I'm so Into Jon Krakauer.

Into Thin Air. Into the Wild. Under the Banner of Heaven. All books by Jon Krakauer. So, this is one of those times that Stephanie was talking about: I want to simply link to Roger Ebert's review of Into the Wild because he wrote a really great review of the movie starring the very good and very tiny Emile Hirsch (rogerebert.com). Roger uses his own references of a neighbor boy friend who went off to Nicaragua in the 1980s to fight with the Sandinistas and everyone thought he was crazy. Kinda how people talked about Chris McCandless (a.k.a. Alexander Supertramp), the real-life boy about which Into the Wild is written. God, that personal story really put Chris' journey into perspective. By the way, the movie IS good. It is. But, the book. THE BOOK. I read the book twice in a row. Right in a row! It's Jon Krakauer's narrative voice that really got me. A movie could never come close. It didn't ever really stand a chance.

So, I think I know why I love Jon Krakauer's work (and maybe even him) so much; he writes kind of like Roger. Krakauer's books, though nonfiction and not about him at all, include his own life experiences--not for a self-serving, ego-stroking reason, but to put the story or the person about which he writes into perspective. Those personal stories draw me in because the more personal, the more universal. Krakauer knows this. He's fearless in the way he includes personal stories about how when he was in his twenties, he climbed peaks just to brag about it later at the bar. But, he also reveals that the blind ambition sometimes found in young people who are compelled to explore, to figure out life, to risk comfort for truth is not simply foolish behavior. Those experiences shape your life, your existence. And, so what if they are encased in an impulsiveness that seems to disappear for many after the age of, say, 35? It's your casing, after all, and I heard somewhere that the mind doesn't develop fully until the age of 25. I hope that's true.

Into Thin Air is about the failed exhibition (failed in the sense that most of the group dies) to the Summit of Mt. Everest. Krakauer (in an interview for the Independent Film Channel's program, Iconoclasts) revealed that he didn't look at writing Into Thin Air as an act of art. He felt that it was good journalism, but that the story was too raw, too sad, and too personal to the survivors and the deceased ones' families to be viewed as anything artistic. Even in his hardcore reporting, Krakauer manages to get personal with his audience and talk about his marriage--the good and the bad aspects. That honesty is really refreshing.

Under the Banner of Heaven is the latest book I've read from Krakauer and it is a lot different than the others because Krakauer doesn't really invoke his personal experiences. He showcases the people affiliated with the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) Church and allows their stories to be told, giving many people--like women in these communities--the opportunity to be heard. Both sects--FLDS and LDS-- are totally connected even though they would claim otherwise. The nonfiction book offers a commentary on the history of the Mormon Church, the real-life slayings of innocents in the name of their god, and the way we allow blind faith to lead us--without reason or explanation--sometimes down dangerous paths to murder, bigotry and persecution.

One of the most resonating sections of the book is when Krakauer discusses Elizabeth Smart--the little Utah Mormon girl who got kidnapped by a member of the FLDS. Remember her from a few years ago? She and her family looked like they stepped out of a really wholesome soap opera. They're white and blonde and pretty and smiling. The kidnapper used scripture and references from the Book of Mormon--a faith he and Elizabeth shared at a certain level--to systematically rape her and keep her from running away even when she had the opportunity to do so. This story was so heartbreaking because, as an ex-FLDS woman said in Under the Banner of Heaven, there are thousands of 12 and 13 year old girls who are married off, impregnated and systematically raped within the FLDS community. The U.S. governmental authorities look the other way because of the FLDS's cult-like structure and the fear of treading on freedom of religion. Elizabeth Smart was rescued after a year, but the other "kidnapped" girls remain hostages. Oh, and the politics involved: homosexuals teamed with the FLDS to keep "government out of the bedroom" and feminists paired with conservative Mormons (LDS) to berate polygamy. The crazy pairings make as much sense as faith and religion.

If you haven't read Krakauer, do it. He's the mountain climber's answer to Roger Ebert. Krakauer's voice is distinct and authentic and truthful. He has an ability to let you in without ramming his experiences down your throat. He walks the line. And, he's not even a druggie like Johnny Cash. I love you, Jon Krakauer.