Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauerby Jon Krakauer
Shares rank 9 of 25 memoirs by recommenders
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.
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.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Great book, highly recommended
“I just finished rereading No Way Down and started rereading Into Thin Air both of which are great books”
Comment from 4 May 2026 in “How Everest has changed since Into Thin Air” “"Into Thin Air" (which mentions Green Boots many times) is a great book. Highly recommended.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Mystery identity of 'Green Boots' climber is finally solved after DNA test” Worth reading alongside other accounts
“The real pleasure is in reading both contradictory accounts!”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Mystery identity of 'Green Boots' climber is finally solved after DNA test” “it is much closer to what happened than Into Thin Air.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Mystery identity of 'Green Boots' climber is finally solved after DNA test”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Another account seen as closer to events
“it is much closer to what happened than Into Thin Air.”
Comment from 3 Jul 2026 in “Mystery identity of 'Green Boots' climber is finally solved after DNA test”
Other memoirs people recommend
The four most recommended other memoirs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Careless Peopleby Sarah Wynn-Williams | 106 | 24 | 82% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Man's Search for Meaningby Viktor Frankl | 13 | 2 | 87% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!by Richard Feynman | 11 | 7 | 61% | 6 | — | — |
| Down and Out in Paris and Londonby George Orwell | 9 | 1 | 90% | 8 | — | — |
| Into Thin Airby Jon KrakauerThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A really fascinating book about the disaster on Mount Everest in 1996”
“The real pleasure is in reading both contradictory accounts!”
“"Into Thin Air" (which mentions Green Boots many times) is a great book. Highly recommended.”
“it is much closer to what happened than Into Thin Air.”
“I just finished rereading No Way Down and started rereading Into Thin Air both of which are great books”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.