Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains
by Jon Krakauer
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Read in January, 2008
This book is written by one of my favorite authors Jon Krakauer who wrote Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. Before reading Alive by Piers Paul Read I was not into the topic of mountains and climbing and I never understood the concept of climbing a mountain. I used to think these people are crazy and don't care about living. However, thanks to authors like Read and Krakauer I've come to appreciate climbers who do it for a hobby and use climbing as a way to get away from real life for a bit. Eiger ...more
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Read in March, 2002
Another highly readable and enjoyable book by Jon Krakauer. This work is a collection of stories on climbing - high altitude, high risk climbing - and related adventures. With his great abilities to tell a story, Krakauer brings these real-life stories so vividly to you. It is also in many ways a search into his own soul for Krakauer. He writes about the high-risk venture that mountain climbing is and speculates whether people like Reinhold Messner have raised the bar too high by going to Everes...more
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outdoors-nature
Read in January, 2008
An excellent collection of Jon Kraukauer's magazine stories. I get a kick of his descriptions of the climbing/mountaineering subculture and all its bravado and bravery, its strange mix of hedonism and asceticism.
If you enjoy travel writing, this books takes you the ends of the earth and everywhere climb-worthy in between: Nepal, Tibet, China, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, France, Switzerland.
But to digress a little, have you ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? It occurs when you ...more
If you enjoy travel writing, this books takes you the ends of the earth and everywhere climb-worthy in between: Nepal, Tibet, China, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, France, Switzerland.
But to digress a little, have you ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? It occurs when you ...more
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fun-nonfiction
Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
climbers and climber wannabees
Of the three Jon Krakauer books I read (during that period of my life when I devoured anything climbing-related, including, I am embarrassed to say, watching _Cliffhanger_ (oh what a bad movie)), this one has stuck the most with me, perhaps because I came closer to sympathizing with the protagonists than in either Into Thin Air or Into the wild, and really, all I remember is Krakauer's sto...more
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Read in December, 2007
It doesn't hurt that it's snowing outside, and I just finished "Swimming to Antarctica." It's somehow reassuring to read cold-weather adventure books when the thought of simply going outside gives you a chill.
I love Jon Krakauer's books. He has an amazing gift for storytelling. Here's one of my favorite sentences:
"Spring has supposedly arrived in the front range of Colorado, but the sky hangs low and an icy breeze slices through Eldorado Canyon as Adrian Burgess, a thir...more
I love Jon Krakauer's books. He has an amazing gift for storytelling. Here's one of my favorite sentences:
"Spring has supposedly arrived in the front range of Colorado, but the sky hangs low and an icy breeze slices through Eldorado Canyon as Adrian Burgess, a thir...more
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Read in July, 1997
recommends it for:
outdoorsy types
I was given this book by a counelor at camp. It is a collection of short, outdoorsy stories by Krakauer, author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. Many were published first in Outside magazine. My favorites are the chapters on being tentbound and on the Devils Thumb, but the "Flyboys of Talkeetna" chapter is funny, and I also like his story of Gill and of climbing the Eiger. The book is a good portrait of mountaineers and helps to address the perennial question of why do we do it - no...more
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Read in August, 2006
i pilfered this book from my best friend's kitchen table. it took me six months to return it. but it didn't take me nearly that long to read it.
this is a wonderful collection of some of krakauer's best outside works. as always, he demonstrates his ability to put the reader right where the action is. it's easy to imagine yourself climbing the eiger alongside him, or swearing and stamping out the flames on his tent when the roach he dropped set them alight.
this is a wonderful collection of some of krakauer's best outside works. as always, he demonstrates his ability to put the reader right where the action is. it's easy to imagine yourself climbing the eiger alongside him, or swearing and stamping out the flames on his tent when the roach he dropped set them alight.
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Read in March, 2008
This book is classic Krakauer. It's a collection of articles that he's written throughout his career, so it isn't quite as exciting as Into Thin Air or as cohesive as Into The Wild or Under the Banner of Heaven. But each article was interesting and entertaining, and they made me feel a little restless. More than once, I found myself fighting the urge to trek off to Alaska and learn to ice climb. Maybe one day...
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belongs-on-my-shelf
Read in May, 2002
Good collection of short stories from Krakauer. Although not an overwhelming read it held my interest and it is compact so quick to get through. This opens up the reader to the writers' world and his passion for the 'outdoor' life. These are readable and believable accounts and self reflective. Good writing but not masterfully memorable either.
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This isn't quite as good as some of his other books...hence the "three stars" rating. The vivd and horrifying description he gives of his solo ascent of The Devil's Thumb in Alaska kept me, as one who is afraid of heights, gripping the chair for dear life, and is, alone, worth the price of the book.
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Read in April, 2008
This is a collection of climbing stories Jon wrote for magazines. As always, they are well written although some of them are not as well written a his future work. It was interesting reading about the type of people who like to climb rocks and mountains and the places in the world these types frequent.
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climbing
Read in January, 2007
This is a collection of short essays by Krakauer about climbing and adventuring. Like all his writing, they are riviting. It's a pretty short book, so expect to bang through it quickly. I especially loved how he mentioned places he used to hang out at in Seattle that I know of and hang out at, too.
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Read in December, 2007
Very entertaining and humorous. Each chapter is a short story about a different aspect of climbing. For example, ice climbing, bouldering, or being tent bound for days on end. It had me laughing out loud. Presents mountain climbing and the psyche of the climber from thier many different angles.
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Read in January, 2008
Very entertaining collection of short essays and memoirs for anyone who enjoys reading about mountaineering and other climbing activities, especially of the extreme variety. K is a great writer and I like all of his stuff. His essay on the Burgess brothers is great.
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Read in January, 2008
A series of Jon Krakauer short stories about mountain climbing. It's entertaining, and maybe even a little ominous, if you have already read Into Thin Air, where lots of pepole die. The last story is included as a chapter of Into the Wild. A very compact read.
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Read in August, 2007
I read the first three or four stories, then got bored and returned the book to the library. It was a disappointment, because I love all of the author's other books. I think the stories were too dated or something; they had a definite 80s feel to them.
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Read in February, 1993
This is a collection of stories written by Krakauer. Some became stories in Outside Magazine others became books. Stories range from funny to suspenseful. You can definitely see Krakauer's writing get better between early and later essays.
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Read in April, 2008
Chock full of short essays on being very very cold and climbing large hills! Some of these essays were very excellent, others were decent but not spectacular. I really like this author, though, and I thoroughly recommend him.
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2 comments
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non-fiction
Read in January, 2001
Krakauer has a wonderful voice and this book serves as another testament to that. This is an excellent collection of outdoor adventures and experiences for those of us who don't have the balls to climb over 20,000 feet.
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Read in November, 2007
Very readable, short articles about climbing. Krakauer's style is quite entertaining. It is a little dated in parts (he mentions in one piece a new extreme sport called "bungee jumping"), but still good.
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