"Into Thin Air" (1996) from the author of this article is one of the greatest books I've ever read; I highly recommend it for its great storytelling and its description of the Everest microsociety.
"The Climb"[0] is a must if you read this, since "Into Thin Air" has some thin air in places, especially putting blame on the guide from the other team.
I much prefer "Abstieg zum Erfolg", "Bergsüchtig" (Hans Kammerlander) and "Der nackte Berg: Nanga Parbat" (Reinhold Messner). They explain very well what you have to go through and what they did to climb in alpine style. Though, they're in German and I don't think there is an English translation form them. (Looks like Messner has some in English like "All Fourteen 8,000ers")
Krakauer's books "Eiger Dreams" and "Into The Wild" (the latter also a good movie) are worth a read as well. And I've listened several times to his audiobook versions of all three.
More than anyone else I've read, he captures the compulsion and the self-doubt of people compelled to pursue such ventures. My highest "climb" is Mt. Shasta, which is nothing in comparison to anything he's done. But I so understand that urge to go and get into the wilderness. It's a compulsion for some, and he documents it, and the vulnerabilities it implies, so very well.
