# What is Into Thin Air about, and is it worth reading?

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Section: Zestasy Wiki > Books & ideas · Updated: 2026-10-14 · Publisher: Zestasy

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Into Thin Air (1997) is journalist Jon Krakauer's first-hand account of the May 1996 Everest season, when a storm caught several commercial expeditions near the summit and eight climbers died. It is gripping, humane and hard to put down, and it raises sharp questions about guided climbing on the world's highest mountain. Read it, but read it as one participant's view: other climbers disputed parts of his account, and the arguments are part of the story.

In 1996 Jon Krakauer was a writer for the adventure magazine Outside. He was originally meant to go only as far as Everest base camp and report on the growing business of guided expeditions. Instead, the assignment revived a childhood ambition, and he joined a guided team led by the guide Rob Hall to try for the summit himself. According to [Wikipedia's article on the book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Thin_Air), Into Thin Air grew out of that experience and was published in 1997.

## What happens

The book moves between the long weeks of preparation, the people on the mountain and the summit push itself, when a storm caught climbers near the top. Eight people died in what became known as the 1996 Everest disaster, including Krakauer's own expedition leader, Rob Hall. Other teams were on the mountain the same day, among them one led by Scott Fischer of the guiding company Mountain Madness, seen as a rival to Hall's Adventure Consultants.

Krakauer's conclusion is that safety practices developed over years by experienced guides were sometimes compromised by competition between companies keen to get their paying clients to the top. He also writes painfully about his own choices and his feelings of responsibility.

## The controversy

The book was a bestseller, and it also provoked fierce disagreement. Much of the criticism concerned his portrayal of Anatoli Boukreev, a highly experienced Kazakh climber guiding for Fischer's team. Krakauer questioned some of Boukreev's decisions, while acknowledging that his rescues in the storm were heroic. Boukreev responded in his own 1997 book, The Climb, written with G. Weston DeWalt. Other mountaineers, including the photographer Galen Rowell, also criticised Krakauer's account, and Krakauer answered some of the criticisms in a postscript to the 1999 paperback edition.

That debate is worth knowing about before you start. Into Thin Air is honest about being a personal account, written soon after a traumatic event by someone who was there and exhausted. It is a powerful testimony, not the final word.

## Is it worth reading?

**Yes, for the storytelling.** Krakauer is a skilled journalist; the pacing is relentless and the portraits of guides, clients and Sherpa climbers are vivid. Many readers finish it in a couple of sittings.

**Yes, for the questions.** What happens when the world's highest mountain becomes a product you can buy? How do guides balance clients' dreams against safety? What do people owe each other at the edge of their strength? These questions reach far beyond Everest.

**With care, for the grief.** Real people died, and they had families and friends. Krakauer is respectful, but it is not an adventure romp.

## How it fits with other mountain books

If you read Into Thin Air, consider The Climb for the other side of the argument. For a very different mountain story with a hopeful ending, Joe Simpson's [Touching the Void](https://zestasy.com/wiki/touching-the-void/) is the classic. And if it all makes you want to go uphill yourself, start a long way from Everest: our page on [choosing a hiking trail](https://zestasy.com/wiki/choosing-a-hiking-trail/) is a gentler beginning.

## FAQ

### Do you need to know about climbing to follow it?
No. Krakauer explains the mountain, the camps and the logistics as he goes. Keeping a map of the route open on your phone helps.

### Is the film Everest based on the book?
The 2015 film Everest depicts the same events, with an actor playing Krakauer, but its director has said it is not based on Krakauer's book. A 1997 TV film was adapted from it directly.

### Is it a sad book?
Yes, in parts. It is also full of courage, friendship and extraordinary effort. Most readers come away moved rather than depressed.

### Should you read The Climb as well?
If the controversy interests you, yes. Reading both gives you a fuller picture of how differently people experienced the same days.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Into Thin Air](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Thin_Air)

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