Julie Rak Books

The race to climb Everest catapulted mountain climbing, with its accompanying images of conquest and sport, into the public sphere on a global scale. But as a metaphor for the pinnacle of human achievement, mountaineering remains the preserve of traditional white male heroism. Exploring classic and lesser-known expedition accounts from Everest, K2, and Annapurna, False Summit helps us understand why mountaineering remains one of the most important ways to articulate gender identities and politics.

Julie Rak, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, specializes in English literature. Her expertise and contributions to the field highlight her academic focus and engagement with literary studies.

From James Frey's A Million Little Pieces to memoirs about bartending, Iran, the liberation of Dachau, hacking, and the impact of 9/11, this book argues that the memoir boom is more than a publishing trend. It is becoming the way readers try to understand major events in terms of individual experiences.