Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Into Thin Air: A Personal Account Of The Everest Disaster

This was tense. Jon wrote a well-researched confessional about the 1996 Everest disaster. The writing is thorough and excellent, almost chilling in his matter-of-fact description of what came to pass. I came to care about all those who either died or survived. Wild to imagine the suffering they all endured and how it all happened. and yes, as jon wrote, mountaineering is exciting because of the danger, not in spite of it. the reality of what that danger means is what this book lays out in detail. there are no villains, and hardly heroes, only some heroic actions.

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4.75

I've never wanted to climb Everest, and now I for sure never will. I just don't have that in me. But Krakauer helped me to understand what could possibly compel people to summit this monster of a mountain. Do you want to be shocked? Do you want to be scared? Do you want to feel utterly baffled as to why anyone would put their bodies through this? This book has all of that and a lot more. There were a lot of moments where I found myself reading with my mouth open and eyebrows raised as Krakauer recounted nearly unbelievable experiences. It was an eventful read and a heartbreaking story.

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ksuazo94's review against another edition

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4.0

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leefox's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.5

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oceanwriter's review against another edition

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5.0

Immersive, personal, and adventuresome, Jon Krakauer brings his readers to Mount Everest to recount his disastrous trek up the infamous mountain in 1996. In the style of a novel, the memoir replays the events of the trip from start to finish as the author remembers them (which is easier said than done when dealing with lethally high altitudes).

All I could wonder while reading was, 'is risking your life really worth conquering the summit?'. Apparently given how many have attempted it throughout history, the answer is yes. Simply picking up this book or those like it is a testament to human curiosity and thirst for adventure. While I am personally content to read about other people's travels when it comes to climbing mountains, there were a number of times throughout the book I envisioned myself out there in the below-freezing cold. Though this book is not short on the devastating loss of lives, I can ultimately understand why someone might find the risks and exhaustion worth it.

This was the second book by Jon Krakauer I've read and I enjoyed it just as much as the first.

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alphacenterin's review against another edition

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4.0

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prairieraven's review against another edition

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3.75

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