Author: Jon Krakauer # of Pages: 416 Star Rating: ☆☆☆ ☆☆
Entering the “death zone” and breathing only a third of the usual amount of oxygen sounds like a dangerous nightmare to most. To a select amount of people, it means they are close to completing one of the biggest accomplishments of their life: reaching the summit of Everest. On May 10, 1996 a tragedy unfolded claiming the lives of eight climbers, making it the deadliest season Everest had seen at that time.
Jon Krakauer, a journalist on the expedition, gives his own account of what happened when a horrendous storm closed in around them in heartbreaking and eye-opening detail. He was along on the expedition for the purpose of writing an article about the commercialization of Everest, and this is quite an interesting topic explored throughout the book. The personal and thoughtful analysis of every contributing factor, and every stroke of bad luck that lead to the deaths on the mountain make for a moving story. This is definitely a book that builds more and more tension as it progresses, and keeps you interested in what can go wrong next. Krakauer makes his readers aware of everything that goes into an Everest expedition, the deep-seated beliefs surrounding the mountain, and the undeniably real possibility of death on Everest.
The extensive knowledge and facts presented, and elaborated on in footnotes, makes it easy for the reader to understand just how many things can go wrong in mountaineering. This is especially true in attempting to reach a summit of 29,029 feet. The author makes a point of keeping extensive tabs on the time, and specifying when certain events occurred. Not only is this required for an accurate recount of the tragedy, it makes a point of how quickly conditions can make a turn for the worse on the mountain. Many aspects of this story were very much an intriguing, and often alarming, learning experience for me.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good adventure book, and especially someone who enjoys reading the real-life adventures and disasters people experience and overcome. I wouldn’t recommend this to those who become impatient with slowly progressing storylines. Slow or not, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer was a captivating story that provoked a lot of curiosity and thought, and it all takes place on the top of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment