Jon Krakauer Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Essays

About Jon Krakauer
Largely writing about travel and nature, the American author Jon Krakauer is well known for his adventurous style and approach. Taking his readers on a journey, he really manages to capture the excitement of what it’s like to be there experiencing it first-hand. Articulating his passion and respect for the great outdoors, he definitely manages to capture that on the page too, fully bringing it to life.

The books themselves really capture a sense of the great outdoors too, bringing their expanse into perspective for the reader. Some of the experiences Krakauer relates are quite intense as well, which is something he excels at when describing. Setting himself apart, his visual and immediate style is something that has hooked readers from all backgrounds, with his arresting approach to the genre.

Mountain-climbing as well, he often writes about his experiences here too, providing readers with a detailed account of what it’s actually like. This comes across on the page extremely well, as he also makes it accessible for the everyday reader too, regardless of where they’re from. Creating a style that is very much his own, he will carry on writing for a long time yet, with a lot more to come still.

Early and Personal Life
Born in 1954 on the 12th of April, Jon Krakauer was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States. With his mother Carol Ann, along with his father Lewis Joseph Krakauer, he was the third of five siblings altogether. From the age of two he would then be raised in Corvallis, Oregon, and at the age of eight his father would then introduce him to mountaineering.

This would lead to him focusing largely on the genre of writing termed as ‘outdoor literature,’ as he’d fast become synonymous with the subgenre. Competing in tennis at Corvallis High School, he would graduate in 1972, and then go on to study at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, receiving his Environmental Studies degree in 1976. Meeting his wife the former mountaineer Linda Mariam Moore in 1980, they would both go on to live in Seattle, and then Boulder, Colorado, where he continues to write to this day.

Writing Career
Publishing his first book in 1990, Jon Krakauer would make his literary debut with the book ‘Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains.’ This would introduce him as a writer of outdoor literature for the first time to the reading public at large, it being a collection of his articles and essay on mountaineering and climbing up to that point. Working as an editor, he would undertake a series of publications, and this is something that he still continues to do. Prior to writing his own books he would work as a journalist for publications such as ‘Outside,’ which he wrote for in 1983.

Over the years his name became synonymous with a certain style of writing and the outdoors, winning awards such as an Arts and Letters award for Literature, which he gained in 1999. Writing a number of books over the years, he’s become a hugely influential name in his own right, including writing the book ‘Into The Wild,’ which was made into a 2007 film starring Sean Penn. With over eight books and counting, he’s a writer who definitely has a lot more to say, with more books set on the horizon.

Into The Wild
Initially released through the ‘Anchor Books’ publishing label, this would first come out in 1996, and would be a stand-alone title. This is a non-fiction story based on a true case, but it’s portrayed intelligently and sensitively, in an empathetic manner. There would also be a film in 2007 adapted from the book directed by Sean Penn, and it would also be well received with a strong critical response.

Set in 1992, Christopher McCandless was a well educated young man from an upper middle-class family attending university, before giving $25,000 in savings and heading off into the wilderness. Abandoning his car along with the money in his pocket and all his possessions, he would head off to make a new life for himself. It was in the Mojave Desert that he left his car in 1991, as he would previously attempt to make a new life heading into the wild. This would all lead to him trying to assume a new identity under the name of ‘Alexander Supertramp,’ being inspired by writers like Jack London.

Based on a true case, it’s a well known story and one that ends in tragedy, but this is understood from the outset. It’s the journey that McCandless undertakes to get there and what he finds along the way, and the many steps that he takes. Looking at his family too, Krakauer examines what this story means overall, and how it effected everyone around him.

Into Thin Air
Going under the subheading of ‘A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster,’ this would be another stand-alone work of non-fiction from Krakauer. Originally published in 1997 on the 1st of May, this would come out not long after his previous book, charting another real-life case. Looking at a disaster that took place the previous year in 1996, this charts what happened on Mount Everest, accounting it in detail.

With a cloud bank looming ominously on the horizon, Jon Krakauer didn’t believe there was any storm coming their way. Set to make their way up Mount Everest, the mountaineer-journalist Jon Krakauer has an expedition planned in the month of May 1996. It soon transpires, though, that a storm is very much headed in their direction, as it claims the lives of five individuals, leaving the rest with guilt. This examines the event in its entirety, looking in detail at the tragedy itself, and how they all coped after heading into thin air.

Giving his first-hand account of what actually happened, this book being written by Krakauer not long after the event itself makes it much more immediate. A fascinating portrayal of an expedition gone wrong, it’s a sensitive depiction of what actually happened and why. Capturing the gravity of the situation, it really is a testament not only to what took place, but Jon Krakauer as a writer who continues to this day.