Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer
Krakauer's account of the 1996 Everest disaster in which eight climbers died, including the guides who led him, and his own role in it. It is a study of summit fever, sunk costs, the breakdown of rules under pressure and the way commercial incentives distort judgment at altitude. Honest, haunted and relevant to any high-stakes decision.
Read it if…
you want to understand how competent people make fatal decisions.
Skip it if…
you want an uplifting adventure; it is a tragedy.
Three things you will actually use
- Set the turnaround rule before you are tired and close.
- Sunk costs kill.
- Incentives distort judgment; name yours.
Do this first
Identify your own turnaround time on a current project: the point at which you will stop regardless of how close you are.
Our verdict
Haunting and necessary.
Compare with other Mindset books
The Great Mental Models
Shane Parrish and Rhiannon Beaubien · Mindset
Well-made starter set.
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