INTO THIN AIR: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster Paperback – 19 October 1999

I read this after I came back from doing the Three passes trek in the Everest region. It felt wonderful to relive some parts of the journey as the author chronicles their trip to the Base camp.The book itself is wonderfully written and the excerpts at the beginning of each chapters are very profound and moving.There were some parts of the book which strongly resonated with me.The way he captures the fever, the madness that drives people to climb mountains and Everest in general is very pure and true. I read the book in 8 hrs in one day.It is very engaging and it really offers some very interesting insights in the minds of so many men and women who put themselves through the grueling task of climbing mountains.Some excerpts(no spoilers) :"....prestige was earned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable""It was titillating to brush up against the enigma of mortality, to steal a glimpse across its forbidden frontier. Climbing was a magnificent activity, I firmly believed, not in spite of the inherent perils, but precisely because of them.”For me, these two parts just captured the complete essence of the allure of the mountains which are dangerous, but beautiful.

Possibly one of the best books written on everest and the best explaining the tragedy that occurred on Everest in May 1996.Detail description of the tasks, the route and the perils of climbing the world's highest peak.Jon's writing style is very subtle and poetic and going from one subject to another is a one continuous line that keeps the reader bound.The story is so written with correct mix of all emotions, be it happiness, laughter, anger or regret, the books has covered it all with an impeccable description. In length explanation of the tragedy that unfolded in May 1996, and the rebuttal for another book on the same topic.All in all, one of the best Non-Fiction books in sports and adventure genre.Worth a read.#RIP all the souls who perished in that tragedy and otherwise while on the pursuit of something that defined the meaning of their lives.

Great read indeed as I personally have shadow of doubt about the lead of anatoli boukreev behind the disaster of that particular day high on the col; its the fury of Everest which bring the calamity on that particular day 10th may'1996. But as a master of high altitude Rob Hall should have descend just after reaching the summit but his emotional attachment to his client Doug was taken his life in this account thus he perished just below the Hillary step.and Scott was such a fantastic talent but he was ill & wasted too much energy before the summit push & he was undoubtedly in a challenge with Rob Hall 's team.so it was not a memorable day for mountain lovers on that particular day & I think that anatoli was a different character all together as he is Russian & I'm just about to start to read 'The climb' so lets c how the matter is from toli' s perspective.but again I feel sorry for Andy Harris,Rob Hall( when bear grylls reach summit he witnessed his body), Scott Fischer specialy and condolences to all the climbers who perished on that very day.Salute to the bravehearts.

One of the best books written on Everest Expedition.Though this book tells about the tragedy that happened on 10th May 1996, but at the same time it gives a detailed description about how an expedition begins, the routine followed by summit teams and Sherpa's, the various camps and most importantly the physical and the emotional stress that each member goes through in their attempt to reach the highest peak in the world.A lot has been written about the facts mentioned in the book after it was released, but I feel Jon Krakauer has done an excellent job by the way he has explained the events as they unfold. The book brings out the un-predictable nature of the summit expedition, how fast situation can change due to ever changing weather conditions and the challenges that even the greatest climbers have to face and overcome to be able to reach the top.A few names like Rob Hall, Scot Fischer, Doug Hansen, Andy Harris, Yasuko Namba, Beck Weathers, Ngawang Topche Sherpa, Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa and the efforts put in by the Sherpa team would remain permanently etched in my memory.Without actually being their, if you want to experience that feeling of a summit expedition, the feeling of pain and emotions when things go wrong, then do read this book.