Posts Tagged ‘Jon Krakauer’

Dealing With Trolls

Posted: May 8, 2015 in Books, Internet, Politics
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A comparative case study involving two bestselling authors…  First, Jon Krakauer, with video:

After the interview, a man who introduced himself as Thomas Dove took the mic and began giving his background. Krakauer requested the man ask his question.

The man persisted in a lengthy presentation about documents the author had acquired, and the audience booed him. Eventually, Krakauer took away the man’s microphone, and the audience was invited to leave.

To Mr. Dove’s credit, he publicly identified himself by name and profession, and chose to address his criticisms of Mr. Krakauer to him in person, rather than hide behind the veil of online anonymity.  But that still didn’t give him the right to hijack the event or to treat it like his own personal deposition of Krakauer.

On the other hand, we have J.K. Rowling (some NSFW language here)

Shot (screenshot via Huffington Post):

Chaser:

Game, set and match for Rowling.

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A Million Little Cups of Tea

Posted: April 21, 2011 in Books, Investigative
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Would-be modern day saint Greg Mortenson got hit by a devastating one-two journalistic punch courtesy of Jon Krakauer and 60 Minutes pointing out his nonexistent loose relationship with the truth as it relates to some anecdotes and details in his best-selling books.

In making the comparison between Mortenson and James Frey, Krakauer notes, “Frey, unlike Mortenson, didn’t use his phony memoir to solicit tens of millions of dollars in donations from unsuspecting readers.”

Beyond the literary embellishment or outright fabrication alleged in both reports, the charges that Mortenson has mismanaged or used CAI funds for personal use, or claimed credit for building nonexistant schools raise even more troubling questions.  The fact that President Obama gave $100,000 of his Nobel Peace Prize money to Mortenson’s charity will bring even more scrutiny to what he’s done with the millions of dollars he’s raised over the years.

Again, I quote the Beatles: “Sexy Sadie what have you done / You made a fool of everyone.”