Saturday Morning Book Post

Hiya!  What a week it's been!  We are done with Summer Camps Phase I and back to back business trips which hit over the same two weeks.  It's boring to talk about and probably nothing exceptional to many of you, but I'm a baby and so darn tired of the busyness.  

Because I was stuck on the other side of town for many hours each day I splurged and bought a book for myself!  What a great idea.  I really chose at random something that appealed to me on one of those 100+ degree afternoons: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.  I might just be the last person to read this book, but I will still recommend it.  It was a fascinating account of the 1996 Mount Everest climb which went so badly wrong.

I went to see the IMAX film about the same expedition when it came out several years back.  I remember being so angry at the climbers.  I couldn't understand their drive and willingness to sacrifice their own lives for something so trivial.  I felt especially sympathetic to Rob Hall's wife who was expecting their first child.  I hoped to understand their motivations after reading this book.  

I think I do understand more now.  Oddly enough, I have experienced the same mental snap that can occur, making one nearly obsessed with a single goal.  But the thing is, I consider it mental illness.  I look back at those times when it's happened to me (similar to an anxiety attack, I think)- it's frightening to think that the mind can take such turns.  These men and women pressed on, abandoning their game plan and it had horrible consequences.  The various personalities and turns on the way up that contributed to the outcome are what make this book so gripping.

My husband never understood why I was so angry at the very idea of climbing Everest.  To me, an outsider, it seems dismissive of one's mortality in a way that bothers me spiritually.  He insists that such focus and drive are the very things that move humanity forward.  

If you haven't yet read Into Thin Air, I highly, highly recommend it.  I know that it is not without controversy, but I think it's a good place to start. 

(Clearly, not my personal photo - link)

Comments

[michelle waters]

Jen, I haven't commented here in way too long! (But I always catch up on what's going on with your sweet family - if only just to be annoyed with how little knitting and sewing I accomplish compared with you!)

I feel the same way you do about climbing Everest but I too loved the book. Into the Wild is also a great read by Krakauer.

Have a great weekend!

[Theresa]

Loved that book.

[Sara]

I loved that book, too. in fact, it set me off on a reading binge where I read almost a dozen books about it. I must have read one by every survivor and the Dr. who treated them. I'd like to hike to base camp, but that's about it, thanks.

[sarah]

I remember when that happened. It was a very sad time in New Zealand. I had a negative feeling about it, and on the whole I don't understand the whole Everest thing - climb mountains, yes, if that is what you love to do. But the tourist trend - the crowds on Everest - there is really no honour left in it.

[Sara]

I feel close to the same way you do about climbing Everest, or doing anything else just for the sake of doing it. I haven't read the book - I might consider it after your review. :)

[Francis Shivone]

I haven't read the book. But men must conquer something, whether it's a mountain or themselves, or both, he desires to persevere and overcome. It's Odysseus. He leaves, he conquers or fails, he returns home. We can't help it.
And since it's Father's day -- that could be going to work in the morning, every day for forty years. We kind of enjoy the challenge.

(And you take better pictures than that)

[Jennifer]

It didn't occur to me that this might boil down to a male vs. female perspective, but I can see where that makes sense and may very well be why I just.don't.get.it.
Happy Father's Day Francis!

[tara]

I also haven't read the book but have heard really good things about it. I like your thoughts on the book.