EIGER DREAMS by Jon Krakauer

If you love being in the mountains or just like to be outdoors, I have found the perfect book for you.  Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer is a must read novel for anybody who is interested in mountaineering or climbing.  This book will grip your mind and take you for a ride in the high altitude of the Alps, Himalayas, and beyond. 
This book is basically a collection of articles that Krakauer wrote for the Smithsonian and Outside magazines.  All of these articles are about extraordinary mountains and the crazy men who climb them.  For example, one chapter is about one of the worst summers in the history of climbing one of the deadliest mountains in the world.  One climber who tried to make a summit attempt, went delirious just above the summit and was left for dead by other climbers.  The next day he was seen crawling down the mountain with severe frost bite and altitude sickness.  This example is just one of many found in this book that describe outragious climbers that have an extremely strong will to survive.
One of my favorite parts of this novel is Krakauer’s ability to write about these people and describe their accomplishments.  The way he writes of the things they do allows you to get “lost” in reading and become engrossed in the story being told.  Not only the way Krakauer writes about these people, but the people themselves he chose to write about are interesting.  There are hardly any words that describe the adrenaline junkies that are subjected in this book.  Their inhuman feats will blow your mind.  Krakauer definitely picked an all star line up to write about when it comes to climbing.
The way this book is organized also makes it really outstanding.  Like I said before, it’s a collection of articles Krakauer wrote for a few different magazines.  I am a big fan of this style of book because they are easy to read.  You don’t get bored with a dull plot or the same old characters because it’s a different story every chapter.
Probably my most favorite part of this book is the descriptions Krakauer gives about the experiences of the climbers in the book.  One of my favorite examples of this is a passage from the book about Krakauer himself summiting a mountain in Alaska called the Devils thumb.
“It wasn’t possible, I couldn’t believe it. I felt my cracked lips stretch into a huge, painful grin.  I was on top of the devils Thumb…The summit was a surreal, malevolent place, an improbable slender fan of rock and rime no wider than a filing cabinet.  It did not encourage loitering.  As I straddled the highest point, the north face fell away beneath my left boot for six thousand feet; beneath my right boot the south face dropped of twenty-five hundred.”
I think this passage can sum up Krakauer’s knack for making a description chilling and gripping. His use of adjectives and figurative language make you feel as though you are the one climbing a mountain.
            This book is probably one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. If I were going to rate this book I would give it a nine out of 10. It is definitely worth your reading time ,and I suggest this book to anybody who is interested in mountains and climbing
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Reviewed by Ryan Bowman
8th Grade

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