J. Krakauer’s into Thin Air: a Review of The Gripping Story

As a child, Jon Krakauer dreamed of climbing, but he never dreamed that this one climb would be a disaster. Krakauer was assigned by Outside Magazine to report on the commercial expeditions that were being conducted on Mount Everest in May 1996. Jon Krakauer, the narrator and author, describes a first hand account of this ill-fated journey. Krakauer, his guide, and a group of climbers set out to the top of Mt. Everest to see how wise or safe it was to tackle the world s largest mountain. Unfortunately, 1996 was Everest s worst season ever, and Krakauer recounts the heroism, the human frailty and the regrets of this disastrous climb.

Jon Krakauer was one of eight clients sent to Nepal, the country which is home to Everest, to write about an expedition to the top of the world. On May 10, 1996 Krakauer reached the summit of the mountain, but at the top came terrible events. The book is a chronological account of the lives and deaths of those who participated in the excursion. The first third of the book includes Everest s history, and he explains how deadly the voyage was for him. Krakauer was in a life or death situation when he was descending from the top of the mountain and so many lives were lost on Mt. Everest. I learned through Krakauer why the crew continues their rise even though the conditions are torturous 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? Even in the end, Krakauer regrets going up to the mountain and admits that he wrote wrong accounts in the article. I really enjoyed this book because it was so controversial.

There is one major setting in this book, and that would be Mount Everest but there are many sub-settings also. The Camps, the Summit, and Krakauer s home in Seattle. The Camps was were the climbers stayed and rested before going on to the next camp. The Huddle right by camp four is where two climbers were found dead after a terrible storm. The Summit is the peak of the mountain and where numerous lives were killed. The summit of Mt. Everest is approximately 29,000 feet. After the tragedy at Everest, Krakauer went back home to Seattle. Krakauer described the journey as a poison . Many relatives and friends of the climbers that died were very upset with Krakauer s description of what happened, and so Krakauer apologizes in the very end.

In the book, Into Thin Air , you meet the members and guides of Jon Krakauer s team. Rob Hall was the leader and head guide of the expedition, as well as Scott Fischer, his guides, and some of his team members. Other people who lost or almost lost their lives were important on this voyage. People like Yasuko Namba, Andy Harris, Doug Hansen and others were great inspirations to Krakauer throughout the expedition.

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. . Krakauer encounters many dangerous situations and becomes a person who motivates himself throughout the whole story and makes decision to write about this devastating experience probably made it hard for him since he also a person who slightly made it himself. 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. Although some of the deceased's relatives were upset with Krakauer, it would seem unjust because of the respectful way in which he portrays his fellow mountaineers.

Having never understood why people climb mountains or why people would put their lives in jeopardy, I read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. For those who don't understand why on earth anyone would want to do something as dangerous as climbing, Into Thin Air answers that curiosity. Krakauer introduces his readers to the backgrounds and personalities of the main characters in his book. We can then better comprehend the different reasons people spend thousand of dollars and two or more months of their lives in hell on a mountain, freezing, injured, and almost dead just to get to the top of a mountain. This story is a symbol of strength, determination, and the will to achieve your goals that almost everyone can relate to. The novel made me really think how valuable your life is and you should live to the fullest, but don't take advantage of it or don't even take every day for granted.