Jason's Reading (books by Jon Krakauer)

A nice collection of articles written by Krakauer. Some were better than others, of course; I particularly enjoyed “Mark Foo’s Last Ride” and “Gates of the Arctic”. I did miss the extensive context that he typically develops in his books, but that’s just the result of the shorter form.

Krakauer tells this fascinating, sad, and thought-provoking story well. It’s clear that he investigated McCandless’s adventures quite thoroughly, and he puts the young man’s atypical actions into perspective as well as he can. I enjoyed it. …

I’m amazed that people continue attempting to climb Mt. Everest – it sounds very dangerous and terribly painful. I guess it takes a stubborn, somewhat reckless tenacity that I don’t have. It does make for a good (albeit sad) story, though, and Krakauer tells it well. I’m excited to read a few more of his books soon.