Jon Krakauer

Biographical Information

Jon Krakauer wiki "is the author of Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild , and Into Thin Air , and is editor of the Modern Library Exploration series....

"In May 1996 Krakauer reached the top of Mt. Everest, but during the descent a storm engulfed the peak, taking the lives of four of the five teammates who climbed to the summit with him. An analysis of the calamity that he wrote for Outside magazine received a National Magazine Award. The unsparingly honest book he subsequently wrote about Everest, INTO THIN AIR, became a #1 New York Times bestseller and has been translated into 24 languages. It was also honored as the "Book of the Year" by TIME magazine, one of the "Best Books of the Year" by the New York Times Book Review, a finalist for a 1997 National Book Critics Circle Award, and one of three finalists for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in General Non-Fiction.

"For the past two decades Krakauer's writing has been published in the likes of Outside, GEO, Architectural Digest, Rolling Stone, TIME, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and National Geographic...

"In 1998 Krakauer established the Everest '96 Memorial Fund at the Boulder Community Foundation, endowing it with royalties from INTO THIN AIR. Created as a tribute to his companions lost on Everest, the fund provides humanitarian aid to the indigenous peoples of the Himalaya and supports organizations working to preserve the natural environment throughout the world. Krakauer also serves on the boards of the American Himalayan Foundation and the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation."

He published Three Cups of Deceit (Byliner, 2011) which is a critique of Greg Mortenson.