Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Into Thin Air: Introduction
Into Thin Air: Plot Summary
Into Thin Air: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Into Thin Air: Themes
Into Thin Air: Quotes
Into Thin Air: Characters
Into Thin Air: Symbols
Into Thin Air: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Jon Krakauer
Historical Context of Into Thin Air
Other Books Related to Into Thin Air
- Full Title: Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
- When Written: 1996-early 1997
- Where Written: Massachusetts, New York City
- When Published: Fall 1997
- Setting: Mount Everest
- Climax: The afternoon of May 10, 1996, when a snowstorm separates Krakauer from the rest of the group, eventually claiming six lives.
- Point of View: First person
Extra Credit for Into Thin Air
Controversy. Over the course of his long career, Jon Krakauer has seen his fair share of controversy; even so, Into Thin Air was by far his most controversial book. Numerous mountaineers, including several of the people who climbed Mount Everest with Krakauer, argued that Krakauer was distorting the facts and omitting key pieces of information. Krakauer rebutted many of these criticisms in a long postscript to his book.
Hollywood gold. Krakauer’s books have inspired some well-known movies. By far the most successful and popular movie inspired by his writing is Into the Wild (2007), directed by Sean Penn. Although a film called Everest, based on the events Krakauer discusses in Into Thin Air, was released in 2015, the film is not based on Krakauer’s writing. Nevertheless, the actor Michael Kelly (whose face will be familiar to fans of the Netflix show House of Cards) played Jon Krakauer in the film.