First sentence: In March 1996, Outside magazine sent me to Nepal to participate in, and write about, a guided ascent of Mount Everest. I went as one of eight clients on an expedition led by a well-known guide from New Zealand named Rob Hall.

Premise/plot: Jon Krakauer shares his [expanded] experiences on a fateful trip to Mount Everest in the spring of 1996. Not all on his expedition 'team' survived their attempt to the summit. The book is slightly confusing in that there were dozens (probably) of different expedition teams led by various people all attempting to climb Mount Everest. The teams weren't exactly taking turns or going in any specific order. So a handful of teams--with six plus people each--could be near one another on the mountain. His story isn't solely focused on his expedition team. It's about those attempting to make the summit on one specific day, May 10, 1996. It turned out to be a very dangerous day in part because of an unexpected storm/blizzard. His story was about--I believe--the risks of commercialization. Is Mount Everest something that should be attempted by just anyone who could pay...or does it require a certain amount of skills, fitness, and experience. Is money more important than safety? That is just the 'big picture' take-away that I got from his journalistic angle (at the beginning). There were and are many other concerns.

My thoughts: The movie was definitely more action-packed and engaging. I am less sure that it is faithful and true to the events. I think here an there that might be some sensationalizing. I think things might be condensed and arranged for the most drama impact. Perhaps. I watched the movie first. Found it very engaging and exciting. I put the book on hold within hours of watching the movie. The book moved at a much slower pace. For better or worse. It was haunting in its own way. I do think the movie might have had fewer characters it was following.

A captivating book, and my first e-book trying out my new iPad. ( )

I had to stop reading this while eating because the stress was giving me stomach cramps. The author's writing is so vivid, so compelling, and the story is truly horrifying. In the Prologue the author explains that he wrote the book so soon after the disaster in part to help himself process everything that took place up there, and I could really feel that come through in his writing (this is not a criticism, it is a compliment). Grappling with the choices everyone made, how people's flaws or prejudices or bravery or tenacity played a role, would absolutely require some heavy-duty processing for a survivor, and it makes for fascinating reading. Highly, highly recommend. ( )

What a fast, thrilling, pulse-racing read. I think I must have seen the IMAX film year ago that was being done at the same time as this book's events, because a lot of this sounded familiar. So much tragedy, so much to go wrong. I think this book could have done with more perspectives from the survivors, but it is well told and devastating. I am not an adrenaline junky, and you will never find me risking serious discomfort for bragging rights. I have tent camped in freezing rain in Yellowstone enough as a child to be happy with a heated bedroom the rest of my days. But there is something about the drive, pushing beyond your limits, and achieving what the corpses along your path couldn't that is still breathtaking and inspiring. I am going to look for more adventure disaster books now. ( )

This was a good, honest (I believe) look at a disaster from someone with first hand experience. But honestly, what it really did was make me think. This is the second book I’ve read on climbing Everest, and on one hand I understand the allure of the challenge and being able to say you summited the tallest mountain on Earth, and all that goes with that, on the other hand, everything about it seems miserable. Between the frostbite and the hypoxia and all the medical ailments these people come down with, I don’t understand how you can even enjoy yourself when you get to the top, if one does. Obviously, I’ve never attempted anything close to Everest, but I am an Eagle Scout who’s summited mountains before, and every time I’ve gotten to the top I’ve relished the view, caught my breath, taken pictures and on and on. I’m not sure with their oxygen deprived brains that most people who summit Everest even get a chance to enjoy the view before they are pushing to get back down and recover. Again, I don’t know, I don’t understand the drive to do it because I don’t have it, and I’m not even sure the people who have it can explain it, but man, trying to reconcile the two sides really baffles me. ( )