Into Thin Air is an exciting nonfiction recount of the 1996 Mt. Everest Disaster. Author and protagonist Jon Krakauer is a mountain climber and magazine writer. Krakauer wants to write an article about the commercialization of Mt. Everest, and he joins an expedition team that wants to make it to Everest’s summit. The team is faced with the expected problems of being at high altitudes, such as cold weather and a lack of oxygen. But the biggest challenges come from the mental strain put on Krakauer by the deaths of his teammates. He makes it to the summit; some of the other members of his team do not. They are faced with a storm, killing many people, but Krakauer narrowly survives. He almost loses all access to oxygen, but survives this as well.
Krakauer makes his way back down the mountain. He publishes his magazine article, but feels that he left out too many details, so he visits his surviving team members to help him write this book. Krakauer’s work is almost always amazing, and this is no exception. You can feel the real distress in his writing, and because of how well tone and emotion are conveyed, you don’t ever want to put the book down. The cover is an image of Mr. Everest with heavy clouds around it, which, of course, fits the book well. This novel is a great read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to immerse themselves in a compelling story.