The book is very good, and the hate people have for the kid is morally wrong.

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	• Into the Wild Jon Krakauer Anchor, 2007 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 1202 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Heavy and haunting read, hard to put down though

Jon Krakaur's Into the Wild chronicles the events of Chris McCandless journey out into Alaska, citing several sources and giving background into who the young man was, and why he decided to leave his family, give his entire saving to a charity, create a new identity for himself, and live "on his own." McCandless, whose journey into individualism and nature was somewhat influenced by classic authors such as Leo Tolstoy and Jack London, has a one-on-one experience with tramping from place to place, meeting strange people, and trying to make it alone out in the wild.

If there is one criticism, it is the trivial accounts from second-hand witnesses in the story from McCandless' background. I could see the areas where the author is trying to build background to who he was, but there are some parts where people are basically saying, "Yeah, I saw him once" and don't make much of a point. A little distracting from the story, and kind of makes the focus jump around a tad. Other than that, I found the information and story to be quite engrossing and factual, but in a somber, tragic way.

Some contend that Krakauer makes McCandless into some hero, which isn't the case. There are some moments where he appreciates McCandless' bold decision to go through this; however, this could be attributed mainly to the author's similar incident of going out into the wild. An objectivity is achieved in his narration and the facts he presents, but obviously he is going to bring in some of his own knowledge, and then fill in the gaps of some details that he can only speculate on. The young man drops hints to people about his "Alaskan odyssey", that he's going away "for some time" and many think he is a little over the top for trying this and even the author agrees at certain points. Inferences about who McCandless are investigated in accounts from witnesses, friends, relatives, and those who met him during his journey and the time prior. He is depicted as being reckless and compulsive, yet there were some noble things that Chris did in his life, like helping out the homeless and poverty-stricken people and not giving in to material needs. Still, his decision to make the trek to Alaska, and his disappearance, left his parents dismayed, upset, and alienated, which is unsettling.

A haunting part of Krakauer's novel is the section (ch 8 and 9) in which the author recounts several similar adventurists who went out and tried to be one with the Alaskan frontier. Krakauer uses these stories to point out that surely McCandless wasn't alone in his quest to sustain a solitary, natural existence, but also to show the obvious differences between these individuals. There is one story of a man who wound up killing himself rather than face certain starvation, pain and misery when he realizes he's used up his resources. In the subsequent chapter, Krakauer parallels McCandless with a venturous man from the 1930s, Everett Ruess, who went out in the wilderness, wrote acquaintances about the exhilarating experiences, and then vanished and was never heard from again.

And still, the author also readily identifies with the young man's quest. He relates his own tale of going out, being brash, and surviving out in the wild, but reflecting on this adventure and realizing that he was fortunate to be alive. He, like McCandless, didn't see eye to eye with his father, and also felt the rush of exploration in his spirit, but he takes time to rationale the distinction between being overly reckless and being independent.

The later chapters are dedicated to retracing the steps McCandless took a year after he was found (which was in August 1992). The author, and three colleagues, go to Fairbanks and survey the scene, trying to piece together not only how and why the young man went out there, but what led to his ultimate demise. Krakauer speculates on motives for the young man not trying to cross the river, or his ultimate decision to not have an accurate map during this exploration.

If you take this book in with some reflection, it will stay with you for awhile. Normally we don't reflect that much on common literature after reading, but being this is based on a true event, it makes you think about the meaning of life, and what the young man must have been thinking while out there in the wilderness.

The newer, edited version of Into the Wild has an epilogue which chronicles McCandless' family going out to the spot of the "magic bus," the place where McCandless set up camp during his time out in the Alaskan wilderness.

Into the Wild is tough to put down, but also solemn in its narration. It would be tough to read more than once just because you have to be in the right frame of mind, but still I'm glad that I did read it because I had heard so much about the story.

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Into the Wild - incredibly awesome!!

Excellent book, one of the best I have read in a long time. Krakauer's vivid descriptions allow one to feel as though (s)he is walking right along in the wilderness with Chris McCandless. The dialogue between Chris and the folks he meets helps one obtain a better insight into his frame of mind, almost like reading his diary. I found it sad yet understandable how a young man could embark on such a life-altering jouney that would unfortunately end in tragedy. Highly recommended read!!!

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Great

Read the book and then see the movie. For all young adults who think they know everything and should actually be in counseling.

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The book is very good, and the hate people have for the kid is morally wrong.

Usually, I hate to review a book on any grounds other than the quality of the book itself, but as I read the one-star reviews, I was very bothered by the number of people who said "well, the writing is great, but the kid was a fool/ an idiot/ etc." First, the writing....it's very good. It's a four-star book. There are moments where Krakauer gets a little hyperbolic and over the top, and in the early stages of the book he doesn't do a great job of keeping the narrative clear- I found it hard to follow Chris' journey through the lower 48. Also, at the end, when the author devotes a lot of time to explaining the potential seed pod poisoning that may have killed Chris, it seems a little out of place and drags the pace slightly. Other than that, the story is riveting and told with a great amount of passion.

As far as Chris McCandless, I was saddened and angered to read in the book about the hate mail Krakauer received and about the anger directed towards Chris McCandless. We live in a time when there are plenty of Americans, myself included, who think we are doing more than our fellows for the environment by turning the thermostat up to 80 during the day and putting out our recycling bins. There are many of us who feel very sincerely the plight of the poor but don't donate to Oxfam or Harvest Hope because we are too "poor", yet we own HD Televisions. This story is the story of a young man who had high ideals for himself- maybe not ideals we all share, but lofty ones nonetheless. He was truly concerned about hunger- so he gave almost every last penny he owned to charity. He believed in living a life of spiritual, not material value, and surviving in nature, and he did that. He never asked to be helped other than a ride or a sofa to crash on, he never asked to be pitied, and he never blamed anyone for anything. This young man lived his life fully in his ideals, alone. It ended tragically and he did some things that were foolish, no doubt. But this was not just some dilettante. This kid kayaked the colorado river on his own with no training. He spent two years rootless in the American west without coming to harm. And he lived in the bush in Alaska for nearly 4 months. There have been many highly skilled and trained hunters, climbers, and woodsmen who have died in the wild from nothing more than bad luck, and no one calls them "holy fools." McCandless, for living his ideals to the fullest with kindness and charity to those he met was more than admirable, he was virtuous, and those who castigate him are unkind and unjust.

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