Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

What readers think of Into Thin Air, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Into Thin Air

A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Readers' Rating (33):
  • First Published:
  • May 1, 1997, 416 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 1998, 378 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 1 of 5
There are currently 36 reader reviews for Into Thin Air
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

jeyaraman

a must read
The way he introduces the members who were with him, the way he explains about high altitude mountaineering ... He takes you to the chilling top of me Everest. then when you lose the members one after another... you just cant control your emotions.

Highly gripping tragic tale.
Christine

Amazing
This was by far the best book I have ever read. I could truly say its the first one I have read all the way through. I really enjoy all the information you give throughout the book. I will always remember this book and definitely recommend it to others.
A reader

read Into thin Air three times, saw the movie once
I enjoyed this book because it was a true story, I enjoy nonfiction more than fiction. Jon writes as if I was right there on the mountain. He is an amazing writer with such an extensive vocabulary. His descriptions of his experience kept me spell bound. The reason I read the book in the first place is to help understand my new son-n-law better. He is a mountain guide and has been in many places in and outside the USA. By reading this book I felt I got inside his mind and understood his passion for climbing and all the danger around it. I am grateful for that. Jon seems that he did his very best in describing his experience on Mt. Everest. He was gracious, humble and knowledgeable. He is a fantastic author. He should not take anything personally, he did his best from all accounts and I am sorry that he feels such guilt. What a terrible thing to go through for all of them.
Keep writing, Jon. You are amazing!!!!

A Reader
Buhnay

Phenominal.
I have done two school reports on this book. Jon Krakauer's writing style makes the reader feel as though he climbs the mountain along with the expedition, and the reader learns of Everest's horrific history. Though we all know Krakauer makes it down, I found suspense pulling me to the edge of my seat every step of the way.

I highly recommend this book to everyone- fiction and non-fiction fans alike.

My whole family has read the book more than once, as well.

Beautifully written, disturbingly descriptive, and suspenseful to the last page- Into Thin Air was fantastic.
Potlicker

Into thin Air
Where to start? What an amazing book! This is the second book I have had the pleasure of reading by Mr. Krakauer. I am at a lose to put into words for what an awesome writer I feel Krakuer is. He does a splendid job of putting the reader on Mount Everest right along with him. To feel his triumph, or lack thereof. In my eye he is no mortal man, "he is god like". He knows just how most men feel about themselves, and he is able to express it where others cannot. My wife went on and on about how stupid she thought the whole expedition was. But I understood, and where I did not Jon Krakuer was able to make me understand.I would like to thank him for the ride and can't wait till the next. I would say God bless you Jon Krakuer but I think he already has.
Kathy

Into Thin Air
Best book I've read in years. Just couldn't put it down. Made me wonder why people would do this, and some did it more than once, climbing to top.
Stu W

Unlike other mountianeering writers, Krakauer shows a wonderful ability to see so much more than simply rock and ice. His affinity with the sherpas, how he describes the moods and atitudes of other climbers is exceptional and what makes this account of Everest stand out as a cracker-jack yarn.
TJFord

This is the best non-fiction book I've ever read.
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTT!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Small Rain
    Small Rain
    by Garth Greenwell
    At the beginning of Garth Greenwell's novel Small Rain, the protagonist, an unnamed poet in his ...
  • Book Jacket: Daughters of Shandong
    Daughters of Shandong
    by Eve J. Chung
    Daughters of Shandong is the debut novel of Eve J. Chung, a human rights lawyer living in New York. ...
  • Book Jacket: The Women
    The Women
    by Kristin Hannah
    Kristin Hannah's latest historical epic, The Women, is a story of how a war shaped a generation ...
  • Book Jacket: The Wide Wide Sea
    The Wide Wide Sea
    by Hampton Sides
    By 1775, 48-year-old Captain James Cook had completed two highly successful voyages of discovery and...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Who Said...

Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.