Into Thin Air

A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

By: Jon Krakauer

Narrated by: Philip Franklin

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in 57 hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, 20 other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds.

Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the best seller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world.

A rangy, 35-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led 39 climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a 40-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.

Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people - including himself - to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense.

Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement. Into the Wild is available on audio, read by actor Campbell Scott.

©1997 Jon Krakauer (P)1997 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House Inc.

Critic reviews

"Into Thin Air ranks among the great adventure books of all time...a book of rare eloquence and power that could remain relevant for centuries." (Galen Rowell, The Wall Street Journal)

"No added dramatics are needed for the listener to imagine the high-altitude cold, fear, bravado and sense of total isolation felt by all who were trapped beyond help, as well as by those who survived. Franklin’s emulations of the multinational voices of guides, clients and Sherpas bring one still closer to the action." (AudioFile)

Originally great, now sup-par.

I love everything about this audiobook; or at least I did. It used to be perfect when it was narrated by the author, but for some reason it was "updated" with a new narrator. It's nowhere near as good as it previously was. I'm pretty disappointed in the change.

best

Many of the books I have listened to so far have kept my interest, but none so far match the intensity of this book. At times, I sat in my driveway with the car running waiting for the chapter to finish... You will not be disappointed.

Riveting

The fact that the author is reading his own book was definitely a bonus. Despite not having access to the map of Everest, I was sucked into this book and enjoyed every minute of it.

Gripping account of high altitude tragedy

Where does Into Thin Air rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best audiobooks I have listened to. The account of the tragedy that occurred in Everest in the late nineties has more drama, suspense, etc. than any fictional story. Personally, I am extremely interested in mountaineering and in high altitude climbing in the Himalayas so I found this a fascinating read.

What other book might you compare Into Thin Air to and why?

The particular events described in this book generated several books. "The Climb", which is another eye witness account is also interesting and it presents a different point of view. Without getting into accuracy issues, I personally thought that "Into Thin Air" was better written and made for better listening.

What about Jon Krakauer’s performance did you like?

I generally enjoy when this type of story is narrated by the author (who in this particular case was recounting events he lived).

Sit Down With Krakauer and Hear His Story

This is a very powerful book. It is clear that this experience still haunts the author.

When we approach a book like this we want to find some answers, we want to form judgments, we want to know how the tragedy could have been prevented. The reality is that there often are no answers. Sometimes events overtake us. The story is in the striving to come through the events and survive and then to live with the memories. I couldn't make a steady diet of such stories. They hit me too hard. But this story, told by one of the people who lived it, is worth the time and the credit.

Great work marred by the narration

Into Thin Air doesn't need another review about the story so I just wanted to comment on this audiobook version. I did not enjoy the narration at all. The reading was robotic and dry to the point where it sometimes made the writing hard to follow. Worse was the attempted use of accents (when quoting figures in the book and even excerpts from other writing). Not only was it distracting and very poorly done, but in many places it was just gross to use these terrible voice impressions of real people who were dying. In hindsight, I should have returned this version when I realized that I hadn't bought the version narrated by Krakauer himself.

Bad narration

I have Returned this one and got the original narrated by the author. The book itself is great!

What an awesome story !! love it ..

the details makes you feel you're living the experience .. well narrated and structured.. specially for someone who's been on that mountain .. this book is highly recommended .. specially for adventurers -- probably not their spouses or significant others :):)

Basic but well done

If you could sum up Into Thin Air in three words, what would they be?

Everest, Adventure, Danger

Would you recommend Into Thin Air to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would. It was a well-written account of the deadliest day on Everest.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was a little monotonous for my taste. It annoyed me at first but then I moved past that.

So you want to be a mountaineer?

Jon Krakauer as an experienced mountaineer tells it like it is. Absolitely great story yea