Jon Krakauer

Born in Brookline on 12 April 1954, Jon Krakauer is an American mountaineer, journalist and author who studied at Hampshire College. He is known for writing about the outdoors and climbing, both in magazines and in bestselling nonfiction books.

Into the Wild is his most read book, with more than 1.2 million Goodreads ratings. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster grew out of the 1996 Everest expedition he joined, one of the deadliest seasons in the mountain's history. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman were also bestsellers, and Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town and Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains are among his other books. He received the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism.