“...climbing Everest does not measure your greatness as a climber. To climb it is mostly about the willingness to take the high risks and human struggle to physically endure the extreme altitude that almost reaches outer space. Some of the world’s best climbers have not and cannot climb Everest.”

“Why would anyone ever want to climb Mt. Everest?”

[Into Thin Air] remains one of my very favorite nonfiction books. It details the tragic events on May 10th 1996, where eight people died, trying to summit the world’s highest mountain. The author [[Jon Krakauer]] was on that climb, writing about it for Outside magazine. [[Lou Kasischke]] was also part of the same expedition. This is his story and it is a good one. It is a harrowing account, giving a different perspective than Krakauer's. He even criticizes the decision to let Krakauer come along on the trip, thinking it could influence the climbing objectives, which it just might have done. This can be a tough read but if you are into intense, well-detailed adventure stories, give this one a try. ( )

Well done! Another take on the 1996 Everest disaster. Very enjoyable. Author tells a good story. loved his opinions (even though they did get repetitive.) Amazing what he went through. ( )

Interesting account of the 1996 tragedy. I Liked the extra details about the climbing route that I don't recall having been in other books. This spends most of the time on the events leading up to and the day of the summit push. During the 2 days of the storm he was in Camp IV in his tent with little contact with anyone else, so this does not include any specifics about those two days.

He doesn't hold back on his criticisms of the decisions made by Rob Hall or others on his team. He spends quite a lot of time talking about his love for his wife, which got a little old - I think some of that could have been edited out. I also don't agree all of the conclusions he came to of the religious nature.

Overall, a good inclusion in my Everest library. I wouldn't count on this to give you a complete picture of the events that occurred, but I think it does fill in some holes left by others. ( )

This is an amazing and insightful look at the events surrounding the deadliest climb in history of Mount Everest. The author, an avid mountain climber, decided to attempt to summit Mount Everest with veteran guide Rob Hall, mainly due to Hall’s safety record and his history of aborting climbs if conditions proved to be too risky. However, Hall did not practice what he preached all of the time, as this climb proved, and Hall paid dearly for his multiple poor decisions, as he was one of the people who died that day. The author credits his love affair with his wife as the reason he turned back, despite being close to the top, and thus lived to tell his tale. I read his story in one day because it was so compelling. ( )

I read Jon Krakauer's [b:Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|1898|Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster|Jon Krakauer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446286672s/1898.jpg|1816662] with great avidity when it came out in 1998. In an interview, he described how he'd always found some joy and pleasure even in the hardest climbs—the view, the sense of accomplishment, the companionship—but that the Everest climb was only suffering.

Kasischke's book is another take on the climb. He was part of Rob Hall's group, in which Krakauer had been imbedded in order to write an article for Outside magazine. Kasischke doesn't blame Krakauer for what happened to Hall and his team. He does speculate how having a journalist along could have influenced Hall and his competitor/friend Fischer, who was leading another group at the same time, to make rash decisions for the sake of publicity. It was so important that the two teams reach the summit for the sake of the publicity they'd get that they forgot the highest priority: the safety of the team.

It's not revealing any spoilers to say Kasischke made it back—obviously, he wrote the book. I can say that when he writes of the moment of silence "after the wind," when he hears the "still, small voice" within (a reference to the biblical Elijah in the wilderness) and decides to turn back, a decision that saved his life, it moved me to tears.

Kasischke has written a great, harrowing, adventure story. On top of that, the physical book is beautiful. E-books will never replace the feeling of the book in my hand and this paperback has a great cover, haunting illustrations and roughly deckled pages. A pleasure to hold.

I swallowed it in one gulp, and I'd reread it. Inspiring and gripping. ( )