Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains | 1990 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 2 | Into the Wild | 1996 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 3 | Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster | 1997 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 4 | Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith | 2003 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 5 | Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman | 2008 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 6 | Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way | 2011 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 7 | Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town | 2015 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
| 8 | Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk | 2018 | Jon Krakauer | Buy |
This listing covers the same eight non-fiction books that make up the core of Jon Krakauer’s bibliography. From Eiger Dreams (1990) to Classic Krakauer (2018), these works trace his development from adventure journalist to investigative non-fiction writer. The early books focus on climbing and wilderness, while the later ones apply the same reporting intensity to subjects like religious fundamentalism and the justice system.
Krakauer writes from a position of personal involvement when possible. He was on Everest during the 1996 disaster described in Into Thin Air, and he visited the Alaskan bus where Chris McCandless died for Into the Wild. Even in his more research-based later books, he brings a journalist’s directness and a willingness to follow uncomfortable facts wherever they lead.