| |  | Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $11.53
You Save: $10.42 (47%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 5961184
Media: Audio Download
ASIN: B0000544YW
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Cliffhanger October 6, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
"I have fallen. I am dying. Please send help. Quickly!" Mountain climbing is on of the most dangerous sports in the world. This quote shows why in the book Eiger Dreams by Jon krakauer. This collection of memoirs is about adventures on mountains and the tragedies that occur on them everyday. This is a great collection of memoirs that are descriptive and very interesting. For instance, when he talks about he climbs, you actually feel like you're on the mountaiwith those brave sole. Even though there are one or two stories that are just boring, the rest of the stories are entertaining and keep you on the edge of your seat. For me, this book was a big page-turner. I wanted to read on from the first sentence to the last word. I occasionally drifted off, but I definitely wanted to figure what would happen next. If you like climbing, you will like this book. Another aspect this book excelled in was that it finished very strong. On every memoir that was recited, there was a good ending. They never left me hanging, and they connect to the memoir. The endings make a huge exclamation mark on an already great book. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Even if you don't climb. It can have philosophical and physical significance for everyone. Like I said, there are some definite weak spots, but its worth reading through them. This book is typical Jon Krakauer, wonderful.
 A great read for those at sea level and rising June 12, 2000
38 out of 45 found this review helpful
How to do justice to a writer like Krakauer....well, he's such a good writer that I feel any review I write would suffer compared to the source. Nevertheless, here I go. This is Krakauer's first book. It's a collection of his previously published articles on mountaineering (save the last one about Devil's Thumb which was written for the book.) What a gread read too whether you are an afficionado of the sport or, like me, you've never seen a pair of crampons in your life (by the way, those are a set of spikes climbers strap to their boots to support themselves and prevent slipping on icy slopes.) Some of the famous peaks that make an appearance here include K2, Mt McKinley, and the titular Eiger. Throughout you will read about some of the eccentric personalities in the international climbing community, personal triumph and inspiration, offshoots like bouldering and waterfall climbing, and horrific tragedy. If you read Into Thin Air, you'll be surprised at how funny this book is. Krakauer displays a wry, self-deprecating wit in several of these stories-something the somber subject matter of the latter book didn't permit. The last one, about his decision to solo the Devil's Thumb in Alaska in his early twenties is hysterical. Anyone who can make a story about being tentbound or the inventor of the perfect ice axe riveting deserves attention. If you are on the fence, just go ahead and get this book. It's definitely worth it.
He's like Shakespeare for me April 30, 2000
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Like Shakespeare, who portrays the historic, tragic, and comic in human life, Jon Krakauer has an expansive understanding of human nature which he unfolds in his essays reflecting upon mountaineering. The concrete and gripping details of his essays tell us more about the people who climb than about climbing, and yet, as various and comprehensive as these essays are, the core reason why a person would pursue such a passion remains a mystery. Detailed exploration, restless curiosity, scintillating use of language, deft sense of drama -- hmm -- an American bard has appeared in the world of non-fiction.
Very Good December 31, 1999
3 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book had a good variety of mountain climbing stories. Some I thought were way better than others. It's the perfect book for the mountain climber in the family.
disaster on Everest December 7, 1999
1 out of 7 found this review helpful
Jon has, in deatail described the mt Everest disaster. it has moved me and made me think about the presousness of life when it hangs in the balanc
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