Into Thin Air: Personal Account of the Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (Paperback, 1998)

I HAVE READ THIS BOOK SEVERAL TIMES. ITS A SOBERING BOOK THAT SHOWS HOW EVEN THE BEST ON EVEREST CAN PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE, THEIR LIVES, DOING WHAT THEY LOVE BEST, CLIMBING AND GUIDING PEOPLE. TAKING PEOPLE INTO THE DEATH ZONE, WHERE EVEN THE SIMPLE THINGS LIKE BREATHING AND WALKING ARE MADE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT IN THE THE EXTREMES OF HIGH ALTITUDE. A FREAK STORM ON WHAT STARTED AS A FINE DAY, ENDS IN THE TRAGIC LOSS OF SEVERAL LIVES.
THIS BOOK TELLS OF THE TRAGIC EVENT AND THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THAT FATEFUL DAY IN MAY 1996 WHERE HIGH WINDS, BLIZZARDS AND -100 DEGREE TEMPERATURES WREAKED HAVOC. IT TELLS OF THE HEROES AND THE INABILITY TO THINK NORMALLY IN THE OXYGEN STARVED AIR AND OF THE ASTONISHING SURVIVAL OF BECK WETHERS WHO WAS LEFT FOR DEAD. A MUST READ BOOK. YOU ARE WITH THEM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. JUST ONE SMALL WARNING....... YOU WONT BE ABLE TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN ONCE YOU START READING IT.

Krakauer establishes a factual account of an unfolding tragedy which takes place during the push to the summit of Mount Everest with a truely mircaculous (in all extremeties of the lexical term) outcome. Extremely well written as a personal account, but also enlightening for any reader.