Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 3 (Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations)

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Hardbound. Advances in Accounting Education Teaching and Curriculum Innovations is a refereed, academic research annual whose purpose is to meet the needs of individuals interested in ways to improve their classroom instruction. We publish thoughtful, well-developed articles that are readable, relevant and reliable. Articles may be either empirical and non-empirical. They emphasize pedagogy, i.e., explaining how teaching methods or curricula/programs can be improved.

Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 3

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Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 3
Bill N. Schwartz
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUCBU0

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Book lives up to its name

The "right stuff" for trainers and presenters

Creative Training Idea Book: Inspired Tips and Techniques En

Creative Training Idea Book, The: Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning
Robert William Lucas
Manufacturer: American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Laugh And Learn

Creative Training Techniques Handbook: Tips, Tactics, and How-To's for Delivering Effective Training

The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

Show Biz Training: Fun and Effective Business Training Techniques from the Worlds of Stage, Screen and Song

The First-Time Trainer: A Step-By-Step Quick Guide for Managers, Supervisors, and New Training Professionals

ASIN: 0814407331

Book Description

Trainers have to be creative if they want their participants to feel excited, challenged, and involved. The Creative Training Idea Book is packed with instructions for using activities, games, puzzles, toys, and props to increase energy and active participation in the classroom, and reveals how to think creatively about training in any situation.

Based on the author's nearly three decades of training experience, this invaluable resource gives trainers the tools to adopt a fun, energetic approach that will make for a stimulating learning environment. Readers will learn new methods for:

* setting the right tone * uncovering participant needs * grouping participants and selecting leaders * avoiding and reclaiming turned-off learners * encouraging and rewarding participation * and much more!

Filled with checklists, forms, resources, and dozens of "Bright Idea" blurbs, The Creative Training Idea Book will help trainers and their learners achieve maximum learning results.

Customer Reviews:

Book lives up to its name.......2004-12-08

Lucas does indeed give lots of creative ideas on how to be a more effective trainer by engaging trainees in more imaginative ways. There are tips here you won't see in other manuals.

The "right stuff" for trainers and presenters.......2003-04-18

Despite the prevalance of e-learning, the classroom remains the preferred training platform, both by students and trainers. Most classroom experiences would benefit immeasureably through the well-researched, practical techniques in the Creative Training Idea Book.

Beginning with the right foundation - how the adult brain learns - the book offers hundreds of ideas most trainers learn only through long trial and error (if at all). As the author discussed bread and butter subjects such as the multiple ways the classroom can be set up, how to use flipcharts effectively, how to tell stories, ideas for class evaluations or the best questioning techniques, I found myself agreeing with nearly every suggestion.

This book would have helped me become a seasoned presenter much earlier in my career. And although I'm now a seasoned facilitator with thousands of presentations under my belt, I still picked up some new ideas. Highly recommended for all stand-up trainers and presenters committed to delivering boredom-free, professional sessions.

Creative Training Idea Book: Inspired Tips and Techniques En.......2003-02-22

I just read this book and all I can say is WOW! I got so many ideas for setting up classrooms that will enhance my training, engaging participants, stimulating learning and delivering training in a way that is effective and FUN, that I am not sure which strategy I want to use first. This book has terrific information and ideas for generating learner enthusiasm, rewarding participants, gaining learner involvement and rewarding positive behavior. The author really sets the tone for the entire boiok in the first chapter where he discusses research on brain-based learning, multiple intelligences, adult learning principles and much more. Throughout the book, he's also provided something he calls "bright ideas" and "Interim Reviews" for applying the information provided.
This is going to be a book I reference often and would encourage anyone involved in T&D to own.

Book Description

A concise reference by a best-selling astronomy author.

The Guide to Stars and Planets is a practical guide to the night sky featuring detailed maps of the moon and constellations, plus a host of recommendations on what to look for and when. In a compact format, this book is illustrated with charts, maps, and stunning photographs from the world's finest Earth- and space-based telescopes.

A concise introduction offers a practical guide to telescopes, home observatories and astronomical photography for amateur astronomers. Detailed entries describe the following astronomical objects, organized by the closest to the furthest from Earth:

The moon
The sun
The planets
Solar system debris
The stars
The galaxies
The constellations
Observing eclipses, comets and meteors.

The book highlights the most interesting objects that can be observed using the naked eye, binoculars or telescope. Detailed moon maps and charts identify significant features, and practical tips explain how to observe the sun safely.

The Guide to Stars and Planets is an ideal introduction to astronomy and a concise reference for hobbyists of all levels of experience.

Book Description

Paul Ewald's 1916-1917 masterpiece `On the Foundations of Crystal Optics' describes the selfconsistent interaction of electromagnetic waves with crystals on a molecular level. While astonishing in its detailed predictions for X-ray diffraction, full appreciation of the theory and its utility had to await much later advances in measurement techniques and crystal growth. Concepts introduced in the theory, now known as the Ewald sphere, Ewald summation, and Ewald-Oseen extinction, have become mainstays in diverse areas of modern physics. This memorial volume, with contributions by leading figures in the field, is an affectionate survey of his life, scientific work, and role in the international crystallographic community.

Customer Reviews:

Molecular evolution -- about time!.......2000-11-27

Clearly written introduction to modern topics in biological evolution. Phenetics and cladistics are explained and contrasted. The advantages of classification based on molecular methods versus morphological methods are similarly considered. The neutral mutation random drift hypothesis and molecular evolutionary clocks are explained fairly comprehensively, yet at a level suitable for the general reader. The reader is introduced to the basis of molecular techniques, eg, RFLP, PCR, etc. Molecular anthropology, ie, the application of molecular methods to resolve issues of when and where modern humans arose is considered in detail. As well, the new field of obtaining DNA samples from long-dead animal remains is presented.

Molecular research from origins to restorations.......2000-08-31

As the dust raised by the Sociobiology debate is settling, you may wish to catch up on why this issue became so contentious. And why Sociobiology will arise as one of the most original ideas in modern biology. This book is a fine introduction to how the mechanisms of the genes work Lewin's outstanding reputation can only be enhanced by this description of gene analysis and function. He explains many facets of gene research with superb illustrations and sidebar text describing the various analytical techniques molecular biologists use to explain life's diversity and history.

Why are there so many forms of life? Textbooks abound with evolutionary 'trees' purporting to explain how life evolved from simple cells, lacking even a primitive nucleus through the complex creatures around us today. Most of these diagrams are fallacious, burdening our understanding with the idea that evolution is 'progressive'. Lewin's account, laced with more realistic graphics, show that all forms of life that once existed, still do in parallel with our own companions on this planet. This book does a superior job relating how molecular biology has enabled researchers to update the picture of humanity's place in the structure of nature. Lewin builds his picture of the human role slowly and carefully, but at the conclusion, you will find he's performed the task to near perfection. His description of the Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis, for example, leaves you better informed on this idea than any other popular account.

His writing in this account achieves a level rather more elevated than his other books. BONES OF CONTENTION, or his books co-authored with Richard Leakey are definitely easier reading. The level of information here, however, is also far greater than offered in his other books. This book clearly displays his move from New Scientist to Science in its prose. That's not a criticism, but some readers may find this book more daunting than his others. Nevertheless, the information offered here is worthy of any reader's scrutiny. If you want to know what your DNA is up to and how science has figured out how to describe it, this is the book to have.

great book for all.......2000-03-24

I am a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara majoring in molecular biology and interested in evolution from a molecular point of view. Roger Lewin's book is an excellent introduction to how the techniques of molecular biology are being applied to ecology to expand our understanding of evolution. The book addresses several interesting topics and gives a history how some very important procedures for analyzing proteins and DNA (such as amino acid and DNA sequencing, hybridization, RFLPs, restriction enzyme mapping, etc.) are helping to answer many important questions. The book begins with an introduction into why a molecular approach to solving ecological problems was necessary, centering on some of the dead end arguments of strictly using morphology to construct "evolutionary trees". Lewin details how molecular techniques can be powerful and provide great insights into the debate over homology and analogy in ways that were not possible more than perhaps twenty years ago, but he also discusses the limitations of these techniques. The molecular "evolutionary clock" has a whole chapter devoted to the history of its development, and to the ways it's is being used today to shed light on old mysteries where it seemed as though morphology had offered all that it could. Sometimes the results of the molecular tests Lewin describes contrast sharply with what biologists have believed in the past about when species diverged (including man from what are now the great apes) to the taxonomic organization of whole groups of organisms. Over all I think this book is fascinating, informative and a great book for those who want to learn more about the information molecular analysis is providing to aid in our understanding of life on earth. I highly recommend it. I believe this book is appropriate for high school and college as perhaps a very interesting supplement to a textbook.

Book Description

The highly industrialized world we live in depends for its survival and further growth on advanced electronic technologies which place a premium on rapidly improved performance versus size, weight, and cost. Small computers, high-definition TV, digital camcorders, flat-panel displays, and robotic systems are but a few examples of miniatured device technologies which are of critical importance to emerging societal, industrial, defense, and space needs. All of these technologies depend sensitively on the availability of miniature thin film components in array and/or integrated formats. This book provides that first multi-topical coverage of the semiconductor, optical, superconductor, magnetic, and ferroelectric devices and technologies responding to these needs.
This book comprises five topical volumes edited by world authorities in their fields, i.e. semiconductor junction devices, semiconductor optics, superconducting film devices, magnetic film devices, and ferroelectric film devices. Well-known experts were invited to cover recent progress in aspects ranging from deposition and fabrication to device modeling, measurements, and new cutting-edge design approached for improved performance. This multitopic approach effectively demonstrates the broad-based and pervasive character of thin film techniques that impact and control a vast array of device functions that are critical to developments in computer technology, communications, television, defense and space systems, and industrial and consumer products. Readers are provided with both broad critical overviews and research level analysis and technical details.

Key Features
* A comprehensive discussion of the most promising and completely developed of thin film devices which impact the entire field of high-tech components and systems for commercial, defense and space applications
* Edited and written by internationally known, authoritative experts and innovators, familiar with all aspects of research and development in their fields and with current and potential applications
* Presents the reader with informed assessments of all candidate solid state film devices now being optimized for advanced application, e.g., in flat panel displays, solar energy conversion, high-speed and power components, radar technology, infrared imaging , advanced computers, laser sources, and numerous other arenas
* Provides a well-balanced coverage of materials growth and optimization, thin-film device modelling , device fabrication and characterization, and future development directions;These inputs are critically important to both educators, designers, device technologists and manufacturers, and to system engineers
* Furnishes useful insights on processing compatibility, materials and film device stability, interface engineering, cryogenic requirements and operation, lithography and micro-machining, and integrability for sub-systems
* Provides a broad-based view of alternative and/or complimentary film device technologies in a single, well-referenced source
* Ensures complete and detailed overview of solid-state device topics, comprehensive bibliographical information, and expert guidance in advanced and sophisticated areas of device technology and potental applications
* Furnishes invaluable insights on competitive state-of-the-art thin film semiconductor, photonics, superconductor, magnetic and ferroelectric technologies, processing and compatibility,device options, performance potential and prospects for essentially all solid-state film components
* An essential information source and primer for educators , researchers, engineers and technology leaders supplying a wealth of background theoretical and experimental details, as well as guidance for further advanced research and development , thesis topics and high-tech product design
* Identifies key processing, fabrication, design, integration, compatibility problems and solutions involved in successful development of high-performance and stable device and sub-system architectures

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Victim of the Hitler-Stalin Pact

Gentle Account of WWII's First Campaign

Comrades

The most interesting account I've read on this subject.

Lest we forget....

Comrades: Tales of a Brigadista in the Spanish Civil War
Harry Fisher
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War

Mississippi to Madrid: Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Homage to Catalonia

Spain's Cause was Mine: A Memoir of an American Medic in the Spanish War

Heart of Spain: Robert Capa's Photographs of the Spanish Civil War

ASIN: 0803268998

Amazon.com

Harry Fisher, a young labor organizer during the depression years, was one of some 3,000 Americans to join the cause of the loyalist government when civil war broke out in Spain in 1936. Assigned to the Lincoln Battalion, which would later become the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (and, the author notes, the first racially integrated unit in American military history), Fisher fought in several key engagements against the fascists, including the bloody battle of Jarama. He emerged from the war scarred but alive, unlike most of the young Americans who populate the pages of his memoir, nearly all of them killed in action for a cause they knew was right--but also doomed to failure. Anger, Fisher writes, motivated him to assemble his memoirs--anger that, as he puts it, "countless U.S. administrations have treated us like pariahs, President Reagan even commenting once that the Lincolns fought on the wrong side in the Spanish Civil War!" Yet what emerges from his pages is not so much anger as a gentle, and often good-humored, homage to the young men who fought at his side--and even some kind tributes to his former enemies, who, he writes, "were just kids who happened to live in territory controlled by the fascists, kids who would surely have preferred soccer games to war." A highlight comes at the end of the narrative, when Fisher recounts a trip to Spain in 1996 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Lincoln Brigades' founding. His book is a solid contribution to histories of the period, worthy of a place alongside Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

"Powerful."-The Nation. "A simple account, concentrating mainly on the daily hardships and danger faced by individual Brigaders, and the banter and grumbling which were necessary survival tactics in desperate military situations. Every additional memoir of this kind tells us a little more about those who risked their lives in Spain."-Times Literary Supplement. "Fisher's book is important for its acute descriptions of life in the International Brigades, and it surely will capture the attention of its readers."-Choice. "[A] welcome addition to the literature of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade's involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Honest, straightforward, and moving, it shares with us the struggles of an idealist among the shifting politics and brutal realities of an ideological war."-John Sayles. "The Abraham Lincoln Brigade story is beautifully and movingly told."-Lena Horne. "Sheds much-needed light with warmth and passion. A wonderful story. And wonderfully he tells it."-Ossie Davis. Harry Fisher has been a department store worker, a seaman, a labor activist, and an engineer gunner on a B-26. For many years he served as chief of communications for the TASS news agency in New York City.

Customer Reviews:

Victim of the Hitler-Stalin Pact.......2004-09-03

Harry Fisher writes movingly about those men who were among my personal heroes, the 3200 Americans who served in the 15th (Abraham Lincoln) International Brigade that fought Hitlerism as "Pre-Mature Anti-Fascists" in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Nearly all were Communists or Socialists, almost half were Jews, and half of them gave their lives. Another 400 or so lost their lives as members of the United States Armed Forces during World War II.

Harry Fisher tells of his motivation in going to Spain - fighting poverty on the lower East Side of New York, joining the Young Communist League, concerns about Hitler and Fascism. He writes poignantly of friends who never came home, like Butch Entin, whose ambulance was blown up by Fascist airplanes; or of the Stone Brothers - two of whom lost their lives within days of each other. He writes of little human interest stories too - of finding a genuine Jewish restaurant - complete with Gefilte Fish, Chicken Soup, Roast Chicken, in a little apartment on a side street in Barcelona and how good the food was, even though the owners were rumored to be "Trotskyites".

Unfortunately, this is where Fisher loses his moral compass. For Harry Fisher came home and went to work for TASS, the Soviet bureau of Lies and Propaganda. He learned very little from the Hitler-Stalin Pact, or even from the Khruschev revelations of how murderous Uncle Joe Stalin was - or how he hated Jews as much as his friend Schicklgruber. He apparently either remained a Communist (Stalinist) Party member to the end of his days - or at any rate, remained close to the Party.

Fisher also, unfortunately, chose to put one Oliver Law on a pedestal, even though Law, a Black American Communist was regarded by many Lincoln veterans as the most incompetent of the Comintern-chosen American commanders in Spain. Fisher claimed that Law was killed gallantly facing the Fascists; other former Lincoln vets, including William Herrick, whose "Jumping the Line" is the most honest account of an anti-Fascist Lincoln vet ever written, claim that Law was possibly shot by his own men after leading the Lincolns into ambush after ambush.

The literature - and the first hand accounts of Americans who fought Hitlerism in Spain are few and far-between, and Fisher's book, like Herrick's is a valuable resource. Unfortunately for Fisher, while his decision to go and fight Fascism is to be admired, his affiliation with TASS not only leaves much to be desired - but also is an advisement to the reader to take much of the idelogy lurking in the background with a grain of salt.

Read "Jumping The Line". Herrick may not have served in Spain as long as Fisher did, but it is a far more solid - and honest - work.

Gentle Account of WWII's First Campaign.......2002-06-09

Harry Fisher, a young, idealistic labor activist, relates a very personal tale of his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. This period of history ignored by most Americans, was a crucial moment in the history of Western Civilization. Fisher, recognizing the battle between Democracy and the Fascist powers, ignored the wishes of his family and volunteered to fight in Spain, supporting the democratically elected government there against the Nazi supported military rebellion of Franco.

War is hell, but getting to the battlefield was no easy matter. Not only did the United States refuse to aid the Spanish government, it actively sought to block American citizens from opposing the fascists and Hitler's nascent military machine. (this at a time when Henry Ford and Prescott Bush (our "president's" grandpa) were raking money in supplying the Nazis). Fisher finally made it to Spain.

The book relates comradeship, sudden death, misery, deprivation, and the courage that can only come from putting your life on the line for a cause you desperately believe in. Fisher relates anecdotes in a soft, gentle, personable manner.

This book can be compared with Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. Orwell spends more time with political analysis and historical background. His style is less personal, and somewhat harsher. Fisher brings in his family, his hopes, his fears, but leaves the greater political context largely unexplored. Both books are five-star-must-reads.

After reading Comrades, I again had to wonder, "What might have happened if America had acted as a Democracy instead of a Capitalist Oligarchy and officially backed the legitimate Spanish government? Even weapons sales might have enabled the forces of Democracy to prevail ... and taught Hitler and Mussolini that the Democracies would not stand idly by while they attempted to subdue the world.

(If you'd like to discuss this book or review in more detail, click on the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)

Comrades.......2001-04-07

The solidarity the members of the International Brigades showed in their battle against fascism in Spain is outstanding. I am so thankful and respectful that these people even gave their lives trying to ban the fascist danger. The Brigadistas didn't get the honor they deserved when they got back to their country: During the McCarthy area they where denunciated as "prematured Antifascists" and suffered under the treatment of the FBI. Keep the rembemberance alive - never forget their heroic battle! I can also recommend the book of James Yates "Mississippi to Madrid - Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade"

The most interesting account I've read on this subject........2000-10-08

I lived in Spain from 1959 - 1988 and dodged Franco's secret police for eleven years before what I was involved in became legal there. The author speaks with total authority. His account of a return to Spain at the age of 85 brought tears to my eyes. I recommend this book most highly!

Lest we forget...........2000-03-20

This is a fine addition to the body of memoirs already left by other Brigadistas. A great book, recommended for anyone who wants an account of citizens of a democracy confronting fascism years before it became fashionable to do so. What a shame President Reagen didn't read it before making his ignorant remark that the veterans of the International Brigades fought 'on the wrong side'.

Customer Reviews:

IT'S QUITE A TALE.......2000-01-10

THE CONCEPCION; A SPANISH GALLEON SUNK ON THE SILVER SHOALS OFF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLC, FOUND BY BURT WEBER, AND SALVAGED. GOLD, SILVER, WELL WRITTEN, INTERESTING, ONE MAN'S QUEST REALZED, PROBLEMS OVERCOME, GOOD TALE. ALL THE INGREDIENTS.

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"An Intimate View of 19th Century America".......2007-05-20

This marvelous book offers the reqader and the researcher a window into the life of one of our most important political characters in a troubled century. Some historians have offered the thought that we live in a different world from that in which Chase lived. The Journals give us a more personal view than the works in general of a man who served in Ohio and national politics, as an abolitionist leader, as sec'y of the Treasury in Lincoln's cabinet, and as Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.

Amazon.com

Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.

Book Description

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.

By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself.

This updated trade paperback edition of Into Thin Air includes an extensive new postscript that sheds fascinating light on the acrimonious debate that flared between Krakauer and Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev in the wake of the tragedy. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in the postscript, dated August 1999. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I.

In 1999, Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters--a prestigious prize intended "to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment." According to the Academy's citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer. His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."

Download Description

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mount Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has us shaking on the edge of our seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is it about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?

Written with emotional clarity and supported by unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Strange, sad and wonderful.......2007-10-16

Wow. What a book. Into Thin Air is the story of the ill-fated 1996 Mount Everest climbing season, as told by Krakauer, a journalist for Outside magazine, and a seasoned, albeit non-Himalayan, climber. Krakauer lived to summit Everest and return; nine of his fellow climbers did not return. Why did disaster strike with such ferocity? There are a number of perspectives to take. The wisdom of professional climbers taking paying customers up a mountain they otherwise would never come near has to be questioned. One client was literally dragged up the mountain (short-roped) on summit day by a sherpa who was supposed to be setting ropes further up the mountain. Many other smaller non-fatal errors accumulated to create huge problems later in the day. The best decisions on summit day seemed to be made by the non-professional climbers, which made me wonder about the cumulative effects of oxygen deprivation. Over 25,000 feet, the 'death zone', humans lose thousands of brain cells each minute due to lack of oxygen. Maybe the professional guides had been up to the summit one or two times too many. The biggest factor however, appears to have been the mountain itself, and the killer weather which is associated with it. In the end, reading this book teaches you that even with all of the high tech equipment and training, nobody climbs Everest unless the mountain decides to allow it.

Krakauer writes in a clear, entertaining, and comprehensive style. The book never dragged. The author includes enough history -of the mountain, of climbing, and of the personalities on the mountain in 1996- to put 1996's events in a meaningful context. He made me care about these eccentric, some would say self-destructive, people. There is so much in this book. There are heroes, villains, saints, a tiny bit of sex, heartbreak (one client decided to turn around short of the summit and head back to safety only to be talked back into trying for the summit by his team leader, resulting in both of their deaths), horror (good people are shown suffering unbearably, only to die in the end), suspense - and all of it really happened. Some of the events documented are so strange, bizarre and unlikely, that a fiction writer would probably choose to tone them down to make them more believable.

Krakauer is quite deliberate about qualifying his account of the 1996 disaster. As humans we are limited in how much we can take in and process of large, complex events. We forget too quickly, we are selective in what we see and hear - we only experience a fraction of what really is. And yet our minds seem hard-wired to make sense of events which probably do not make sense. Into Thin Air is only a guess as to what really happened on that strange mountain in 1996, even though it was written by a professional journalist who was in the thick of the action. If Krakauer could re-live it all 100 times, each time profiting from previous experience and each time looking at a different angle, perhaps it would all become more understandable. Krakauer of course wouldn't do this. He never wants to go back to Mount Everest.

Reading this book is like having someone dump a handful of cold powdery snow down the back of your shirt. It's a wake-up call of sorts, illustrating what a strange, wonderful, mysterious and terrifying place we live in, and how tentative and fragile is mankind's place and hold over this planet. This is a great book.

Chilling account of an incredible and sad story.......2007-10-15

A friend of mine suggested this book and I am so glad she did, it was so mind-blogging and inspiring and a fantastic pleasure to read. Even if you're not into hiking and have not even the slightest desire to climb the world's tallest mountains, I think you will enjoy reading this true story about persistence and tragedy within the most unbelievable circumstances.

Into Thin Air is about a group of thrill-seekers who hire a guide to hike Mt. Everest in 1996. From page one to the last page, the reader is welcomed along the journey as the author describes every moment of his journey. With vivid detail and heartbreaking truth, the reader feels like he is right there experiencing all that climbing Mt. Everest has to offer, the good and the bad. He describes the people in his group and reports the moment to moment occurrences that lead up to the horrible loss of life. The reader is brought up and down Mt. Everest with a sense of respect and admiration for all who attempted this incredible undertaking. For those that survived and made it home safely, a deep sense of both sorrow and esteem.

It was only after I read this book did I learn about the controversy about this author and I have to say, I think he wrote an incredibly honest and detailed account of what happened from his point of view. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading biographical stories. This was well written from start to finish.

Don't plan anything else.......2007-10-15

You probably won't be able to put down this book until you have finished it, so it's best not to start unless you know you have the time. In typical Krakauer fashion, the author takes you on a wild, emotional, heart-pounding true adventure. For anyone who loves mountains, the outdoors, climbing, or adventure. If you can't climb mountains yourself, this is the next best thing.

Good Writing, Excellent Read.......2007-10-04

The story must be familiar even to those not into mountaineering. This is probably the most well-written account of the events which led up to the catastrophe on Mt Everest on May 1996. Clients from 2 commercial groups were trapped in a storm after making the summit. Jon Krakauer gives a detailed, fast-paced account of the dramatic events that followed. It is definitely in the area of narration skills where Krakauer's book stands above all the other books written by other people on the mountain.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and won't hesitate to give it 5 stars, but I do have a serious problem with the author's attitude. With the benefit of hindsight, he could, of course point out every single mistake that the others made which cost them theirs and other people's lives.

He also can't seem to be able to stop boasting about everything that he did right. I think one of the reasons why he's alive is because he only took care of himself. He would have us think that he was more prudent that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.

Like one reviewer said, I too would never go climbing with this guy. If I ever got into trouble, he's not only going to abandon me but would actually tell the world about what I did wrong.

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Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance

All Fourteen 8,000ers

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

The Trekking Peaks of Nepal

Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue: Reading Glaciers, Team Travel, Crevasse Rescue Techniques, Routefinding, Expedition Skills 2nd Edition

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest

Medicine: For Mountaineering & Other Wilderness Activities 5th Edition

Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (Exercise Physiology ( MC Ardle))

A Great Writer -- Just Don't Ever Go Climbing with Him.......2007-09-21

Krakauer is a superb writer, as evidenced by this compelling read. As a climber, my take-home lesson from this book is that I would never set foot on a mountain with a person as smarmy, self-serving, selfish and self-absorbed as Mr. Krakauer. In my opinion, major portions of this book are nothing more than an after-the-fact and rather flimsy justification for Krakauer's abject moral failure on Everest as a person and as a mountaineer. Krakauer made sure he looked after No. 1 -- himself. He could have helped others who later died and chose not to. He should not have compounded his moral failure on the mountain with the sin of proferring a self-serving account of why he is not such a bad fellow after all. When in the mountains, Krakauer and his ilk are the type to stay away from, and certainly never the type to trust with your life.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

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Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Manufacturer: RH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739343793
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Book Description

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.

Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Into the Wild is available on audio, read by actor Campbell Scott.

INTO THIN AIR; A personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster - May 1996

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INTO THIN AIR; A personal account of the Mt. Everest disaster - May 1996

Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICKTYW

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Into Thin Air A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Krakauer John
Manufacturer: Villard Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCS6MC

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