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A review by frasersimons
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
4.0
I liked the writing and the structure, and I realize all the author can do is put down his thoughts and memories of the experience, which is necessarily heavily solipsistic due to the conditions weathered and lives lost. But the most interesting thing about it to me is how little I actually cared about any of the people involved.
I think part of this is to show just how much of an arrogant ass you need to be to attempt the climb, let alone do so without adequate preparation. Every one of them at one point or another put themselves and others in peril and some of the mistakes were costly, some were mortal. It is utterly baffling why people who go do this thing to me, and it’s overwhelmingly affluent rich people doing it. By all means rich people, go die on a mountain. I just feel bad that the fools put other people in damaged, such as the poorly paid actual indigenous people.
How could it not be resoundingly from a western perspective and mixed with grief and memory from the author, one of the most personal pieces of nonfiction I’ve read, especially of a disaster. I think to knock it for that, especially since in the well narrated audiobook, the author outright admits as much and cites people who wrote in criticizing his initial piece, is pretty disingenuous. So, it certainly exceeded my expectations. Even as it remains probably one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever read. It’s not at all hard to believe that these things happened. As the author states: It wasn’t even a year when more people died than normal.
Why would you go someplace you know you won’t think properly, saddle up untrained, unskilled climbers for a life threatening expedition? Oh, money, of course.
I think part of this is to show just how much of an arrogant ass you need to be to attempt the climb, let alone do so without adequate preparation. Every one of them at one point or another put themselves and others in peril and some of the mistakes were costly, some were mortal. It is utterly baffling why people who go do this thing to me, and it’s overwhelmingly affluent rich people doing it. By all means rich people, go die on a mountain. I just feel bad that the fools put other people in damaged, such as the poorly paid actual indigenous people.
How could it not be resoundingly from a western perspective and mixed with grief and memory from the author, one of the most personal pieces of nonfiction I’ve read, especially of a disaster. I think to knock it for that, especially since in the well narrated audiobook, the author outright admits as much and cites people who wrote in criticizing his initial piece, is pretty disingenuous. So, it certainly exceeded my expectations. Even as it remains probably one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever read. It’s not at all hard to believe that these things happened. As the author states: It wasn’t even a year when more people died than normal.
Why would you go someplace you know you won’t think properly, saddle up untrained, unskilled climbers for a life threatening expedition? Oh, money, of course.