New Releases by Jon Krakauer

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, this extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities. • Now an acclaimed FX limited series streaming on HULU. “Fantastic.... Right up there with In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song.” —San Francisco Chronicle Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

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.

En 1996 Jon Krakauer partio hacia el Himalaya para escribir un reportaje sobre la creciente explotacion comercial del Everest. Su intencion era analizar los motivos de que tantos alpinistas estuvieran dispuestos a someterse a riesgos hasta hacia poco reservados a los profesionales. Mientras Krakauer empezaba el largo y peligroso descenso tras coronar la cima, otros veinte escaladores de su grupo seguian empenados en alcanzarla sin advertir las nubes que empezaban a cubrir el cielo. Seis horas mas tarde y tres mil metros mas abajo, Krakauer llego a su tienda helado y sufriendo alucinaciones por la falta de oxigeno. Seis de sus companeros no habian regresado. Cinco sucumbieron a la tormenta y a un sexto hubo que amputarle la mano. Con la precision y la intensidad propias del gran reportaje literario, Krakauer desenmarana en Mal de altura las circunstancias que provocaron aquella tragedia y arremete contra la ambicion de los guian, la inexperiencia de los escaladores y la banalizacion del montanismo. Mas alla de la gran polemica que ha desencadenado y que ha obligado al autor a escribir un postfacio de replica, incluido en esta edicion, Mal de altura constituye un apasionante analisis sobre los peligros de la alta montana y la actual masificacion del monte Everest.

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.

Na natureza selvagem, de Jon Krakauer, autor do best-seller No ar rarefeito, traz uma história real. O corpo em decomposição de um jovem é encontrado no Alasca. A polícia descobre que se trata de um rapaz de família rica do Leste americano que largou tudo, se internou sozinho na aridez gelada e morreu de inanição. Quem era o garoto? Por que foi para o Alasca? Por que morreu? Para responder a essas e outras perguntas, Jon Krakauer refaz a trajetória de Chris McCandless, revelando a América dos que vivem à margem, pegando carona ou circulando em carros velhos, vivendo em acampamentos e cidades-fantasmas. Mergulha no mundo da cidadezinha rural, onde homens rudes bebem e conversam sobre o tempo e a colheita. Compara a história do jovem com a de outros aventureiros solitários que tiveram fim trágico. O resultado é uma narrativa envolvente, por vezes amarga, em que os sonhos da juventude se transformam em pesadelo.

I april 1992 begav sig den tjugotreårige amerikanen Christoper McCandless ut i Alaskas vildmark för att ensam vandra runt i naturen - utan mål, och utan att ens ha någon karta med sig. Innan han gav sig av hade han gett sig själv ett nytt namn: Alexander Supertramp. Han hade skänkt bort sina besparingar, övergett sin familj, bränt sin bil och sina kontanter och bestämt sig för att starta ett helt nytt liv. Fyra månader efter att han gett sig av hittades han död av en jägare. Han hade svultit ihjäl. In i vildmarken är Jon Krakauers självlysande, hyllade och nu klassiska skildring av John McCandless liv, längtan och tragiska död, berättad med lika delar nyfikenhet och ömsinthet. JON KRAKAUER, född 1954, är en amerikansk författare och bergsbestigare. Han har bland annat skrivit för tidskrifter som Outside och Rolling Stone. In i vildmarken [1996] var Krakauers stora genombrott som journalist och författare, och har sålt i flera miljoner exemplar. 1997 kom den lika hyllade, självupplevda Tunn luft, som även den blev en mångmiljonsäljare. 2007 blev In i vildmarken film i regi av Sean Penn. »Skrämmande och suggestivt. Ett hjärtskärande drama om mänsklig längtan.« The New York Times »Fängslande och tragisk. Omöjlig att lägga ifrån sig.« San Francisco Chronicle »Det må vara sakprosa, men In i vildmarken är ett mysteriedrama av bästa sort.« Entertainment Weekly »En berättelse med en enastående kraft.« Washington Post