Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

· Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Philip Franklin
35 reviews
Audiobook
9 hr 7 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The epic account of the storm on the summit of Mt. Everest that claimed five lives and left countless more—including Krakauer's—in guilt-ridden disarray.

“A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment and of heartbreaking heroism.”—People

A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Last 30 Years

Reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion, Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996. He hadn’t slept in fifty-seven hours. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,032 feet (the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), some twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top, unaware that a furious storm would soon engulf them from below. . . .

This is the terrifying story of what happened that calamitous day at the top of the world, during what would be the deadliest season Everest climbers had ever seen. In this harrowing narrative, Krakauer takes the reader along with his ill-fated expedition, step by precarious step, from Kathmandu to the summit where—plagued by a combination of hubris, terrible judgment, and bad luck—they would fall prey to the mountain’s unpredictable violence.

With more than three million copies in print, this extraordinary book is considered a paragon of the narrative nonfiction genre. Brilliantly written and supported by unimpeachable reporting, Into Thin Air will by turns thrill and horrify.
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The epic account of the storm on the summit of Mt. Everest that claimed five lives and left countless more—including Krakauer's—in guilt-ridden disarray. “A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment and of heartbreakin...

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Ratings and reviews

35 reviews
Liam Prior
March 17, 2020
Definitely a good read, but I really advise reading more about Krakauer and the controversy surrounding this book before reading it.
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Mike Hoak
February 27, 2018
Outstanding
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About the author

Jon Krakauer is the author of Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, Where Men Win Glory, Three Cups of Deceit, and Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, among others. He is also the editor of the Modern Library Exploration series.

Philip Franklin is the narrator of several audiobooks, including Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, The Only Way I Know by Cal Ripken, Jr., and Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton.
Jon Krakauer is the author of Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, Where Men Win Glory, Three Cups of Deceit, and Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, among others. He is also the editor of the Modern Library Exploration series. Philip Frank...

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