up up and away

When I read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, everyone at work read it too. I would run out of my office during my lunch break excitedly yelling out fascinating (to me) tidbits about the history of Everest. The geography of Everest. The culture of Everest. I thought I was boring everyone silly but could not help but share my excitement over this book. However, when I finished it, almost all the people at work asked to borrow it. They too had become fascinated with the subject.

Jon Krakauer describes the tragedy that occured during the 1996 climbing season on Everest. His eye for detail, and his own involvement in the sequence of events that culminated in the death of over a dozen people translate into a breathtaking narrative. What made it doubly interesting for me is the fact that several other members of his team have rebutted his memoirs with their own. He has not called his account "definitive" by any means, trying to remain objective, but objectivity is difficult to maintain when Death is breathing down your neck, and oxygen deprivation is making you light-headed.

I don't normally enjoy "true life dramas" but this definitely was worth my time and my money. I bought this book less than two years ago, and in that time I've lent it to over a dozen people. None have been disappointed.