Into Thin Air:  A personal account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakauer is one of small number who has stood on the top of Mount Everest. On assignment for Outside Magazine, Krakauer was there to write an article on the commercialization of ascents. Author of the best-selling Into the Wild, Krakauer gives us a first-hand account of the 1996 climbing season of Mount Everest—the deadliest in history. Two top guides, a Sherpa and several climbers died. Booklist says, “Krakauer's narrative leaves a reader virtually breathless, sweating as he sweats, gasping as he gasps, crying as he cries over dying friends.”