New Releases by Jon Krakauer

El 24 de julio de 1984, Allen Lafferty, un mormón practicante, se encontró con una escena terrible: su mujer y su hija de quince meses habían sido brutalmente asesinadas. Allen no tenía ninguna duda de la identidad de los culpables: sus hermanos, Ron y Dan Lafferty, dos fanáticos convencidos de que su acto obedecía a un mandato divino. Este clásico del true crime, escrito por uno de los maestros indiscutibles de la no ficción narrativa y que acaba de ser adaptada para la televisión, nos sitúa en un tiempo y unos personajes más propios del medievo que del corazón mismo de Estados Unidos. A la luz de la terrible historia de los fanáticos hermanos Lafferty y del relato del violento pasado del movimiento mormón, Krakauer ofrece un brillante y fascinante relato sobre las teocracias de la América profunda en los que la poligamia, el mesianismo y la violencia salvaje campan a sus anchas. Si las historias que Krakauer narró en Mal de altura o Hacia rutas salvajes eran ejemplos de vidas llevadas a los límites más extremos de la aventura física, este libro es también un viaje hacia una interpretación muy extrema de la fe religiosa, así como un documento fundamental sobre uno de los aspectos más misteriosos de la naturaleza humana, el factor religioso y su interpretación.

¿Por qué arriesgar la vida por subir una montaña? Jon Krakauer —periodista, escritor y escalador— se plantea esa pregunta desde el filo mismo del abismo. En estas doce historias, escritas con una tensión narrativa que corta la respiración, seguimos a hombres y mujeres que buscan sentido en la altura. De la mítica pared norte del Eiger a los glaciares de Alaska, del Himalaya a las Montañas Rocosas, Krakauer traza un mapa de la obsesión por escalar: esa mezcla de belleza, locura y lucidez que empuja a subir cuando todo invita a quedarse abajo. Con una prosa afilada y profundamente humana, La maldita obsesión de subir montañas es una meditación sobre los límites —físicos, mentales y morales— y sobre la delgada línea que separa la aventura de la insensatez.

Jon Krakauer ha seleccionado 8 artículos y 2 ensayos que narran desde una terrible avalancha en el Everest hasta cómo un volcán está punto de destruir una gran parte de Seattle; desde un programa de terapia para adolescentes en la naturaleza dirigido por unos aparentemente sádicos personajes hasta una cueva de otro mundo en Nuevo México, estudiada por la NASA para comprender mejor a Marte; desde el cuaderno de Fred Beckey, que catalogó las mejores rutas de montañismo sin escalar del planeta, hasta los últimos días del legendario surfista Mark Foo. La fuerza y calidad de estas 10 historias muestran la intensidad periodística y literaria de uno de los escritores abanderados del periodismo contemporáneo. Sus narraciones reflexivas transportan al lector a situaciones límite, a través de personajes reales que viven entre el reto y el riesgo, y lo hace a través de un estilo gráfico cargado de dramatismo que refleja, en ocasiones, una trágica realidad.

"Dans le comté d''Utah, presque tout le monde a entendu parler des fils Lafferty en raison des meurtres atroces." Utah. Une petite ville plantée dans le sillage de Salt Lake City, le fief de l''Église mormone. Le 24 juillet 1984, Allen Lafferty, mormon pratiquant, rentre chez lui après sa journée de travail, dans la maison qu''il habite avec sa jeune épouse et leur bébé de quinze mois. Quand il pousse la porte, l''horreur l''attend : Brenda et sa petite fille ont été sauvagement égorgées. En un instant, Allen est convaincu qu''il connaît les coupables. Et pour cause, ce sont ses frères. À la barre des mois plus tard, Ron et Dan Lafferty ne nieront pas les faits. Pas plus qu''ils n''exprimeront le moindre remords. Les deux Lafferty sont des prophètes, Dieu parle à travers eux, il leur chuchote ses ordres. Pour eux, l''État n''existe pas. L''école ? Une machination. La médecine ? Un charlatanisme. Ron et Dan Lafferty ont quitté le giron des mormons pour embrasser une foi chrétienne radicale, dont l''un des piliers n''est autre que la polygamie. Et Brenda Lafferty avait commis l''erreur d''y être opposée... Revenant sur les grandes heures de la fondation de la religion mormone et l''épineux dossier des sectes transfuges qu''elle a fait naître dans ses rangs, le maître de la narrative non fiction interroge les ressorts du fanatisme religieux et exhume l''une des affaires criminelles les plus retentissantes de l''histoire américaine des dernières décennies.

A maior tragédia já ocorrida no teto do mundo, contada por um de seus sobreviventes. "Mais tarde - depois que foram localizados seis corpos, depois que a busca de outros dois foi abandonada, depois que os médicos amputaram a mão direita de Beck Weathers meu companheiro de equipe - as pessoas se perguntariam por que motivo, se o tempo começara a piorar, os alpinistas não haviam prestado atenção aos sinais. Por que os veteranos guias do Himalaia continuaram subindo e conduzindo um bando de amadores relativamente inexperientes - que pagaram até 65 mil dólares para chegar em segurança ao Everest - rumo a uma evidente armadilha mortal?"

Una tragedia del nostro tempo raccontata dall''autore di Nelle terre estreme. Il libro che ha ispirato il film Everest (2015) presentato alla 72ª Mostra internazionale d''arte cinematografica di Venezia. L’Everest o Dea del Cielo è sempre stato oggetto di fascinazione, ossessione e desiderio sia per gli alpinisti sia per i sognatori. Ormai, se si ha il denaro necessario, è alla portata di tutti. Basta prenotarsi in una delle poche agenzie turistiche specializzate in emozioni estreme e firmare l’assegno. Quando nel maggio del 1996 Krakauer fu inviato dalla prestigiosa rivista Outside a partecipare a una spedizione sull’Everest per scrivere un articolo sulla proliferazione delle scalate a pagamento condotte da guide professioniste, sembrò il logico coronamento di una carriera che era riuscita a combinare le sue due passioni: l’alpinismo e la scrittura. Il 10 maggio, però, una tempesta colse di sorpresa le quattro spedizioni che si trovavano sulla cima. Alla fine della giornata nove alpinisti erano morti, incluse due delle migliori guide. Krakauer è tra i fortunati che sono riusciti a ridiscendere «la Montagna». Aria sottile è molto più che la cronaca di quella tragedia; oltre ad offrire un punto di vista privilegiato – quello della prima persona – su una vicenda che a oltre vent’anni di distanza fa ancora discutere, offre soprattutto un esame provocatorio delle motivazioni che stanno dietro alle ascensioni ad alta quota e una drammatica testimonianza del perché quella tragedia si poteva evitare. Krakauer descrive in modo indimenticabile la fatica di esistere e ancor più di muoversi a 8000 metri. È un acuto esaminatore dell’ascetismo masochistico che spinge gli alpinisti; sa che per voler salire sull’Everest bisogna avere una buona dose di follia. La sua storia contiene quella che deve essere l’essenza dell’inferno: l’infinita capacità delle cose di divenire peggiori di quello che temi. Grazie alla sua straordinaria capacità narrativa che rende vivido il racconto di ogni passo sulla montagna e alla feroce critica delle decisioni prese lassù quel 10 maggio, Krakauer ha scritto un bestseller che è diventato ormai il classico indiscusso della letteratura di montagna.

Spanning an extraordinary range of subjects and locations, these ten gripping essays show why Jon Krakauer is considered a standard-bearer of modern journalism. His pieces take us from a horrifying avalanche on Mount Everest to a volcano poised to obliterate a big chunk of Seattle; from a wilderness teen-therapy program run by apparent sadists to an otherworldly cave in New Mexico, studied by NASA to better understand Mars; from the notebook of one Fred Beckey, who catalogued the greatest unclimbed mountaineering routes on the planet, to the last days of legendary surfer Mark Foo. Bringing together work originally published in such magazines as The New Yorker, Outside, and Smithsonian—all rigorously researched, vividly written, and marked by an unerring instinct for storytelling and scoop—Classic Krakauer powerfully demonstrates the author’s ambivalent love affair with unruly landscapes and his relentless search for truth.

Here is Jon Krakauer’s portrait of the iconoclastic architect Christopher Alexander, whose revolutionary human-centered approach has shaken the foundations of modern architecture. Krakauer delves into Alexander’s life and career, from his theories on a timeless “pattern language” that could be used to create buildings and towns that were simultaneously more livable and more beautiful, to his belief that architecture is correctly viewed as a powerful social instrument; from his on-site drafting techniques to his design process that, like a cocoon, shapes a building from the inside out. With trademark rigor, nuance, and insight, Krakauer powerfully draws us into Alexander’s singular vision of human-centered design—one in which people reclaim control over their built environment.

Célèbre pour son campus universitaire et surtout pour son équipe de football – les Grizzlis –, l''université de Missoula est secouée par plusieurs affaires de viols commis entre 2010 et 2012 par des étudiants. À partir de ce scandale retentissant, Jon Krakaueur brosse le tableau d''une Amérique où le viol est le crime le plus fréquent – même si près de 80% des victimes ne portent jamais plainte. Comment expliquer ce phénomène ? Peut-on dresser un portrait type du violeur ? Quelles sont les répercussions d''un tel traumatisme pour la victime ? Comment la société et la justice réagissent-elles ? C''est à toutes ces questions que Jon Krakauer entend répondre.

Quince años despues del inicio de la guerra de Afganistán, el nombre de Pat Tillman todavía se recuerda como símbolo del gran sacrificio que Estados Unidos pidió a toda una generación en la que ya es la misión militar más larga de su historia. Tillman había renunciado a un contrato millonario con la Liga de Fútbol Americano (NFL) para alistarse en el Ejército, tras el fuerte impacto que tuvieron sobre él los atentados del 11 de septiembre de 2001. Pero dos años más tarde fue abatido en una misión en el sureste de Afganistán, y la Casa Blanca y el Pentágono emplearon su sacrificio para ennoblecer la guerra y sus motivos. Sin embargo, pronto se descubriría que a Tillman no lo mataron los talibanes, sino el "fuego amigo", y que el Ejército conspiró para ocultar esas circunstancias. A través de los diarios y cartas de Tillman, entrevistas con su esposa y amigos, conversaciones con los soldados que sirvieron junto a él y una amplia investigación, Krakauer expone los acontecimientos y acciones que llevaron a su muerte. Tillman era ateo, recelaba de Bush y vivió como un calvario personal su primera misión en Iraq. Como muchos estadounidenses, veía aquella guerra innecesaria, un capricho de la administración Bush. Se negó a dar entrevistas y no quería ser representante de ninguna generación, sólo quería luchar por su patria, como uno más.

Le 10 mai 1996, le Toit du monde fut le théâtre d''une véritable hécatombe. En route vers le sommet, quatre expéditions furent prises dans une violente tempête. En vingt-quatre heures, huit alpinistes, dont deux guides réputés, trouvèrent la mort. Envoyé spécial du magazine américain Outside, Jon Krakauer fait partie des survivants. Tragédie à l''Everest, son récit de ce drame, est un livre lucide et courageux qui passionnera tous les amoureux de récits d''aventures vécues, amateurs de montagne ou non, comme il a fasciné des millions de lecteurs américains. Un classique du genre.

Greg Mortenson, the bestselling author of Three Cups of Tea, is a man who has built a global reputation as a selfless humanitarian and children’s crusader, and he’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. But, as bestselling author Jon Krakauer demonstrates in this extensively researched and penetrating book, he is not all that he appears to be. Based on wide-ranging interviews with former employees, board members, and others who have intimate knowledge of Mortenson and his charity, the Central Asia Institute, Three Cups of Deceit uncovers multiple layers of deception behind Mortenson’s public image. Was his crusade really inspired by a desire to repay the kindness of villagers who nursed him back to health when he became lost on his descent down K2? Was he abducted and held for eight days by the Taliban? Has his charity built all of the schools that he has claimed? This book is a passionately argued plea for the truth, and a tragic tale of good intentions gone very wrong. 100% of Jon Krakauer’s proceeds from the sale of Three Cups of Deceit will be donated to the “Stop Girl Trafficking” project at the American Himalayan Foundation (www.himalayan-foundation.org/live/project/stopgirltrafficking).

Quan Jon Krakauer va arribar al cim de l''Everest a primera hora de la tarda del 10 de maig de 1996, feia cinquanta-set hores que no dormia i arrossegava els efectes de la manca d''oxigen. I quan va iniciar el descens, a 8.848 metres d''altitud, una vintena de companys encara s''esforçaven per fer el cim, sense adonar-se que el cel s''havia començat a ennuvolar. Els membres d''aquella expedició comercial havien pagat una fortuna per coronar l''Everest, i alguns, posseïts per la febre del cim, ho van pagar també amb la vida.

Irrepressible individualist and iconoclast Pat Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract in May 2002 to enlist in the United States Army. Deeply troubled by 9/11, he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in Afghanistan. Though obvious to most on the scene that a ranger in Tillman''s own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman''s family and the American public for five weeks following his death, while President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman''s name to promote his administration''s foreign policy. Biographer Krakauer draws on his journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research in Afghanistan to render this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death.--From U.S. publisher description.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. This is the unforgettable story of how Christopher Johnson McCandless came to die. "It may be nonfiction, but Into the Wild is a mystery of the highest order." —Entertainment Weekly McCandess had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Not long after, he was dead. Into the Wild is the mesmerizing, heartbreaking tale of an enigmatic young man who goes missing in the wild and whose story captured the world’s attention. Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and, unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild. Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled McCandless. When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity, and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding—and not an ounce of sentimentality. Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A "gripping book about this extraordinary man who lived passionately and died unnecessarily" (USA Today) in post-9/11 Afghanistan, from the bestselling author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air. In 2002, Pat Tillman walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army and became an icon of American patriotism. When he was killed in Afghanistan two years later, a legend was born. But the real Pat Tillman was much more remarkable, and considerably more complicated than the public knew. Sent first to Iraq—a war he would openly declare was “illegal as hell” —and eventually to Afghanistan, Tillman was driven by emotionally charged, sometimes contradictory notions of duty, honor, justice, and masculine pride, and he was determined to serve his entire three-year commitment. But on April 22, 2004, his life would end in a barrage of bullets fired by his fellow soldiers. Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman’s own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman’s family and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush used Tillman’s name to promote his administration’ s foreign policy. Long after Tillman’s nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had “probably” been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible. Drawing on Tillman’s journals and letters and countless interviews with those who knew him and extensive research in Afghanistan, Jon Krakauer chronicles Tillman’s riveting, tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer’s storytelling, Where Men Win Glory exposes shattering truths about men and war. This edition has been updated to reflect new developments and includes new material obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

本书作者奔走于美国西部,走访与他的旅途曾有交集的人,并毫无保留地讲述自己年轻时的“魔指”峰冒险经历,以及使他醉心户外探险的家庭、心理因素,试图解开这个“阿拉斯加之谜”。

Traces the 1984 murder of a woman and her child by fundamentalist Mormons, exploring the belief systems and traditions that mark the faith's most extreme factions and what their practices reflect about the nature of religion in America.

Ausgehend von einem Mord an Mutter und Tochter, den die Täter im Namen Gottes verübten, zeigt der Autor, wie weit religiöser Fanatismus in den USA gehen kann und welche Gründe dafür zu nennen sind.

Je t'aime. Dors bien, ma chérie. Je t'en prie, ne te fais pas trop de souci. Telles furent les dernières paroles adressées à sa femme, en Nouvelle-Zélande, par Rob Hall, l'un des guides himalayens les plus expérimentés, depuis le sommet de l'Everest. Il ne devait pas en redescendre vivant. Le 10 mai 1996, le Toit du monde fut le théâtre d'une véritable hécatombe. En route vers le sommet, quatre expéditions furent prises dans une violente tempête. En vingt-quatre heures, huit alpinistes, dont deux guides réputés, trouvèrent la mort. Envoyé spécial du magazine américain Outside, Jon Krakauer faisait partie des survivants. Salué par le magazine Time comme le meilleur document de l'année 1997, ce livre lucide et courageux passionnera tous les amoureux de récits d'aventures vécues, amateurs de montagne ou non, comme il a fasciné des centaines de milliers de lecteurs américains qui en ont d'ores et déjà fait un classique.

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning, he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were desperately struggling for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated. Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into the Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. A rangy, thirty-five-year-old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and had led thirty-nine climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996. Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement. Into the Wild is available on audio, read by actor Campbell Scott.

No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb. In Pakistan, the fearsome K2 kills thirteen of the world's most experienced mountain climbers in one horrific summer. In Valdez, Alaska, two men scale a frozen waterfall over a four-hundred-foot drop. In France, a hip international crowd of rock climbers, bungee jumpers, and paragliders figure out new ways to risk their lives on the towering peaks of Mont Blanc. Why do they do it? How do they do it? In this extraordinary book, Krakauer presents an unusual fraternity of daredevils, athletes, and misfits stretching the limits of the possible. From the paranoid confines of a snowbound tent, to the thunderous, suffocating terror of a white-out on Mount McKinley, Eiger Dreams spins tales of driven lives, sudden deaths, and incredible victories. This is a stirring, vivid book about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits.

En 1992, le cadavre d''un jeune homme est découvert dans un bus abandonné en Alaska, au pied du mont McKinley, loin de tout lieu habité. Fils de bonne famille, Chris McCandless aurait dû en toute logique devenir un Américain bien tranquille, cadre supérieur à l''avenir sans surprise, avec femme et enfants souriants et bien nourris. Intelligent, doué pour les études, il décide pourtant, dès l''obtention de son diplôme universitaire, de partir sur les routes, à l''aventure. Après avoir fait don de ses économies à une œuvre humanitaire, il entame son périple sous un nom d''emprunt avec sa vieille voiture qu''il abandonnera un peu plus tard. Il sillonne le sud des Etats-Unis, subsistant grâce à de menus travaux, et réalise enfin son grand projet: s''installer pour quelque temps au cœur de l''Alaska, seul, en communion avec la nature. Mais il n''est ni trappeur, ni homme des bois. Quand après plusieurs mois il veut rejoindre la civilisation, il en est empêché par une rivière en crue qui lui barre le passage. Son corps décharné sera retrouvé par des randonneurs quelques semaines plus tard. Ce parcours dramatique d''un jeune homme qui a voulu vivre jusqu''au bout son impossible idéal est retracé avec minutie par Jon Krakauer, un brillant écrivain-journaliste américain d''autant plus passionné par ce fait divers hors du commun qu''il retrouve en Chris McCandless les difficultés et les aspirations de sa propre jeunesse. Le récit de cette existence trop brève mais pleinement vécue est d''ores et déjà considéré comme un livre-culte, aux Etats-Unis bien sûr, mais également dans les neuf pays du monde où il a été publié, du Japon à l''Espagne en passant par la Chine et l''Italie.