where there's a one in four chance of dying. Everest is a natural wonder, but it's also full of garbage and human waste. And with the price being so high, it attracts inexperienced climbers who think they can buy their way to the top. In my opinion, it should cost a million dollars per person to climb Everest. That would be enough for clean-up and would deter the wannabe super(wo)men. This book was fascinating, but it also shows why massive changes are needed in the rules and regulations regarding Everest.

Recommended to anyone who likes adventure and wants to experience it from the safety of their reading chair. Just make sure you familiarize yourself with the specific locations talked about in the book.

This book should have been named "100 and One Reasons Why You Don't Need to Go to Everest