Into Thin Air

Author: Jon Krakauer

Publisher: Anchor Books

Number of pages: 333

Suggested by: Mrs. Amanullah (Rahmat’s mom)

Where did I find it: Placed an order with Crossword

Read when: September-October ‘07

The book:

It’s a breathtaking narrative of the ill-fated 1996 guided expedition to The Everest. It’s a survivor’s account of what really happened at the top of the world on that fateful summer day. It’s a story of bad luck, worse judgment and heartbreaking heroism.

He sets the tone by introducing the ‘industry’ of guided expeditions (that many believe is profane to the extent of threatening the sanctity of the world’s highest peak), the lives and achievements of renowned alpinists (some of few were there with him that summer), the competition between them, the beliefs, rituals and superstitions of the Sherpas, the roles and responsibilities of everyone on the team, and not to forget……The Mountain.

He follows this with life at the lower altitude (comparatively speaking) of base camp, the long and tedious process of preparing and planning for life at higher altitude. What ever the altitude, one thing remains constant – cold. He has done a fantastic job of bringing it down from the summit and pushing it through the reader’s veins.

As he moves higher (literally speaking) he digs deeper into serious controversies of the modern day guided expeditions. This means politics, fame, money, the written laws and the unwritten rules, and not to forget the very wisdom of challenging the mountain. At the end of it one is led to accept, the adrenaline at higher altitude notwithstanding, that sea-level is the best place to be…. Or is it?

And then comes the fateful day. May 10th 1996, the day of the summit push. The author achingly describes everything that went wrong that day- the plan, the weather, the inhuman conditions. It’s an epic of human strength, his will, his madness in the face of disaster. As a reader you question the actions and judgments, or the lack of both, of everyone on the mountain that day- the leaders, the guides, the sherpas, the clients and……and God.

It is true that the line between what is right and what is wrong is all but completely erased at such altitudes. It’s erased not because these climbers become so fanatic in their quest to reach the summit, but because at such altitudes given the conditions, the human mind and soul is rendered so numb that there is no realization of self. There is only the realization that there can be circumstances that are so beyond human control that its futile under those circumstances to search for definitions of wisdom, judgment, morality………of humanity.

Controversies erupted after this book got published. There were articles and even books written solely with the purpose of challenging the accuracy of the incident as accounted in the book. The one worth mentioning is “The Climb”, co authored by Anatoli Bourkreev,one of the guides on that expedition, and an American writer named G. Weston DeWalt. The fight flared up to such a degree that the Jon was forced to include a 30 page postscript to later editions of his book defending himself.

A plethora of questions raise from the book, but for his part, the author has done commendable research before writing it. Even though he was in the middle of the disaster, he has done well to gather as much information from as many people possible. The result – heart-wrenching stories of quest, of hope, of despair, of guilt, of undoubted heroism, of questionable judgment, of constrained selfishness, of unbelievable selflessness………..of miracles.

Recommendation: Read it. Period.

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