Ed Darack

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Ed Darack
OccupationAuthor and Photographer
LanguageEnglish
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California, Davis[1] Victory Point
Signature
Website
www.darack.com

Ed Darack is an American author and photographer. He is the author of The Final Mission of Extortion 17, about the August 6, 2011 downing of Extortion 17, Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers – The Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan, about Operation Red Wings and Operation Whalers, two American military operations that took place in 2005 in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province. He is the author of three other books in addition to Victory Point, including 6194: Denali Solo and Wind - Water - Sun: A Solo Kayak Journey Along Baja California's Desert Coastline.[1] Darack is also an author of magazine articles about a range of subjects, a photographer published in media throughout the world, and a cartographer.[2][3][4]

Books[edit]

Victory Point[edit]

Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers – The Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan is a nonfiction contemporary military history work published in 2009 in hardcover and as an E-book, and then in paperback in 2010 by The Berkley Publishing Group, an imprint of The Penguin Publishing Group.[5] Victory Point documents Operation Red Wings and Operation Whalers, two American military operations that took place in the summer of 2005 in the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar Province. Darack spent two months on the ground in Afghanistan with U.S. Marines for the book's field research.[6][7] The book was noted for its detail and was chosen as one of the best books of 2009 by the United States Naval Institute.[6][7][8][9][10] Victory Point was endorsed by Bing West, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs for the Reagan Administration, a former Delta Force commander and New York Times Best Selling author who uses the pen name Dalton Fury, and others.[7] Victory Point, in conjunction with Darack's article entitled "Operation Red Wings: What Really Happened?" (Published in print on page 62 of the January, 2011 issue of the Marine Corps Gazette (available here)) has been referenced and cited by a number of media outlets, journalists, and authors regarding the accuracy of various portrayals of Operation Red Wings including by New York Times best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Thomas E. Ricks in Foreign Policy, Jake Tapper on CNN, Slate Magazine, About.com, 60 Minutes, and others.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

Wild Winds[edit]

Wild Winds: Adventures in the Highest Andes, an adventure travel narrative, chronicles Darack's ascents of and travels throughout the highest peaks of the Andes of South America through narrative, photographs, and maps. Ascents include those of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, Argentina, the Western Hemisphere, and the Southern Hemisphere (and one of the Seven Summits), Ojos del Salado, the world's highest volcano and highest mountain in Chile, Nevado Sajama, the highest mountain in Bolivia, and also Monte Pissis and Llullaillaco. Published by AlpenBooks on November 1, 2001, Wild Winds was cited by The New York Times on the subject of the "Death Zone."[17][18]

Wind - Water - Sun[edit]

Wind - Water - Sun: A Solo Kayak Journey Along Baja California's Desert Coastline, an adventure travel narrative published by Poudre Canyon Press in December 1998, recounts Darack's two-month, 850 mile solo sea kayaking / photography expedition along the Sea of Cortez coastline of the Baja California Peninsula from near the small village of El Golfo de Santa Clara of northern Sonora, Mexico on the Colorado River Delta, to the Cape region of southern Baja California Sur. The book includes text, over 100 of Darack's color photographs of the coastline, and a 16-map full-color atlas of the coastline at a scale of 1:500,000 created by Darack.[1][4][19]

6194: Denali Solo[edit]

6194: Denali Solo, an adventure travel narrative self-published by Darack in March, 1995, covers his two attempts (one unsuccessful and one successful) to solo-climb Mount McKinley (Denali), the highest mountain in North America and one of the Seven Summits. Darack succeeded in climbing McKinley, via the West Buttress route, on June 29, 1991 when he was 20 years old, possibly the youngest to make a solo ascent of the mountain.[20][21] 6194, endorsed by Galen Rowell, was nominated for the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 1995.[22][23]

Magazine article works[edit]

Darack has written articles for a number of different magazines, including Air & Space / Smithsonian,[24] Weatherwise Magazine[25] (for which he is a contributing editor),[26] Alpinist Magazine,[23] Leatherneck Magazine, The Marine Corps Gazette,[27] Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute,[28] Climbing Magazine, Rock & Ice Magazine, Nature Photographer Magazine, Alaska Geographic, Sea Kayaker Magazine, and others.[29] Topics about which he writes include military, science, weather, travel, geography, mountaineering, adventure, and aviation, among others.[3][24][25][27][28] Darack's articles have been referenced and discussed by a range of media throughout the world, including Stern, The Daily Telegraph, Yahoo News, and others.[3]

Photography[edit]

Ed Darack is a stock and magazine photographer.[3] Darack's photographs cover a range of topics, including military, travel, landscape, nature, aerial, aviation, science, weather, adventure travel, and others.[30][31] Darack's photographs have been published in a range of media types throughout the world. His photography publishing credits include Smithsonian, Air & Space/Smithsonian, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, Scholastic, Random House, Weather Channel, The BBC, Time, The National Geographic Society, Bank of America, Forbes, and numerous others.[3] Darack's photographs have appeared on the covers of a number of magazines, organizational publications, and books, including:

  • The hardcover version of the book Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer featured Darack's photograph of a silhouette of an Afghan fighter at dawn on its cover.[32][33] Published by Random House, Where Men Win Glory peaked at number 2 on The New York Times Best Seller List on the week of October 4, 2009.[34] Darack's image was also used on a number of foreign versions of Where Men Win Glory, including those published in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.[35][36][37]
  • Darack's image of Cerro Torre was used on the cover of Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author Reinhold Messner's book, Grido Di Pietra, published by the Italian publisher Corbaccio in 2009.[38][39]
  • Darack's image, "Snow Covered Mountain Range, Sunset, Elevated View, Canada" featuring King Peak was used as the centerpiece of Canada Post's stamp commemorating the Canadian Rangers. Released on March 3, 2003, the stamp had a print run of 3,000,000.[3][40][41]

Cartography[edit]

Darack is a cartographer who has published over one hundred maps, including a full-color, highly detailed atlas of Baja California's Sea of Cortez coastline, comprising 16 individual 1:500,000 scale maps.[3][4][19] Other maps of his of note include those of South America and individual Andean peaks including Aconcagua.[17]

Patents[edit]

Darack has been issued a number of United States Patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, primarily for aircraft design.[42]

Television[edit]

Darack appeared on the National Geographic / Smithsonian television documentary Titanic: Case Closed, where he explained and discussed mirages and shot photographs of them in the California desert.[43][44]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Sherwin, Elisabeth (1999-01-10), Printed Matter, Davis Enterprise, retrieved 2014-07-30
  2. ^ Penguin Random House Publishing, Ed Darack's Author Biography at Penguin Random House Publishing, Penguin Random House Publishing, retrieved 2017-08-26
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Darack, Ed, Ed Darack's Official Website, Ed Darack, retrieved 2014-07-30
  4. ^ a b c Watanabe McFerrin, Linda (March 14, 1999), Touring Baja's Sea of Cortes the hard way, San Francisco Examiner, retrieved 2014-07-31
  5. ^ Penguin Random House Publishing (2010-04-06), Victory Point by Ed Darack, Penguin Publishing Group, retrieved 2014-07-30
  6. ^ a b Mraz, Steve (April 13, 2009), Book Brings Afghan Operations to Life, Stars and Stripes, retrieved 2014-07-30
  7. ^ a b c Scott, Lieutenant Colonel Robert R. (USMC) (May 2009), Book Review of Victory Point by Lieutenant Colonel Robert R. Scott, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Center for Strategic and International Studies, archived from the original on 2010-03-09, retrieved 2017-08-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ Brumley, Jeff (July 11, 2009), Book Details Marine Operations in Afghanistan, The Florida Times Union, retrieved 2014-07-30
  9. ^ Cutler, Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. (U.S. Navy, Retired) (May 2010), Best Books of 2009, Page 65, Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Roderick, Lieutenant Colonel Mike (USMC, Retired) (August 2009), Books Reviewed: Victory Point, Marine Corps Association / Leatherneck Magazine, retrieved 2014-07-30{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Ricks, Thomas E. (January 13, 2011), Lone Survivor Smackdown, Foreign Policy, archived from the original on 2014-11-04, retrieved 2014-07-31
  12. ^ Tapper, Jake (January 10, 2014), Real Story Behind 'Lone Survivor', CNN, retrieved 2014-07-31
  13. ^ Szoldra, Paul (January 11, 2014), Jake Tapper is Getting Attacked For Saying What Many Are Thinking About Afghanistan, Business Insider, retrieved 2014-07-31
  14. ^ Cummings, Michael; Eric Cummings (January 10, 2014), How Accurate is Lone Survivor?, Slate Magazine, retrieved 2014-07-31
  15. ^ Harrop, Christopher (January 8, 2014), REVIEW: 'Lone Survivor' explores mindset, logistics of fight for Murphy's Ridge, Brighton Standard Blade, retrieved 2014-07-31[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ TV.com (December 8, 2013), 60 Minutes, December 8, 2013, TV.com, archived from the original on August 8, 2014, retrieved 2014-07-31
  17. ^ a b Goodreads, Wild Winds, GoodReads, retrieved 2017-08-29
  18. ^ Schott, Ben (April 28, 2010), "Death Zone", New York Times, retrieved 2014-07-31
  19. ^ a b Handel, Sue (October–November 1999), Wind.Water.Sun by Ed Darack (Book Review), Coast and Kayak Magazine, archived from the original on 2014-08-08, retrieved 2017-08-26{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  20. ^ Stevenson, David (1997), Book Reviews, 1997 American Alpine Journal, American Alpine Club, retrieved 2014-07-31
  21. ^ Martin, Danny (July 9, 1991), "20-Year-Old Completes Solo Climb of Mount McKinley", Anchorage Daily News, retrieved 2014-07-31
  22. ^ boardmantasker.com (1995), Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, 1995 Entries, Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, archived from the original on 2014-08-09, retrieved 2017-08-29{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  23. ^ a b Alpinist Magazine (November 27, 2006), Contributors to Alpinist #18, Alpinist Magazine, retrieved 2014-07-31
  24. ^ a b Air & Space / Smithsonian, Articles by Ed Darack, Air & Space / Smithsonian, retrieved 2014-07-31
  25. ^ a b Weatherwise Magazine, Articles by Ed Darack, Taylor & Francis, retrieved 2017-03-23
  26. ^ Weatherwise Magazine, About Weatherwise, Taylor & Francis, retrieved 2014-07-31
  27. ^ a b Marine Corps Association and Foundation, Ed Darack, Marine Corps Association and Foundation, archived from the original on 2014-08-11, retrieved 2014-07-31
  28. ^ a b United States Naval Institute, Ed Darack, United States Naval Institute, retrieved 2014-07-31
  29. ^ Ed Darack, Ed Darack's Publishing Credits on Darack.com, Ed Darack, retrieved 2014-07-31
  30. ^ Superstock, Ed Darack's Photographs at Superstock, Superstock, retrieved 2017-08-29
  31. ^ Getty Images, Ed Darack's Photographs at Getty Images, Getty Images, retrieved 2017-08-29
  32. ^ Random House (2009-09-15), Where Men Win Glory at Random House, Random House, retrieved 2014-07-31
  33. ^ Getty Images, Afghan Fighter, by Ed Darack, Getty Images, archived from the original on 2015-09-24, retrieved 2014-07-31
  34. ^ New York Times, "New York Times Best Seller List for week of October 4, 2009" (PDF), New York Times, retrieved 2014-07-31
  35. ^ Corbaccio, Dove Gli Uomini Diventano Eroi, Corbaccio, archived from the original on 2014-08-08, retrieved 2014-07-31
  36. ^ Piper, Auf Den Feldern Der Ehre, Piper, retrieved 2014-07-31
  37. ^ Atlantic Books, Where Men Win Glory, Atlantic Books, retrieved 2014-07-31
  38. ^ Corbaccio, Grido Di Pietra, Corbaccio, archived from the original on 2014-08-08, retrieved 2014-07-31
  39. ^ Getty Images, Cerro Torre, by Ed Darack, Getty Images, archived from the original on 2015-09-24, retrieved 2014-07-31
  40. ^ CanadaPost (March 3, 2003), Canada Post's Canadian Rangers Stamp, Canada Post, archived from the original on November 12, 2014, retrieved 2017-08-29{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  41. ^ Ed Darack, Snow Covered Mountain Range, Sunset, Elevated View, Canada, by Ed Darack, Getty Images, archived from the original on 2015-09-24, retrieved 2014-08-01
  42. ^ Google Patent Search, List of Patents Issued to Ed Darack, retrieved 2014-07-30 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  43. ^ National Geographic / Smithsonian, Titanic: Case Closed, National Geographic / Smithsonian, retrieved 2014-07-30
  44. ^ IMDB, Titanic: Case Closed, IMDB, retrieved 2014-07-30

External links[edit]

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