Here’s What I Thought of Jon Krakauer’s ‘Missoula’

I just finished reading Jon Krakauer’s latest book, Missoula, which looks at why rape, despite being one of the most traumatic crimes a person could face, continues to be massively overlooked, ignored and simply under prosecuted. As the author is prone to do, he tackles the bigger issues at hand while drilling into a series of recent sexual assault cases that involved University of Montana football players.

As you may know, I am a huge Jon Krakauer fan, to the point where if I am asked who my favorite author is, I usually mention him. Krakauer doesn’t disappoint with Missoula, with the journalist/author taking a very detailed and even-keeled approach to dissecting the layers of his subject and presenting them in a vividly engrossing way.

Of all the books he has written, Missoula may be the most relatable–while some of his others are arguably better reads, this one addresses a prevalent issues that likely has affected someone you know, whether you know it or not. Krakauer offers disturbing detail on several rapes, and equally disturbing descriptions of how the cases against the offenders fell apart for one reason or another–not uncommon for rape cases.

Overall, I wouldn’t say this is my favorite Krakauer book, but it is one I will recommend to a wide swath of people. I really haven’t read about rape before and while I am sure other authors have tackled the subject aplenty in the past, Krakauer’s take is undeniably accessible and informative.