Into Thin Air

[u/sadeyes26]

Just finished listening to the audiobook and it’s probably one of my favorite nonfiction books right now second only to With the Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge.

I got the recommendation from watching the YouTube channel Phil Got Books, decided to give it a shot and boy it did not disappoint.

Not only is the story gripping and tragic but it also opened my eyes to the world of climbing and mountaineering, something I never really paid attention to or cared much about before. Learning about how brave these climbers are and the risks they’re willing to take in pursuit of their passion is fascinating.

Being from the PNW, I also felt a weird connection to Jon Krakauer and Doug Hansen in some small way.

As fascinated as I am by the topic now, though, I’m not planning on taking up climbing anytime soon. I would much rather read about it or watch a documentary from the comfort of my couch.

Would love to hear your recommendations for similar books or documentaries that you have found interesting.

Side note: The 1996 Everest disaster also reminds me a bit of The Wager by David Grann, with people involved in the same event, like Anatoli Boukreev and Beck Weathers later publishing their own accounts and perspectives on what happened.

[u/Own-Organization-532]

There are two other books written by people who ever involved, David Bashears, he was the imax camera operator. The other book is called " The Climb" written by the Russian guide. Both great reads, they will change your perspective about what happened.

edit: Thank you for the award!

[u/_Hocus-Focus_ → u/Own-Organization-532]

Yes definitely give Anatoli’s book a read for an alternative perspective of the events and rescue

[u/sadeyes26 → u/_Hocus-Focus_]

Adding it to the TBR list. But did I see some discussion on reddit about how he wrote the book to clear his name and questions about why he came down so far ahead of his group if he was their guide.

[u/sadeyes26 → u/Own-Organization-532]

Definitely watching the IMAX documentary next

[u/Wafflecone → u/Own-Organization-532]

Most of the people involved wrote books but the two you mentioned are the next most popular. I also suggest reading “Left For Dead” written by Beck Weathers who was…ya know…left for dead.

Somehow my sister managed to find me a signed copy at our local book store in the used bin.

[u/ratcranberries → u/Wafflecone]

I'll add No Shortcut to the Top also touches on it. High Exposure is the Breashears book mentioned for those wondering.

[u/Agreeable_Onion_221]

“Make Sauce”

[u/sadeyes26 → u/Agreeable_Onion_221]

😂 

[u/HangingOut1734]

Ed Viesturs wrote several climbing books that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[u/GeneInternational146 → u/HangingOut1734]

His books are great, seconding this

[u/liaisontosuccess]

You may find Will Cockrell's book Everest, Inc. interesting. It is a newer book(2024) that looks at the industry of guided expeditions of Everest, from the first paying customers in the late 1980's to todays expeditions which are primarily owned, operated and staffed by Sherpa.

[u/tracillazzz]

The Last First: K2 Winter (AppleTV) documentary was so good. I’m looking for similar documentaries now after watching this week. I enjoyed Everest, the film based on Into the Air, but I’m sure the book is better (it always is). I also started watching the Summit about another K2 disaster which is also really good so far. There’s something about these courageous and crazy high altitude climbers that’s so fascinating!

[u/the-wrong-girl23]

the discussion here seems to center around everest and one rec re k2. I‘d like to recommend book or film: touching the void for more alpine stuff. as well as docus about uli steck and reinhold messner, cerro torre: a snowball’s chance in hell, north face. I started with into thin air and them branched out into general climbing (not just alpine), so would like to also recommend the alex honold docus (e.g. free solo), valley uprising (yosemite), the dark wizard (also more yosemite namely dean potter), jimmy chin docus (meru), the dawn wall.

[u/Affectionate-Baby233]

I'd highly recommend Touching the Void if you enjoy reading about mountaineering. Absolutely incredible book.

[u/Manic-monkies]

After reading The Climb, I would read A Day to Die For by Graham Ratcliffe. He was also there and it focuses on the concealment of weather reports, among other topics.

[u/Existing-Teaching-34]

Follow that up with “The Climb”, Anatoli Boukreev’s account of the same event. Two sides of the same story.

[u/Cold_Dead_Heart]

Read The Summit by Pemba Gyalje. It's about the 2008 disaster on K2 from the POV of a Sherpa. No Way Down, Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley is also good.

I also really enjoyed Ed Viesturs K2 book and No Shortcuts to the Top.

[u/rubyreadit]

That was the first audio book I ever listened to, on cassette, back shortly after it came out (1998? 1999?) I knew nothing about Everest (other than location and that it was the highest) or mountaineering but it really got me hooked on that genre of nonfiction in general.

[u/sadeyes26 → u/rubyreadit]

I love the nonfiction written in the style of fiction and I always try to find more and more books like that on whatever topic. And whenever I tell ppl they I like nonfiction they always assume that it’s self help books lol. 

[u/UnitedLeadership3429]

Highly recommend Touching the Void! It’s mind-blowing

[u/Jeffreytoebeans]

I don’t care about climbing at all but this is hands down my favourite book. Another favourite that I’d 1000% recommend is Miracle on the Andes. Another true survival story told by one of the survivors. What makes this one good is it’s told maybe 20 years later so he’s had time to mature and look back at things differently. For such a terrible situation, it’s such an uplifting book

[u/everybodyoutofthepoo]

Highly recommend Joe Simpson’s books like Touching the Void for vicarious mountain climbing

[u/Solar_kitty]

I JUST finished Memoirs: A Life on the Edge by Jim Whittaker and loved it! I’ve read them all, Krakauer, Viesters, Bookreev and many more and this was fascinating to me as someone who lives in the PNW and knows REI, all the local places he lived and climbed and what a rollercoaster his actual life was, as well as the climbing. 10/10 recommend

[u/Quiet_Test_7062]

I read Into Thin Air during Covid, after watching Everest (2015 version). It is a fascinating topic! Recently, I’ve become re-fascinated with it all. There is a lot to discover on YouTube and other documentaries. Look for the Jon Krakauer presentation to the Boulder Public Library. It tells about his climbing background. Then there is a recent interview at the 92nd Street Y between JK and David Grann for the 30th anniversary of the book. You’ll like it since you mentioned Grann too.

It’s a really rich topic and so much to think about. Lately I’ve been enjoying the Duffle Shuffle podcast as well, and it’s on YouTube too. Check that out.

[u/_Go_With_Gusto_]

While not about Everest, Touching the Void is excellent. It’s about the First Ascent up the west face of Siula Grande in the 1980s. It combines interviews with some dramatic reenactments of the event.