Spanninganextraordinaryrangeofsubjectsandlocations,thesetengrippingessaysshowwhyJonKrakauerisconsideredastandard-bearerofmodernjournalism.HispiecestakeusfromahorrifyingavalancheonMountEveresttoavolcanopoisedtoobliterateabigchunkofSeattle;fromawildernessteen-therapyprogramrunbyapparentsadiststoanotherworldlycaveinNewMexico,studiedbyNASAtobetterunderstandMars;fromthenotebookofoneFredBeckey,whocataloguedthegreatestunclimbedmountaineeringroutesontheplanet,tothelastdaysoflegendarysurferMarkFoo.BringingtogetherworkoriginallypublishedinsuchmagazinesasTheNewYorker,Outside,andSmithsonian--allrigorouslyresearched,vividlywritten,andmarkedbyanunerringinstinctforstorytellingandscoop--ClassicKrakauerpowerfullydemonstratestheauthor’sambivalentloveaffairwithunrulylandscapesandhisrelentlesssearchfortruth.
