Into the Wild (1996)

The riveting, tragic story of Chris McCandless, who hitchhiked to Alaska, walked into the woods north of Mount McKinley (Denali), and whose remains were found four months later. ( )

I'd been interested in this book for several years, even more so since watching the movie based on it a couple months ago. I wasn't disappointed.

This is my third Krakauer book and with each endeavor, I find that I love his style more and more. I'm debating which to read next, although a reread of [b:Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith|10847|Under the Banner of Heaven A Story of Violent Faith|Jon Krakauer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356441391l/10847._SY75_.jpg|1723947] is top of the list.

I'm not sure my initial impressions of McCandless have changed, he was arrogant and overconfident but I still admire him for doing what he dreamed of instead of tucking the goal away and becoming bitter and jaded later in life. He certainly was much braver than I was at his age - there's only six months difference between us. Joining the Marines at 17 seems much less challenging than what he did over the last couple years of his life. But, then again, I'm pretty happy with where I ended up and I've only had the occasional layover in Alaska...

If you've enjoyed any of the author's other books, then I'm pretty certain you'll like this one, too. ( )

It is very easy to either idolize Chris McCandless as a hero leaving a capitalist, unpersonal and cold society or to condemn his as a naive and in the end stupid youth with a romantic dream and no knowledge about his dangerous endeavour. I've seen both and, in my head, I have done both. Jon Krakauer manages to do neither but to give us insight into both claims and in the process leaves it up to our own interpretation. This, I think, is just the right way to write about the live of Chris McCandless, to not just tell his story but also make us think about his motives and his actions while maintaining the necessary tact and respect for Chris and his family. ( )

This biography follows the story of Christopher McCandless and his transition into a therapeutic lifestyle away from the hustle and bustle of society to being able to live off the land and being in tune with nature. This book is generally recommended for high school students as the opportunity to analyze complex themes ranging from the importance of nature to the role society plays in shaping human nature allow for these students to grow their critical thinking skills which will serve them well when transitioning to college. ( )

This is quite a rare occurrence, but I liked the movie better!

Jon Krakauer does a great job. I like his writing. He mixes journalism with personal stories in the right dose, and I absolute loved the literary entries to each chapter.
But I did see the movie first and it had such an emotional edge, I felt the book paled in comparison. Maybe the movie did a better job of portraying Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp as a anti-hero, while the book go to such an extent on trying to justify him that it end up seeding doubts about McCandless’ persona in the reader’s mind.
Quite a moving story anyway you look at it.

( )