I thought “Into Thin Air” was a really interesting book. Jon Krakauer writes about the devastation that occurred on Mount Everest in May of 1996 when twelve people died. This was the worst single season death toll since climbers first set foot on the peak 75 years ago. John Krakauer was climbing Everest on assignment from Outside magazine. He was an experienced climber but had never climbed Everest. In this book he tries to explain what happened as accurately and honestly as possible. He also tries to give some background on each of the guides, clients and sherpa’s that he got to know on this exhibition.

I learned a lot about climbing reading the book. Obviously I knew climbing Everest wasn’t a walk in the park, but I had not realized the extent of the danger and discomfort one experiences in climbing it. I wouldn’t make it pass base camp, or as my husband put it “You wouldn’t even get on the plane to fly to Everest”. J

The book was confusing at times because he covers a lot of information and refers to many different people he encountered along the way. I’m glad he provided all of the information though because it helped me to get to know the individuals.

One of the main reasons he wrote the book was to clarify some mistakes he feels he made in the article he wrote for “Outside” magazine. He received a lot of angry letters after his article was published. Some of these letters were by friends and relatives of the victims. I never read the original article so I can’t speak for it. Also, I might feel differently if I knew one of the victims, but I do feel like this book was written in a sensitive and respectful manner. I was actually expecting there to be a lot more ego in his words and didn’t find that to be the case.

I highly recommend this book. The book has been around for awhile and I never thought to read it, but a friend (Thanks Lisa) loaned it to me because she liked it so much and I must say I’m glad I read it. Now I can finally get a good night’s sleep instead of pushing myself each night to see what was going to happen next!