Jon Krakauer

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This article is about the writer and mountaineer. For the neuroscientist, see John Krakauer.

Jon Krakauer
Krakauer, 2009
Born (1954-04-12) April 12, 1954 (age 70)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materHampshire College (BA)
Occupation(s)Writer, mountaineer
Spouse
Linda Mariam Moore
​
(m. 1980)​
Writing career
Period1990–present
SubjectOutdoor literature

Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman—as well as numerous magazine articles. He was a member of an ill-fated expedition to summit Mount Everest in 1996
, one of the deadliest disasters in the history of climbing Everest.

Early life

Krakauer was born in

Seattle, Washington, but moved to Boulder, Colorado, after the release of Krakauer's book Into Thin Air.[4]

Mountaineering

After graduating from college in 1977, Krakauer spent three weeks alone in the wilderness of the Stikine Icecap region of Alaska and climbed a new route on the Devils Thumb, an experience he described in Eiger Dreams and in Into the Wild.[5][3]: 135–153  In 1992, he made his way to Cerro Torre in the Andes of Patagonia—a sheer granite peak considered to be one of the most difficult technical climbs in the world.[6]

In 1996, Krakauer took part in a guided ascent of Mount Everest. His group was one of those caught in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which a violent storm trapped a number of climbers high on the slopes of the mountain. Krakauer reached the peak and returned to camp, but four of his teammates (including group leader Rob Hall) died while making their descent in the storm.[7]

A candid recollection of the event was published in

2014 Mount Everest avalanche, and the 2015 earthquake avalanche disaster in which twenty-two people were killed. Krakauer has publicly criticized the commercialization of Mount Everest.[8]

Journalism

Krakauer in 2009

Much of Krakauer's popularity as a writer came from his work as a journalist for Outside. In November 1983, he was able to give up his part-time work as a fisherman and carpenter to become a full-time writer. In addition to his work on

National Geographic Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Smithsonian. Krakauer's 1992 book Eiger Dreams
collects some of his articles written between 1982 and 1989.

On assignment for Outside, Krakauer wrote an article focusing on two parties during his ascent of Mt. Everest: the one he was in, led by Rob Hall, and the one led by Scott Fischer, both of whom successfully guided clients to the summit but experienced severe difficulty during the descent. The storm, and, in his estimation, irresponsible choices by guides of both parties, led to a number of deaths, including both head guides. Krakauer felt the short account did not accurately cover the event, and clarified his initial statements—especially those regarding the death of Andy Harris—in Into Thin Air, which also includes extensive interviews with fellow survivors.

In 1999, he received an Arts and Letters award for Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.[9]

Books

Eiger Dreams

rock climbers Krakauer has met on his trips, such as John Gill
.

Into the Wild

Christopher McCandless, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family who, in 1990, after graduating from Emory University, donated all of the money ($24,000) in his bank account to the humanitarian charity Oxfam, renamed himself "Alexander Supertramp", and began a journey in the American West. McCandless' remains were found in September 1992; he had died of starvation in Alaska on the Stampede Trail at 63°52′5.96″N 149°46′8.39″W / 63.8683222°N 149.7689972°W / 63.8683222; -149.7689972. In the book, Krakauer draws parallels between McCandless' experiences and his own, and the experiences of other adventurers. Into The Wild was adapted into a film of the same name
, which was released on September 21, 2007.

Into Thin Air

In 1997, Krakauer expanded his September 1996 Outside article into Into Thin Air. The book describes the climbing parties' experiences and the general state of Everest mountaineering at the time. Hired as a journalist by the magazine, Krakauer had participated as a client of the 1996 Everest climbing team led by Rob Hall—the team which ended up suffering the greatest casualties in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.

The book reached the top of

bestseller list, was honored as "Book of the Year" by Time magazine, and was among three books considered for the General Non-Fiction Pulitzer Prize in 1998. The American Academy of Arts and Letters
gave Krakauer an Academy Award in Literature in 1999 for his work, commenting that the writer "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."

Krakauer has contributed royalties from this book to the Everest '96 Memorial Fund at the Boulder Community Foundation, which he founded as a tribute to his deceased climbing partners.

In a

Michael Kelly. Krakauer denounced the movie, saying some of its details were fabricated and defamatory. He also expressed regret regarding Sony's rapid acquisition of the rights to the book. Director Baltasar Kormákur responded, claiming Krakauer's first-person account was not used as source material for the film, and alleged that his version of events conflicted with the plot.[11]

In the book, Krakauer noted that Russian-Kazakhstani guide Anatoli Boukreev, Scott Fischer's top guide on the expedition, ascended the summit without supplemental oxygen, "which didn't seem to be in [the] clients' best interest".[12] He also wrote that Boukreev descended from the summit several hours ahead of his clients, and that this was "extremely unorthodox behavior for a guide".[13] He noted however that, once he had descended to the top camp, Boukreev was heroic in his tireless attempts to rescue the missing climbers. Five months after Into Thin Air was published, Boukreev gave his own account of the Everest disaster in the book The Climb, co-written with G. Weston DeWalt.

Differences centered on what experienced mountaineers thought about the facts of Boukreev's performance. As

Annapurna.[16]

Under the Banner of Heaven

In 2003,

Latter Day Saints religion throughout its history. Much of the focus of the book is on the Lafferty brothers, who murdered Erica and Brenda Lafferty on July 24, 1984 in the name of their fundamentalist faith.[17]

In 2006, Tom Elliott and Pawel Gula produced a documentary inspired by the book, Damned to Heaven.

Mike Otterson, Director of Media Relations for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), told the Associated Press, "This book is not history, and Krakauer is no historian. He is a storyteller who cuts corners to make the story sound good. His basic thesis appears to be that people who are religious are irrational, and that irrational people do strange things."[18]

In response, Krakauer criticized the LDS Church hierarchy, citing the opinion of D. Michael Quinn, a historian who was excommunicated in 1993, who wrote that "The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials." Krakauer wrote, "I happen to share Dr. Quinn's perspective".[19]

In April 2022, a limited series of Under the Banner of Heaven was released by Hulu starring Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones.[20]

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

In the October 25, 2007, season premiere of

Sundance Channel, Krakauer mentioned being deeply embroiled in the writing of a new book, but did not reveal the title, subject, or expected date of completion. Doubleday Publishing originally planned to release the book in the fall of 2008, but postponed the launch in June of that year, announcing that Krakauer was "unhappy with the manuscript."[21]

The book,

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, was released by Doubleday on September 15, 2009. It draws on the journals and letters of Pat Tillman, an NFL professional football player and U.S. Army Ranger whose death in Afghanistan made him a symbol of American sacrifice and heroism, though it also became a subject of controversy because of the U.S. Army's cover-up of the fact that Tillman died by friendly fire
. The book draws on the journals and letters of Tillman, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and research Krakauer performed in Afghanistan. It also serves in part as a historical narrative, providing a general history of the civil wars in Afghanistan.

Writing about the book in the New York Times Book Review, Dexter Filkins said that "too many of the details of Tillman’s life recounted here are mostly banal and inconsequential," but also stated, concerning Tillman's death, "While most of the facts have been reported before, Krakauer performs a valuable service by bringing them all together—particularly those about the cover-up. The details, even five years later, are nauseating to read."[22] In his review in the Los Angeles Times, Dan Neil wrote that the book is "a beautiful bit of reporting" and "the definitive version of events surrounding Tillman's death.".[23]

Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way

Three Cups of Deceit is a 2011 e-book that made claims of mismanagement and accounting fraud by Greg Mortenson, a humanitarian who built schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan; and his charity, the Central Asia Institute (CAI). It was later released in paperback by Anchor Books.

The book—and a related 60 Minutes interview broadcast the day before the book's release—were controversial. Some CAI donors filed a class-action lawsuit against Mortenson for having allegedly defrauded them with false claims in his books.[24] The suit was eventually rejected.[24] In December 2011, CAI produced a comprehensive list of projects completed over a period of years and projects CAI is currently working on.[25]

Mortenson and CAI were investigated by the

Montana attorney general,[26] who determined that they had made financial "missteps", and the Attorney General reached a settlement for restitution from Mortenson to CAI in excess of $1 million.[27][28]

The 2016 documentary 3000 Cups of Tea by Jennifer Jordan and Jeff Rhoads claims that the accusations against Mortenson put forward by 60 Minutes and Jon Krakauer are largely untrue. Jordan said in 2014: "We are still investigating this story. So far, our findings are indicating that the majority of the allegations are grossly misrepresented to make him appear in the worst possible light, or are outright false. Yes, Greg is a bad manager and accountant, and he is the first to admit that, but he is also a tireless humanitarian with a crucially important mission."[29][30]

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (2015) explores how rape is handled by colleges and the criminal justice system. The book follows several case studies of women raped in Missoula, Montana, many of them linked in some way to the University of Montana. Krakauer attempts to illuminate why many victims do not want to report their rapes to the police, and he criticizes the justice system for giving the benefit of the doubt to assailants but not to victims. Krakauer was inspired[31] to write the book when a friend of his, a young woman, revealed to him that she had been raped.

Emily Bazelon, writing for the New York Times Book Review, gave the book a lukewarm review, criticizing it for not fully exploring its characters or appreciating the difficulty colleges face in handling and trying to prevent sexual assault.[31] "Instead of delving deeply into questions of fairness as universities try to fulfill a recent government mandate to conduct their own investigations and hearings—apart from the police and the courts—Krakauer settles for bromides," Bazelon wrote. "University procedures should 'swiftly identify student offenders and prevent them from reoffending, while simultaneously safeguarding the rights of the accused,' he writes, asserting that this 'will be difficult, but it's not rocket science.'"

As editor

As of 2004, Krakauer edits the Exploration series of the Modern Library.[32]

Selected bibliography

References

  1. ^ Marshall, John (July 27, 2003). "Two powerful experiences changed the focus of Krakauer's book". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  2. ^ "Maxwell Institute". Maxwellinstitute.byu.edu. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0385486804
    .
  4. ^ "Krakauer's Conspicuous Silence". seattleweekly.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  5. ISBN 0-930410-83-1
    .
  6. ^ Raleigh, Duane (March 25, 2022). "Jon Krakauer, Climbing's Best-Known Author". Climbing. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  7. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  8. ^ Krakauer, Jon (April 21, 2014). "Death and Anger on Everest". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  9. ^ "Awards – American Academy of Arts and Letters". artsandletters.org. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Hopewell, John (August 6, 2013). "'2 Guns' Helmer Kormakur Set to Climb 'Everest'". variety.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  11. ^ "'Into Thin Air' author Jon Krakauer is not a fan of 'Everest'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  12. ^ Krakauer, Jon. Into the Air. Anchor Books, 1999 paperback edition. p. 187.
  13. ^ Krakauer, Jon. Into the Air. Anchor Books, 1999 paperback edition. p. 218.
  14. ^ DeWalt p.267
  15. ^ Rowell, Galen (May 29, 1997). "Climbing to Disaster". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  16. ^ Author's postscript, 1999 edition of Into Thin Air.
  17. ^ "1984 Lafferty case still haunts". July 27, 2004. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Church Response to Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven". Newsroom. Intellectual Reserve. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  19. ^ Krakauer, Jon (July 3, 2003). "A Response from the Author". Archived from the original on August 19, 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2006.
  20. ^ Creahan, Danica (April 21, 2022). "How to Watch 'Under the Banner of Heaven' Starring Andrew Garfield". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  21. ^ "News Briefs". Publishers' Weekly. Vol. 255, no. 26. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  22. ^ Dexter Filkins (September 8, 2009). "The Good Soldier". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  23. ^ Dan Neil (September 11, 2009). "'Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman' by Jon Krakauer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Kellogg, Carolyn (October 11, 2013). "Fraud suit against Greg Mortenson's '3 Cups of Tea' rejected – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  25. ^ "Comprehensive list of CAI projects past and present" (PDF). ikat.org. December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2011.
  26. Alex Heard (February 12, 2012). "The Trials of Greg Mortenson". Outside. Archived
    from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012. Mortenson still isn't talking. But the case is heating up, with important developments in the lawsuit and hints that the A.G.'s probe could go badly for CAI.
  27. ^ "Montana Attorney General's Investigative Report of Greg Mortenson and Central Asia Institute" (PDF). Doj.mt.gov. April 5, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014. We entered into a settlement agreement with Mortenson and CAI which guarantees in excess of $1 million in restitution from Mortenson for his past financial transgressions
  28. ^ "Central Asia Institute " October 9, 2013: Federal appeals court affirms dismissal of case against CAI and Mortenson". Ikat.org. October 9, 2013. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  29. ^ Jennifer Jordan. "About the Film". 3000 Cups of Tea. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  30. ^ "Greg Mortenson's Saga Not Over Yet: ExWeb Interview with "3000 Cups of Tea" Producers". ExplorersWeb. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  31. ^ a b "Jon Krakauer's 'Missoula,' About Rape in a College Town". New York Times. May 3, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  32. ^ "Jon Krakauer". Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

Sources

External links

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