Eiger Dreams

No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant hardships and victories more brilliantly than critically acclaimed author Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest work from such magazines as "Outside" and "Smithsonian," he explores the subject from the unique and memorable perspective of one who has battled peaks like K2, Denali, Everest, and, of course, the Eiger. Always with a keen eye, an open heart, and a hunger for the ultimate experience, he gives us unerring portraits of the mountaineering experience. Yet "Eiger Dreams" is more about people than about rock and ice--people with that odd, sometimes maniacal obsession with mountain summits that sets them apart from other men and women. Here we meet Adrian the Romanian, determined to be the first of his countrymen to solo Denali; John Gill, climber not of great mountains but of house-sized boulders so difficult to surmount that even demanding alpine climbs seem easy; and many more compelling and colorful characters. In the most intimate piece, "The Devils Thumb," Krakauer recounts his own near-fatal, ultimately triumphant struggle with solo-madness as he scales Alaska's Devils Thumb. "Eiger Dreams" is stirring, vivid writing about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits.

Author Biography

Jon Krakaueris the author of the best-selling "Into the Wild," "Under the Banner of Heaven," and "Into Thin "Air, and is the editor of the Modern Library Exploration series. His writings have been published in "Outside," "GEO," "Architecture Digest," "Rolling Stone," "TIME," the "Washington Post," the "New York Times," and the "National Geographic."