Into the Wild By Jon Krakauer
Product Description
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter....
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #80 in Books
Published on: 2007-08-21
Released on: 2007-08-21
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
224 pages.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992.
Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate, and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life.
From Publishers Weekly After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature. Krakauer, a contributing editor to Outside and Men's Journal, retraces McCandless's ill-fated antagonism toward his father, Walt, an eminent aerospace engineer. Krakauer also draws parallels to his own reckless youthful exploit in 1977 when he climbed Devils Thumb, a mountain on the Alaska-British Columbia border, partly as a symbolic act of rebellion against his autocratic father. In a moving narrative, Krakauer probes the mystery of McCandless's death, which he attributes to logistical blunders and to accidental poisoning from eating toxic seed pods. Maps. 35,000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal In April 1992, 23-year-old Chris McCandless hiked into the Alaska bush to "live off the land." Four months later, hunters found his emaciated corpse in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus, along with five rolls of film, an SOS note, and a diary written in a field guide to edible plants. Cut off from civilization, McCandless had starved to death. The young man's gruesome demise made headlines and haunted Outside magazine contributing editor Krakauer, who saw "vague, unsettling parallels" between McCandless's life and his own. Expanding on his 1993 Outside article, Krakauer traces McCandless's last two years; after his graduation from Emory University, McCandless abandoned his middle-class family, identity, and possessions in favor of the life of "Alexander Supertramp," wandering the American West in search of "raw, transcendent experience." In trying to understand McCandless's behavior and the appeal that risky activities hold for young men, Krakauer examines his own adventurous youth. However, he never satisfactorily answers the question of whether McCandless was a noble, if misguided, idealist or a reckless narcissist who brought pain to his family. For popular outdoor and adventure collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer This is the story of Chris McCandless, a young man from an affluent family who graduated with honors from Emory University in Atlanta. In April, 1992, Chris set off into the Alaska wilderness with a rifle and meager supplies to "live off the land." He headed north of Denali National Park. He was idealistic and strongly influenced by the writings of Tolstoy. Four months later, he was found dead by a party of moose hunters in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus. He had starved to death. Jon Krakauer traces Chris' odyssey across the west. Chris' parents had assumed their son would go to law school with a major in history. Instead, he donated his college fund to charity and left with no word. He changed his name to Alex Supertramp, abandoned his car and took to hitchhiking. He traipsed through Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. He lived off rice. He was liked by the people he met. He worked for a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. He befriended an 80-year-old veteran. Chris kept a journal in which he wrote about himself in the third person. He saw himself as a modern Thoreau. He camped in the Grand Canyon. He worked in a restaurant in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, his parents were worried sick. Krakauer identifies with Chris and portrays him as different from others who wander off in the wilderness. Chris' story and Krakauer's merge. Krakauer grew up in Oregon and learned mountain climbing from his father. He spent time in Alaska as a young man and climbed a peak known as Devils Thumb. He writes about it in detail, relating his mistakes and the unforgiving nature of mountains, ice and freezing temperatures. He questions why he survived Alaska while Chris perished. It got out of hand with Chris. His disregard for his parents and contempt for the rules of society are hard to defend. His asceticism and high-mindedness were extreme. He became an aimless drifter, a selfish nonconformist. We are shown the source of Chris' resentment toward his father. His father had another family by a first marriage. Krakauer exposes the gap between him and his own father. As Chris' wanderlust grew, he thought more and more of Alaska. He hitched a ride from Dawson Creek in Canada along the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks. He bought a rifle and hitched on the George Parks Highway toward the wilderness. He wanted to escape all civilization. He saw Mt. McKinley in the distance. He found the bus and made it his home. For awhile, he was able to live off birds, squirrels and other small game. Krakauer's theory that Chris was poisoned by wild potato seeds proved untrue. Krakauer did not want to believe Chris had a death wish as critics have proposed. Still, Chris was not that deep into the bush and might have saved himself had he the will to do so. "Into the Wild" became a movie in 2007 starring Emile Hirsch and Vince Vaughn. Jon Krakauer went on to climb Mt. Everest, an expedition during which several of his party perished. The disaster produced another bestseller, "Into Thin Air."
Short story with lots of filler. The main story is a good one and deserved to be told. However, the book is padded with so many other tangents to fill out the covers that it pissed me off. I found myself wondering when would we get back to the subject and why is he telling me about all these other people who have nothing to do with the storyline. I'll tell you why...because the story about the main character is, at best, a short story. Hope the movie is better.
Amazing Story. Really sad and thought proving book. Alex Supertramp was searching for himself and made mistakes but will stand the test of time with others who went looking for themselves in nature.
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Product Description
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter....
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #80 in Books
Published on: 2007-08-21
Released on: 2007-08-21
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
224 pages.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992.
Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate, and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life.
From Publishers Weekly After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he went to live in the wilderness. Four months later, he turned up dead. His diary, letters and two notes found at a remote campsite tell of his desperate effort to survive, apparently stranded by an injury and slowly starving. They also reflect the posturing of a confused young man, raised in affluent Annandale, Va., who self-consciously adopted a Tolstoyan renunciation of wealth and return to nature. Krakauer, a contributing editor to Outside and Men's Journal, retraces McCandless's ill-fated antagonism toward his father, Walt, an eminent aerospace engineer. Krakauer also draws parallels to his own reckless youthful exploit in 1977 when he climbed Devils Thumb, a mountain on the Alaska-British Columbia border, partly as a symbolic act of rebellion against his autocratic father. In a moving narrative, Krakauer probes the mystery of McCandless's death, which he attributes to logistical blunders and to accidental poisoning from eating toxic seed pods. Maps. 35,000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal In April 1992, 23-year-old Chris McCandless hiked into the Alaska bush to "live off the land." Four months later, hunters found his emaciated corpse in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus, along with five rolls of film, an SOS note, and a diary written in a field guide to edible plants. Cut off from civilization, McCandless had starved to death. The young man's gruesome demise made headlines and haunted Outside magazine contributing editor Krakauer, who saw "vague, unsettling parallels" between McCandless's life and his own. Expanding on his 1993 Outside article, Krakauer traces McCandless's last two years; after his graduation from Emory University, McCandless abandoned his middle-class family, identity, and possessions in favor of the life of "Alexander Supertramp," wandering the American West in search of "raw, transcendent experience." In trying to understand McCandless's behavior and the appeal that risky activities hold for young men, Krakauer examines his own adventurous youth. However, he never satisfactorily answers the question of whether McCandless was a noble, if misguided, idealist or a reckless narcissist who brought pain to his family. For popular outdoor and adventure collections.--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer This is the story of Chris McCandless, a young man from an affluent family who graduated with honors from Emory University in Atlanta. In April, 1992, Chris set off into the Alaska wilderness with a rifle and meager supplies to "live off the land." He headed north of Denali National Park. He was idealistic and strongly influenced by the writings of Tolstoy. Four months later, he was found dead by a party of moose hunters in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus. He had starved to death. Jon Krakauer traces Chris' odyssey across the west. Chris' parents had assumed their son would go to law school with a major in history. Instead, he donated his college fund to charity and left with no word. He changed his name to Alex Supertramp, abandoned his car and took to hitchhiking. He traipsed through Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. He lived off rice. He was liked by the people he met. He worked for a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. He befriended an 80-year-old veteran. Chris kept a journal in which he wrote about himself in the third person. He saw himself as a modern Thoreau. He camped in the Grand Canyon. He worked in a restaurant in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, his parents were worried sick. Krakauer identifies with Chris and portrays him as different from others who wander off in the wilderness. Chris' story and Krakauer's merge. Krakauer grew up in Oregon and learned mountain climbing from his father. He spent time in Alaska as a young man and climbed a peak known as Devils Thumb. He writes about it in detail, relating his mistakes and the unforgiving nature of mountains, ice and freezing temperatures. He questions why he survived Alaska while Chris perished. It got out of hand with Chris. His disregard for his parents and contempt for the rules of society are hard to defend. His asceticism and high-mindedness were extreme. He became an aimless drifter, a selfish nonconformist. We are shown the source of Chris' resentment toward his father. His father had another family by a first marriage. Krakauer exposes the gap between him and his own father. As Chris' wanderlust grew, he thought more and more of Alaska. He hitched a ride from Dawson Creek in Canada along the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks. He bought a rifle and hitched on the George Parks Highway toward the wilderness. He wanted to escape all civilization. He saw Mt. McKinley in the distance. He found the bus and made it his home. For awhile, he was able to live off birds, squirrels and other small game. Krakauer's theory that Chris was poisoned by wild potato seeds proved untrue. Krakauer did not want to believe Chris had a death wish as critics have proposed. Still, Chris was not that deep into the bush and might have saved himself had he the will to do so. "Into the Wild" became a movie in 2007 starring Emile Hirsch and Vince Vaughn. Jon Krakauer went on to climb Mt. Everest, an expedition during which several of his party perished. The disaster produced another bestseller, "Into Thin Air."
Short story with lots of filler. The main story is a good one and deserved to be told. However, the book is padded with so many other tangents to fill out the covers that it pissed me off. I found myself wondering when would we get back to the subject and why is he telling me about all these other people who have nothing to do with the storyline. I'll tell you why...because the story about the main character is, at best, a short story. Hope the movie is better.
Amazing Story. Really sad and thought proving book. Alex Supertramp was searching for himself and made mistakes but will stand the test of time with others who went looking for themselves in nature.
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