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Into Thin Air

A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

By Jon Krakauer (Reader)

(113)

| Audio CD | 9780739343791

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Book Description

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. 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 his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pContinue

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. 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 his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top.  No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world.  A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.

Krakauer examines what it is 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 his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Into the Wild is available on audio, read by actor Campbell Scott.

Critics

  • Into Thin Air By Jon Krakauer

    "His voice sounded like a record played at half speed. It was slow and creaky. I was three thousand feet below him. I was lying in a tent inside a sleeping bag with everything I had on, and I was unable to get warm. Just think of what he must have su ... (read full critics)

    bookpage published on Sat, 18 Sep 2010

  • The Best Reviews: Elizabeth Ashtree, Into Thin Air

    "intriguing military police romantic mystery" The G3 Logistics officer Captain Kelsey O'Roarke is inside an isolated warehouse on Fort Belvoir when she hears strange noises from the machinery. She investigates only to find a soldier where he should n ... (read full critics)

    thebestreviews published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

9 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    Read this in high school. Brings perspective about death, survival, living, people, actions, weather, place, and telling a personal story in a journalistic way. I still feel this book.

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    eudaemonian said on Mar 18, 2006 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Loved this book. The description of the adventure was amazing. Despite my complete lack of knowledge of mountain climbing, I felt that I was up there on the mountain with them all.

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    Hesanford said on Oct 14, 2009 | Add your feedback

  • Have given up finishing it. I am not a mountain climber, not even a sport lover, so it's kind of hard to read it through.

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    史默 said on Oct 14, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

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ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780739343791 Audio CD $29.95 $21.56 bn.com
$29.95 $18.99 The Book Depository
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+ 4 copies tradable: 2 in USA →
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