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desiree930 's review for:
Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer
4.5 stars
Wow. This book was intense.
I don't understand the urge some people have to climb mountains. I just don't get it. 'Because it's there' just doesn't work for me. Never has. That being said, I've always been intrigued by the types of people who feel that overwhelming need to risk life and limb (literally) to climb a mountain.
I've seen accounts of the 1996 tragedy on Everest on one of those investigative television shows (Dateline or 60 minutes or something), so I was familiar with this story enough that I recognized some of the names and circumstances from that episode. Still, I was thoroughly engrossed in this first-hand account from beginning to end. The ebook edition also had a long postscript where the author rebuts several attacks on the veracity of his account and his credibility in general. Even that was not enough, as I scoured the internet for information about the players involved in this tragedy. After all, this book was written 20 years ago. Who knows what else could've happened since then.
When I came out of the google rabbit hole a couple hours later, I finally decided to sit down and write this review. And here we are.
I don't read a lot of non-fiction, which is something I'm trying to remedy. I've also found recently that I tend to like survival stories, which this book is, at the end of the day.
As I said, this book ensnared me within the very first page. I read the majority of this book in one sitting, because I just couldn't put it down. There is something very readable about Krakauer's writing. I didn't necessarily understand every technical thing he talked about, but it didn't really matter. The heart of the story grabbed me. Even knowing that he lived to tell the tale, I was worried about him. Even knowing certain climbers did not survive, I still held out hope as I was reading. The tension was there and I couldn't put the book down.
However, this book isn't perfect. There are times where it sounds less like a memoir and more like a really long news piece. The way certain instances are relayed and people quoted, it felt like I was just reading an extremely long article.
I'm also interested to know whether the physical version has pictures. I feel like I would've been helped by visuals of the mountain, the camps, and the climbers.
If I knew anyone who was interested in climbing Everest or any other large dangerous rock, I would force this book into their hands and quiz them about it afterwards to make sure they actually read it. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and then being like, "You know what? Sound like fun!" But then again, one of the sherpas who survived the 1996 season has reached the Summit on Everest 19 times at last count, so what do I know?
Wow. This book was intense.
I don't understand the urge some people have to climb mountains. I just don't get it. 'Because it's there' just doesn't work for me. Never has. That being said, I've always been intrigued by the types of people who feel that overwhelming need to risk life and limb (literally) to climb a mountain.
I've seen accounts of the 1996 tragedy on Everest on one of those investigative television shows (Dateline or 60 minutes or something), so I was familiar with this story enough that I recognized some of the names and circumstances from that episode. Still, I was thoroughly engrossed in this first-hand account from beginning to end. The ebook edition also had a long postscript where the author rebuts several attacks on the veracity of his account and his credibility in general. Even that was not enough, as I scoured the internet for information about the players involved in this tragedy. After all, this book was written 20 years ago. Who knows what else could've happened since then.
When I came out of the google rabbit hole a couple hours later, I finally decided to sit down and write this review. And here we are.
I don't read a lot of non-fiction, which is something I'm trying to remedy. I've also found recently that I tend to like survival stories, which this book is, at the end of the day.
As I said, this book ensnared me within the very first page. I read the majority of this book in one sitting, because I just couldn't put it down. There is something very readable about Krakauer's writing. I didn't necessarily understand every technical thing he talked about, but it didn't really matter. The heart of the story grabbed me. Even knowing that he lived to tell the tale, I was worried about him. Even knowing certain climbers did not survive, I still held out hope as I was reading. The tension was there and I couldn't put the book down.
However, this book isn't perfect. There are times where it sounds less like a memoir and more like a really long news piece. The way certain instances are relayed and people quoted, it felt like I was just reading an extremely long article.
I'm also interested to know whether the physical version has pictures. I feel like I would've been helped by visuals of the mountain, the camps, and the climbers.
If I knew anyone who was interested in climbing Everest or any other large dangerous rock, I would force this book into their hands and quiz them about it afterwards to make sure they actually read it. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and then being like, "You know what? Sound like fun!" But then again, one of the sherpas who survived the 1996 season has reached the Summit on Everest 19 times at last count, so what do I know?