Description:
Krakauer's personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster in 1996 is haunting, unnerving, and deeply moving. As Krakauer recollects the events of that fateful climb, we are reminded not only of the risks of mountaineering, but also the survivor's guilt that plagues those that made it down from Mt. Everest. Into the Air is a book that is not easily forgotten.When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to… Read More
