Jon Krakauer

PROFILE
Jon Krakauer, journalist, mountaineer, and bestselling nonfiction author, uses a college town in Montana to underscore the national issue of college sexual assault in his latest book, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town (2015). Taking the town as a case study he investigates a series of rape cases that occurred in Missoula over a four-year period, focusing on the victims and the deficiencies of the justice system that is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the reported crimes. The book is particularly relevant to college campuses today as they struggle to address Title IX standards that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, and guidelines issued in 2011 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on how campuses should respond to complaints of sexual assault..

The Los Angeles Times said, “Krakauer’s investigation will succeed in altering the conversation around sexual violence.” The Boston Globe described the book as “Excellent…Krakauer doesn’t just tell the story of these crimes. As he has done so brilliantly in his other books…he sets the story firmly in the context of social history.”

The Missoula Independent praised the book describing it as “A clear and undeniable picture of a broken system … Krakauer’s straightforward writing resists sensationalism…This is a book we all needed.”

Jon Krakauer first received attention for his magazine articles about the outdoors that appeared in publications including Outside, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Smithsonian. Knownfor his insightful chronicles of lives lived “on the edge” and his compelling storytelling Krakauer’s bestselling nonfiction books include Into the Wild (1996), a true story about a young man with a dream to live off the land in the Alaska wilderness, which remained on the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years; Into Thin Air (1997), a personal account of a fateful climb of Mt. Everest, a Time magazine “Book of the Year;” Under the Banner of Heaven (2003), an examination of extremes of religious beliefs; and Where Men Win Glory (2009), about the life and death of Pat Tillman, an NFL professional football player and U.S. Army Ranger.

The New York Times described Into the Wild as “Terrifying...Eloquent...A heart-rending drama of human yearning.” The Washington Post termed it “A narrative of arresting force.”

The New York Times Book Review praised Into Thin Air, the story of a tragic expedition on Mt. Everest, as “a narrative that is both meticulously researched and deftly constructed,” and Newsday called the book “a remarkable work of reportage and self-examination.”

In 1999 Krakauer received an Academy Award (now Arts and Letters Award) in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, intended “to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment.” The Academy’s citation said, “Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer.”

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