Was it fate that put Krakauer—at once a crack climber, a seasoned journalist, and a sensitive conscience—on the world's highest mountain during that notorious 1996 season? Unpredictable weather, human folly, and a mind-set committed to client satisfaction killed 12 people on Everest that year, while the whole world watched. Krakauer showed us what it really meant: the traffic jams on the summit ridge; guides bending their own rules to get exhausted clients to the top. He showed us the consequences of disrespect for this formidable goddess, Chomolungma, as the Sherpas call her. And Krakauer is as hard on himself as he is on the rest. Whereas Annapurna is the record of a triumph, Into Thin Air is the postmortem of a debacle—less inspiring, but no less powerful. As the most widely read mountaineering work in recent history, it has profoundly shaped our idea of extreme adventure and who and what it is for.

喬恩•剋拉考爾Jon Krakauer

★ 美國暢銷書作傢、《戶外》雜誌專欄作傢，美國國傢雜誌奬、美國藝術與文學院學院奬獲得者，被譽為“最傑齣的探險類作傢”。

★ 齣版多部暢銷書，其中，《荒野生存》雄踞《紐約時報》暢銷書榜長達兩年，《進入空氣稀薄地帶》英文版銷量過百萬，譯成25種語言在世界各地齣版，被譽為“登山者的聖經”。

★ 從1998年開始，剋拉考爾陸續將著作所得捐贈給Educate the Children等公益機構，截止到2012年，剋拉考爾捐款總額超過170萬美元。