Jon Krakauer is a mountaineer and the author of�Eiger Dreams,�Into the Wild, (which was on the�New York Times�bestseller list for over a year and was made into a film starring Emile Hirsch and Kristen Stewart)�Into Thin Air,�Iceland,�Under the Banner of Heaven�and�Where Men Win Glory. He is also the editor of the Modern Library Exploration series. He has received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. According to the award citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer."
Jon Krakauer's�Into the Wild�examines true story of Chris McCandless, a young man, who in 1992 walked deep into the Alaskan wilderness and whose SOS note and emaciated corpse were found four months later, internationally bestselling author Jon Krakauer explores the obsession which leads some people to explore the outer limits of self, leave civilization behind and seek enlightenment through solitude and contact with nature. A 2007 film adaptation of�Into the Wild�was directed by Sean Penn and starred Emile Hirsch and Kristen Stewart.