Krakauer climbs Everest so that you don't have to. His vivid descriptions of the mountain and the climb take you with him every excruciating, sub-zero step of the way. The story of his group's climb up Everest is filled with examples of the many ways that irrational human behavior leads to bad outcomes. Krakauer exposes his own lapses and flaws and errors in judgement and apprehension of situations, but I cannot truly find fault in his behavior, given the extreme physical tolls taken by the climb and the hypoxic mental state that people are pushed into at 28,000 feet above sea level, where the paucity of oxygen and a raging blizzard make it hard to think, and every step taken is a supreme act of will.