# Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/into-thin-air/

4 people recommended Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

2 of the 4 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Mystery identity of 'Green Boots' climber is finally solved after DNA test”.

**Verdict:** A widely recommended account of the 1996 Everest disaster, described as a great read worth comparing with other accounts. One commenter says another book is much closer to what happened.

Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Great book, highly recommended (2 comments in the sample): "I just finished rereading No Way Down and started rereading Into Thin Air both of which are great books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48010653)) "Into Thin Air" (which mentions Green Boots many times) is a great book. Highly recommended." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48771864))
- Worth reading alongside other accounts (2 comments in the sample): "The real pleasure is in reading both contradictory accounts!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48773654)) "it is much closer to what happened than Into Thin Air." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48770765))

## Other memoirs people recommend

- [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people/): 87 recommend, 14 mixed, 19 criticize
- [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning/): 11 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize
- [Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell](https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london/): 8 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman/): 8 recommend, 3 mixed, 6 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer", https://hackerapproved.com/p/into-thin-air/ (4 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.