I have read the book and listened to the tape! Sending on in Seferim's audio bookbox.

Released on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 at Audio Bookbox in Bookbox, postal release USA.

I'm selecting this from Seferim's audio bookbox. I really enjoyed reading the book, and was delighted to find this unabridged audiotape version in the box!

I read Krakauer's book as soon as it came out, as I was fascinated by the disastrous events of the 1996 Everest season. This unabridged reading - by Krakauer himself - took me right back to those events as they unfolded. I think the author did a good job of describing the situation and of including his own biases. In fact, his mere presence, as a known journalist, may have influenced some of the decisions made by others, and he admits as much (not that I think this was his fault, just the way things were). He tried to convey the difficulty of mere existence at high altitudes, describing how everyone would have to pause for 3, 4, half a dozen breaths in between every step, but even with these reminders it's hard for a reader, safe and warm at home, to imagine how anyone could huddle in a tent knowing that others are at risk a few hours' [or sometimes a few minutes'] climb away. His guilt and sorrow are in the book along with some amount of questioning, and the occasional hint of blame, but for the most part he just recounts what he saw and what he later learned, and it's a remarkable tale. Recommended.

*** Controlled release: I've given this to my brother-in-law in New York, to listen to on his commutes. He'll pass it along eventually!

RELEASE NOTES:

Having learned via the Announcements forum that there's a new Official BookCrossing Zone at Coffee Roasters, I made a point of stopping there. The coffee shop's in a small building on the left as you're heading west on Route 20 - it's about a half a mile west of the I84/I90 junction. There were lots of books on a table in the big front room, with the coffee shop in back and to the left, and a gift shop to the right; nice place to browse, or sit and read. [And they make a nice latte!] My brother-in-law had returned this tape to me so I left it among the other BC books. [I managed to leave five of mine while only taking one {grin}.]