Fabulous; Krakauer's information is well researched creating a thoroughly enjoyable reading adventure. ( )

A Fascinating account of a young man who chose to venture into the wilderness, Krakauer makes an excellent attempt to make sense out of a situation that nobody else has managed to. Other than the little insert of Krakauer's own experience of negotiating with death while attempting to conquer Devil's Thumb as a green lad, which I find intruding, contrary to the author's intent to show that he really does take the matter to heart to investigate what had gone into the head of Christopher McCandless, I find the book very well investigated and presented. There are many many memorable quotes in the book, most of them directly affecting McCandless and revealing a glimpse into his wild journey. Makes me want to read further into the named authors, including the likes of Thoreau, Tolstoy... The excerpts of Walden, by Thoreau, that Krakauer includes in the book are beautiful, and tragic in a way when presented with how they play out literally in McCandless's demise. ( )

Into the Wild was first brought to my attention when it came to film. I watched the movie and was shocked when Chris died at the end (this is not a spoiler, you find this out in the first chapter of the book) because I knew very little history about the story. I was so enthralled I went out and bought the book. Although it did take me a while to actually open the book, once I did I was halfway finished before I took a breath.

Krakauer’s writing is both thoughtful and insightful. I was impressed by the amount of research he was able to sift through and the stories he heard from the people who met Chris. I was also surprised that although it had been over a decade since he initially published the article in “Outsider,” he has obviously not stopped working or thinking about Chris. I was surprised by how much I could relate to Chris as well as how different we were. He did something incredible, and although a few oversights stopped him from walking out of Alaska alive, I don’t think he failed. He lived for 2 years exactly how he wanted to after turning away from everything he had known. He went to Alaska and lived off the land until he was ready to leave. Although he did not leave, he was ready to walk out as what seemed to be a changed man and he never seemed to regret going into the bush.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story and left me thinking about it for days after I had finished the last page. ( )

Excellent writing that really connected you with the unknown and mysterious protagonist of Chris McCandles. A great read from cover to cover. ( )

Just because you saw the movie doesn't mean you should pass this book up. It reads like a long news article. The author gives the reader facts about McCandless' character supplemented by the opinions of people he met along the way. This gives the reader the opportunity to make his/her own opinion about McCandless(is he naive or just really passionate?) as opposed to the movie which paints him as a young hero who knows exactly what he's doing. I recommend both the book and the movie for different reasons. This road tripper was one interesting guy. ( )