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" There's something about being afraid, about being small, about enforced humility that draws me to climbing. "
Jon Krakauer
Humility
Afraid
Small
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" I never studied writing, but I'd always been a reader and had a secret fantasy about being a writer. "
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" Antarctica is a very alien environment, and you can't survive here more than minutes if you're not equipped properly and doing the right thing all the time. "
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" Let's not mince words: Everest doesn't attract a whole lot of well-balanced folks. The self-selection process tends to weed out the cautious and the sensible in favor of those who are single-minded and incredibly driven. Which is a big reason the mountain is so dangerous. "
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" I knew that you couldn't make a living simply writing about the outdoors, so I made an effort from the beginning of my freelance career to write about other subjects. "
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" Most friendly fire incidents aren't investigated properly because of neglect or a natural inclination to cover up the embarrassing fact that they killed one of their own. "
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" I guess I don't try to justify climbing or defend it, because I can't. I see climbing as a compulsion that, at its best, is no worse than many other compulsions - golf or stamp collecting or growing world-record pumpkins. "
Jon Krakauer
Best
See
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" Happiness means nothing to me. I just want to have meaning and purpose. "
Jon Krakauer
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Purpose
Me
" There is nothing glamorous or romantic about war. It's mostly about random pointless death and misery. "
Jon Krakauer
Romantic
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Random
" You get a compound fracture in Colorado where I live, and you can probably be in a hospital within a matter of hours, certainly within a day. "
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Day
Hospital
Colorado
" When I start any book, I have no idea what I'm going to do. "
Jon Krakauer
Any
No Idea
Book
" When I write books, I've learned not to have any expectations that I'm going to change the world. "
Jon Krakauer
World
Change The World
Change
" The thing that is most beautiful about Antarctica for me is the light. It's like no other light on Earth, because the air is so free of impurities. You get drugged by it, like when you listen to one of your favorite songs. The light there is a mood-enhancing substance. "
Jon Krakauer
Beautiful
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Free
" As I point out in the very first pages of 'Into the Wild,' I approached this book not as a normal, you know, unbiased journalist. "
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" The pieces I've written for 'Outside' magazine are definitely my best work, and they're virtually all about the outdoors. "
Jon Krakauer
Best
Outside
Work
" It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it. "
Jon Krakauer
Want
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" Once you believe that God is speaking directly to you, there is no discussion. "
Jon Krakauer
Once
God
Believe
" I really enjoy researching, and for almost every piece, I research enough to write a book. "
Jon Krakauer
Research
Enough
Enjoy
" Antarctica has this mythic weight. It resides in the collective unconscious of so many people, and it makes this huge impact, just like outer space. It's like going to the moon. "
Jon Krakauer
Impact
Moon
Outer Space
" You can get a lawyer with two months off or a New York socialite who wants to play at being Lewis and Clark and put them up there, but Everest is still in charge; it can still kick butt. "
Jon Krakauer
New
Lawyer
New York
" I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute. "
Jon Krakauer
Who
Absolute
People
" I think part of the appeal of Antarctica is experiencing some sort of power, the forces of the natural world. "
Jon Krakauer
Sort
Natural
Power
" When I went to Everest, I underestimated things. I just didn't know what altitude could do. Or the cold - I especially didn't appreciate the cold. It can be just debilitating, and things can happen so quickly. "
Jon Krakauer
Know
Cold
Appreciate
" Why climb? That's a question that baffles me. It perplexes me. I really asked that a lot on Everest. I can't justify it. I can't say it's for a good cause. All I can say is look at the history of exploration: it's full of vainglorious pursuits. "
Jon Krakauer
Say
Climb
Good
" What makes climbing great for me, strangely enough, is this life-and-death aspect. It sounds trite to say, I know, but climbing isn't just another game. It isn't just another sport. It's life itself. Which is what makes it so compelling and also what makes it so impossible to justify when things go bad. "
Jon Krakauer
Life
Impossible
Know
" The way Everest is guided is very different from the way other mountains are guided, and it flies in the face of values I hold dear: self-reliance, taking responsibility for what you do, making your own decisions, trusting your judgment - the kind of judgment that comes only through paying your dues, through experience. "
Jon Krakauer
Experience
Responsibility
Mountains
" Climbing Mount Everest was the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life. I wish I'd never gone. I suffered for years of PTSD and still suffer from what happened. I'm glad I wrote a book about it. But, you know, if I could go back and relive my life, I would never have climbed Everest. "
Jon Krakauer
Book
Wish
My Life
" Rob Hall was, without doubt, the most competent guide in mountaineering. "
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Guide
Doubt
Without
" I'm not even religious, but I get fanaticism. I get the appeal of it. "
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Appeal
Even
Fanaticism
" I've had a lot of crappy jobs, but one of my favorites was working as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. What I loved about it was, you got paid for what you caught. "
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" Military investigations are designed not to find anyone guilty. "
Jon Krakauer
Designed
Guilty
Find