Scan barcode
A review by niltic
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Wonderfully pulling together a frantic series of events and cast of characters, Krakaeur explores his personal role and experiences relating to the electric events of 1996. His historical background, insight into mountaineering, and interviews with the other survivors bring depth and complexity to one man’s account. His reflections feel fair, but very occasionally overstep his own expertise given his background as an experienced mountaineer but relative novice high alpine climber. The book may have benefited from interviews with other high alpinists who were not present at the events to add weight and nuance to some of Krakauer’s judgements. Otherwise an excellent read by any measure.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Several people die, are injured, traumatised, and abandoned during the events. Descriptions are not gratuitous, but the unprocessed trauma and grief of the author make it relatively raw to read.