Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Especially with the new semester about to begin at the university, it seems fitting to have just finished Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer.

The title pretty much spells it out. He follows 3 incidents from beginning to end. In his usual style, he looks at all aspects of the topic: The victims’ stories, the accused stories, university disciplinary protocols, criminal justice protocols, entitlement of college athletes, etc. He also addressed some of the stereotypes and misconceptions that we, as a society, have about rape and rape victims. I found the book engrossing, enlightening, and a little discouraging as a woman.

I then went on to read some of the reviews and stories about the book. He was criticized pretty roundly both by folks in Missoula and in the press. The victims were 1-dimensional, he had access to documents that he shouldn’t have had access to (I think this refers to FERPA regulations). I haven’t read a lot of books on rape, so I don’t know. But, if it was ‘lite’ coverage, it was more information than I had had previously.

I had heard some of the statistics before: most rapes are by acquaintances (date rape). More victims than not don’t report it. For those reasons, most of us probably know someone who was raped. For those reasons, I recommend this book to you.