Jon Krakauer

American journalist and author of several non-fiction accounts such as "Into the Wild," "Into Thin Air," and "Under the Banner of Heaven."

Although Krakauer was born in Massachusetts, he spent most of his childhood in Oregon where as an 8-year-old, his father introduced him to mountaineering. After graduation from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, he worked as a carpenter, a salmon fisherman, and a freelance journalist. He spent most of his time in Alaska, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest, climbing mountains whenever he could, and occasionally living alone in the wilderness. In 1990 he produced his first book, "Eiger Dreams," a collection of articles that he had written for publications like Outside and Smithsonian.

In 1996, he published his second book "Into the Wild" about a young man, Chris McCandless, and his fatal adventure in Alaska. "Into Thin Air" is an account of his own May 1996 expedition to climb Mt. Everest. He and his teammates successfuly scaled the peak but a storm encountered on their way down caused the death of four of the five climbers. The book evolved out of an account of the tragedy that he wrote for Outside magazine; the article earned a National Magazine Award. The book became a #1 New York Times bestseller, was translated into more than 20 languages, received critical acclaim from many sources and was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in general non-fiction. His 2003 book, "Under the Banner of Heaven" follows a rogue sect of Mormons and provides a look at religious fundamentalism.

In 1998 Krakauer established the Everest '96 Memorial Fund at the Boulder Community Foundation, endowing it with royalties from "Into Thin Air" In 1999 Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.