Into the Wild

Into the Wild looks at the true life adventures of wandering spirit, Chris McCandless; a romantic, pioneering graduate who entered into the Alaskan wilderness one spring and was found dead several months later. To my mind he was an utter goon, but luckily personal opinion as to McCandless' character doesn’t obstruct enjoyment of Into the Wild. Krakauer’s approach is that of an...more

Into the Wild looks at the true life adventures of wandering spirit, Chris McCandless; a romantic, pioneering graduate who entered into the Alaskan wilderness one spring and was found dead several months later. To my mind he was an utter goon, but luckily personal opinion as to McCandless' character doesn’t obstruct enjoyment of Into the Wild. Krakauer’s approach is that of an amateur flat-foot’s investigation, piecing together clues from McCandless’ notes, and interviewing everyone & anyone who met him on his travels. The book smartly assembles facts in an attempt to root out the adventurer’s motives, grasping, like a decent biography, to comprehend his contrary, complex character. Although biased in McCandless’ favour, Krakauer tends to present information candidly and thoroughly enough to allow a reader to draw their own conclusions, and we all like that don't we? That said, the most intriguing and thrilling section of the book comes when Krakauer retells a rock-climbing adventure from his own youth. Evoking the loneliness, fear and exhilaration of a wilderness journey most of us will only ever imagine, it’s a fascinating side-step, told by a man reigning in the inherent sensationalism of his tale, to provide a frank account of youthful arrogance in the face of nature.   hide

I could probably go on for hours about this one, as long as you're buying the drinks. Yet I still can't say if I liked it much or not. At least its thought provoking, that's for sure. I tried realy hard to keep an open mind about this kid as I read it but I just can't get behind him. I was forced to conclude that it was his own arrogant belief that reality didn't apply to him that did him...more

I could probably go on for hours about this one, as long as you're buying the drinks. Yet I still can't say if I liked it much or not. At least its thought provoking, that's for sure. I tried realy hard to keep an open mind about this kid as I read it but I just can't get behind him. I was forced to conclude that it was his own arrogant belief that reality didn't apply to him that did him in. Ultimate constructionist, most likely till the end. Our culture seems to revel in the idea that you can do anything you want to if you want it bad enough. Unfortunately some people fail to realize that part of the wanting it bad enough is arduous planning and preparation. Willpower alone can't always save your life. It's a great book for discussion.   hide

Interesting book. Part of me understands what McCandless went through and his motivations for doing so but the rest of me thinks he was a crazy idiot and stupid (take a map man even if you don't use it til you need it). I'm glad he didn't get anyone else into trouble (reference other idiots like Aaron Ralston 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place') or required...more

Interesting book. Part of me understands what McCandless went through and his motivations for doing so but the rest of me thinks he was a crazy idiot and stupid (take a map man even if you don't use it til you need it). I'm glad he didn't get anyone else into trouble (reference other idiots like Aaron Ralston 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place') or required people to rescue him. Krakauer did an excellent job stitching together the pieces of McCandless's life as wandering, random and out of touch the later part turned out to be.   hide

just finished this book WOW it scared me as it reminded me of my own adventures in my youth when i was off and running exploring the world at age 16 no parents. few safety nets. at the whim of the wind and the kindnesses of the wild world. left me afraid that i am raising two headstrong boys who dream so big. i wanted to discover that secret that will keep them safe when they too face off the...more

just finished this book WOW it scared me as it reminded me of my own adventures in my youth when i was off and running exploring the world at age 16 no parents. few safety nets. at the whim of the wind and the kindnesses of the wild world. left me afraid that i am raising two headstrong boys who dream so big. i wanted to discover that secret that will keep them safe when they too face off the world and decide they must head out on their own whatever that looks like. damn i hope they call me. unlike "alex" of the book i hate true stories sometimes. makes me a little hesitant to see the movie don't get me wrong it was briliant and all you young people with no chldren will love and it and hate that he died.   hide

A year before buying Into the Wild, I read Krakauer's harrowing account of the disaster on Mount Everest, Into Thin Air. Maybe because I read Into Thin Air, which reads as a linear story, I was expecting Into the Wild to be the same way. While I did enjoy the snippets of research into other mens' adventures similar to McCandless's, I was hoping for something that was more like a novel. I would...more

A year before buying Into the Wild, I read Krakauer's harrowing account of the disaster on Mount Everest, Into Thin Air. Maybe because I read Into Thin Air, which reads as a linear story, I was expecting Into the Wild to be the same way. While I did enjoy the snippets of research into other mens' adventures similar to McCandless's, I was hoping for something that was more like a novel. I would have loved to know more specifics about Alex's ordeal in Alaska, but understood that since it was actually a true story, there was less information available and less wiggle room for imaginative storytelling. All in all, Krakauer presents a well-researched account and insight into the mind of a man who defies our knowing any more about him than has already been found out, and will never be fully understood. A sad tale but enjoyable and worthy of your time (it in fact reads fairly quickly), as you will probably never come across a more complex or fascinating character in future your reading as Chris McCandless. Three stars.   hide

Krakauer’s in-depth portrait of Christopher McCandless is a wonder of tenacious journalistic research and heart. As I was reading “Into the Wild,” Krakauer plunged me into to the mind and motivations of McCandless, and caused me to love Chris as a human being with complicated faults and overconfident intentions of walking into the wild. Knowing Chris died of starvation near...more

Krakauer’s in-depth portrait of Christopher McCandless is a wonder of tenacious journalistic research and heart. As I was reading “Into the Wild,” Krakauer plunged me into to the mind and motivations of McCandless, and caused me to love Chris as a human being with complicated faults and overconfident intentions of walking into the wild. Knowing Chris died of starvation near Mount Denali National Park while I was being introduced to this vivacious, adventuresome, and overconfident Super Tramp, placed me- as the reader- in the position of examining each twist and turn of his fate. In the end, I was begging for divine intervention to stop Chris from closing his eyes in death. If you want to better understand the mentality of climbers and athletes who push themselves to the breaking point of physical endurance, read this book.   hide

First-bun-ly, I should say that I was very grateful for the short length of the book. That alone is always a plus, for me. Even if you are a slow reader, you can finish it in a day. Now for the patty: I'm a little ambivalent about the structuring of the book. The suspense was there, but at the end it was pretty obvious what the author was trying not to say (i.e. precisely why Chris starved to...more

First-bun-ly, I should say that I was very grateful for the short length of the book. That alone is always a plus, for me. Even if you are a slow reader, you can finish it in a day. Now for the patty: I'm a little ambivalent about the structuring of the book. The suspense was there, but at the end it was pretty obvious what the author was trying not to say (i.e. precisely why Chris starved to death). The disjointed structure of the narrative, albeit a fun device for the reader in the middle of the first read, makes it nearly impossible to find anything in this book after finishing reading it. Keep in mind, again, that the book is rather on the short side, so that's an "amazing" achievement. To finish by hamburger review, I want to tell you that the language of the book is very accessible and engaging, and the author manages to present his view of the story in a subtle, non-opinionated way. It is an imperfect, but fun book, and I read some parts of it twice.   hide

Argh, if I hear one more stupid git rave on about how "spoiled" Chris was, I swear I will punch someone! Just because he didn't have the same hopes/dreams/values as most of the rest of us does not mean that he was stupid. Really. The book is not trying to convince anyone to go out and live like Chris did by throwing away all of our posessions and living off of the land. The book is trying to...more

Argh, if I hear one more stupid git rave on about how "spoiled" Chris was, I swear I will punch someone! Just because he didn't have the same hopes/dreams/values as most of the rest of us does not mean that he was stupid. Really. The book is not trying to convince anyone to go out and live like Chris did by throwing away all of our posessions and living off of the land. The book is trying to convince us that it is worth it to live like Chris did by finding the one thing that matters to us and sacrificing everything to make that thing real. Unfortunately, most of the people who didn't like the book and read this won't even understand what I'm saying. *sigh* How shallow we all are. What I mean to say is this: there is no way I'd ever go to Alaska and try to live off the land, but when I find that one thing that I need to do, I hope I'll have the guts that Chris did and do whatever it takes to make my dream real.   hide

I read this book some time after seeing the film adaptation. I couldn't help but project my impressions of the film onto the book. Remarkably, both hold up rather well. Independent from the film, the book recounts the sad, but also uplifting story of Christopher McCandless, an exuberant youth obsessed with escaping the trappings of modern society only to die of starvation in the Alaskan...more

I read this book some time after seeing the film adaptation. I couldn't help but project my impressions of the film onto the book. Remarkably, both hold up rather well. Independent from the film, the book recounts the sad, but also uplifting story of Christopher McCandless, an exuberant youth obsessed with escaping the trappings of modern society only to die of starvation in the Alaskan wilderness. It's ultimately a sad story, of a young man with an astounding intellect and a profound empathy for strangers. The characterization of McCandless points to similarities with most of us. Here was a boy who sought a higher meaning from life and pursued it relentlessly, ultimately to his death. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is tempted by the "call of the wild", and in an age of urbanization, who hasn't been?   hide