Scan barcode
A review by rosemarieshort
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
5.0
The most recent reminder of the 1996 Everest disaster came in the form of last year's blockbuster film, simply entitled "Everest". In it an A list cast enacted the events of this, survivor John Krakauer's telling of events on the mountain.
This book, when first published, was not without its detractors. People felt very strongly about the actions of those who were on the mountain in May of 1996 - if you're looking to read this book then you are no doubt already aware that over two days on Everest eight climbers died - many whose causes of death and bodies have never been discovered.
This came amidst the uproar raging about the ever growing commercialization of Everest - with more and more guides leading wealthy climbers with sometimes very little practical experience up the mountain. Stories of climbers who had never climbed above 20,000 feet being babied to the summit of Everest (topping 29,000 feet) were thick in the air just as, on May 10th, a storm hit the mountain whilst several guided groups were attempting to summit.
Krakauer is surprisingly even handed here. He speaks with the voice of a man plagued with hindsight - and considering the derision Into Thin Air received when the book was published this surprised me. He does not hide his slight distaste for the actions of Anatoli Boukreev - nor does he downplay Boukreev's heroic actions in the thick of the storm which was to kill so many. Krakauer's derision of Sandy Pittman, however, is less discreet.
One voice can never fully encompass the events which took place on the mountain. However Krakauer gives a gripping first hand account, substantiated by various interviews with fellow survivors, which goes someway to connecting the dots. For me, this is a must read.
This book, when first published, was not without its detractors. People felt very strongly about the actions of those who were on the mountain in May of 1996 - if you're looking to read this book then you are no doubt already aware that over two days on Everest eight climbers died - many whose causes of death and bodies have never been discovered.
This came amidst the uproar raging about the ever growing commercialization of Everest - with more and more guides leading wealthy climbers with sometimes very little practical experience up the mountain. Stories of climbers who had never climbed above 20,000 feet being babied to the summit of Everest (topping 29,000 feet) were thick in the air just as, on May 10th, a storm hit the mountain whilst several guided groups were attempting to summit.
Krakauer is surprisingly even handed here. He speaks with the voice of a man plagued with hindsight - and considering the derision Into Thin Air received when the book was published this surprised me. He does not hide his slight distaste for the actions of Anatoli Boukreev - nor does he downplay Boukreev's heroic actions in the thick of the storm which was to kill so many. Krakauer's derision of Sandy Pittman, however, is less discreet.
One voice can never fully encompass the events which took place on the mountain. However Krakauer gives a gripping first hand account, substantiated by various interviews with fellow survivors, which goes someway to connecting the dots. For me, this is a must read.