|
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster (Paperback) (平装)
by Jon Krakauer
| Category:
Adventure, Outdoors |
| Market price: ¥ 168.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A true page-turner that combines interesting background elements with a well-told account of the events surrounding the tragedy and a humanity that could only come from the author's first-person experience. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
|
| |
AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 12 items |
|
|
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-29 00:00>
Having never understood why people climb mountains, and after seeing Beck Weathers on television last year, I read Into Thin Air in order to gain more perceptiveness. And Krakauer delivered. Have some time on your hands, because once you begin reading Jon's story portraying the turn of events throughout his journey on Everest in the Spring of '96, you won't be able to stop reading until you've read the last word in his book. This account of ascending Everest is a page-turner even though the outcome is old news. It will leave you wanting to know more about other attempts made on Everest. For those who don't understand why on earth anyone would want to do something as dangerous as climbing Into Thin Air on rock and ice, this book answers that curiosity. Jon introduces his readers to the backgrounds and personalities of the main characters in his book. We can better comprehend the different reasons people spend thousand of dollars and two or more months of their lives in "hell" on a mountain, freezing and injured "just to get to the top." We learn through Krakauer why they continue their rise even though the conditions are pure torture and more life threatening with each step. Why they don't give it up once they've lost feeling in their extremities, separated their ribs, lost their vision, can no longer breathe due to oxygen depleted air. Why they don't turn back even when they see the dead who've attempted to reach the summit on former expeditions. You'll understand because of Krakauer's talent as a writer, his ability to replay his emotions, his thoughts, his experiences, and his opinions through writing. You'll feel the frigid wind, the snow, the ice, the pain, the desperation, the sorrow, and the regrets. The "if only's" will torture your soul just as they have and continue to torture Jon's. He writes in such a way you will have no choice other than to join him on that mountain. You'll meet and get to know the members and guides of Rob Hall's team as well as Scott Fischer, his guides, and some of his team members. Unfortunately, not everyone on the mountain was a "good guy," you'll be living thanks to the dangers the teams encounter due to the inexperience, egos, arrogance, and vengefulness of the few "bad apples." For the survivors, Jon's book is a road in which fathers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and other loved ones are portrayed as the heroes they were. Although some of the deceased's relatives were upset with Krakauer, it will seem unjust because of the respectful way in which he portrays his fellow mountaineers and the Sherpas. This was one of the best books I have ever read and I recommend it to anyone interested in Mount Everest, Climbing, or just reading a great book. This story is a symbol of strength, determination, and the will to achieve your goals that almost everyone can relate to. If you have nothing to do and want to get intrigued then read Into Thin Air. I promise this will be a thing you never forget.
|
|
|
D. Wend (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-29 00:00>
My interest in reading Into Thin Air was spurred by the recent Discovery channel program that followed a group of climbers as they attempted to reach the summit of Mount Everest. I have had an interest in Everest since I read about the National Geographic expedition in the 1960s but my interest does not go so far as to dream about climbing the forbidding peak.
Jon Krakauer writes in a conversational style that is particularly good for the tale he is telling, making use of all of the contractions that I was warned not to use. The book is nicely put together providing good background explanations of early expeditions and the first successful climbing in 1953, and how climbing Mount Everest has become commercialized with companies mounting expeditions even for those who have no alpine experience. For me, Mr. Krakauer writes with compassion and humility as he describes the events as they unfolded and went on to their tragic conclusion. I did not come to the conclusion that Mr. Krakauer is judgmental. I know that Anatoli Bourkreev has felt compelled to write his own account of events and some readers believe that Mr. Bourkreev was unfairly portrayed in this book but I found his attempts to rescue the party of climbers on the South Col (that included Yasuko Namba and Beck Weathers) and his attempts to locate Scott Fischer to have been unselfish and brave.
The tragic events described in this book reminded me of the Discovery programs particularly where the extreme altitude of Mount Everest clouds ones reason. Risks are taken despite the fact that the person taking them knows better. The book beautifully describes the majesty and dangers of being on Everest and sensitively relates the pros and cons of being on a commercial expedition. I came away for reading this book knowing much more about what an ascent up the highest point in the world is like but also gained much about the human side of wanting to get to the summit and the terrible obstacles that are always in the back of ones mind. Mr. Krakauer's story is one that is timeless, and like many tales of adventure have their cost.
|
|
|
|
1 2 Total 2 pages 12 items |
|
|
|
|
|
|
