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 iceampmdashpeople 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 housesized boulders so difficult to surmount that even demanding alpine climbs seem easy and many more compelling and colorful characters. In the most intimate piece ampldquoThe Devils Thumbamprdquo Krakauer recounts his own nearfatal ultimately triumphant struggle with solomadness as he scales Alaskaamprsquos Devils Thumb. Eiger Dreams is stirring vivid writing about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits.