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Into the Wild | 
 enlarge | Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1193 reviews
Sales Rank: 434
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0307387178
Dewey Decimal Number: 917.98045
EAN: 9780307387172
ASIN: 0307387178
Publication Date: August 21, 2007
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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.
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....
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1188 more reviews...
 A sad story August 20, 2008
This book left me feeling very sad, and my heart aches for his family. Many young people do foolish things like Alex did. Some survive (like the author), and some don't. I enjoyed the insight the author provided through his research. I thought he did a good job collecting information from people who had crossed paths with Alex. I still don't understand what compelled him to such an extreme lifestyle.
Chase von, guess they have this book two places on here.... August 18, 2008
This is an amazing story that touches on every emotion contained within us all! I'm hard pressed to understand why this is only the second review but this is a story that will go down as one of the most powerful, enlightening, and heart wrenching ever told! Sean Penn has from what I have seen secured his place not only as one of the greatest actors to ever live, but also one of the greatest directors to ever live!
I intend to own both the movie and the book and add them to my collection of books you just don't read once and movies you can always go back to when it becomes a necessary to be reminded of what truly matters.
Lastly, I've seen the interviews and I take my hat off to the family for being so brave as to allow what I feel having learned of it, a must story to be allowed to be told...
Not only do I believe Chris is looking down from Heaven with only pure love for his family...
Part of me feels he is looking down on us all with love as well...
With the ultimate respects to the Family, The Author, and Sean Penn and Eddie Vedder for from what I've seen, being able to bring this to life in such a way that it is completely fulfilling the ultimate beauty this story contains...
Chase Von
Also would like to share this with all involved...
~Vibrations~
The sweetest of words
Need not be uttered
To be heard
Unspoken Whispers
Are carried to
Their intended source
By Messengers
From Heaven
That is why
Loud Statements
Often are not heard
Or are vaguely
Understood
And why
Silent Truths
Delivered by the Angels
Vibrate
The Very Soul
By Chase Von
tlp
The Last Panther
All rights reserved
I share that because
I think this story will be vibrating mine
Until I too leave as well as so many others
With respect and love and light again
Chase Von
(As a poet I see so much of my own story reflected in this as well)
Your Chance to Hear The Last Panther Speak
A mystery and tragedy told well August 17, 2008
Into the wild is a story of a young man searhing for more out of life. He goes on a journey into the depths of Alaska but doesn't live to tell his tale.
Krakauer decides it's his job to tell McCandless' story on his behalf. With only a journal and a few eye witnesses Krakauer pieces together McCandless trip from beginning to end. He even writes himself into the story eplaining his own mountain climbing trip to the Devils Thumb. He uses so much description that you feel yourself walking on thin ice, fearing that at any moment you could fall to your death.
McCandless and Krakauer share many things in common for example they both went into the wild searching for answers but on Krakauer's voyage he didn't receive any of them. Another similarity they shared is their screwed up relationship with their fathers.
Throughout McCandless pilgrimage he touched the lives of many people he met along the way. And they all had their side of the story to tell. They made had their doubts and opinions to why McCandless left in the first place but it never stopped them for keeping a special place in their hearts for him.
The story is such a tragic one and while reading this book I admit I shed a few tears but no matter how hard it became to read about this unfortunate tale I just couldn't put it down. Every chapter Krakauer left you wanting more. I just had to know how it ended from the moment I started reading. We can all relate to this book because I think we all have a little bit of McCandless in us. No matter how we feel about the choices McCandless made we all have to confess this if probaly one of the best nonfiction books ever written and I must congratulate Krakauer for being able to pull it off so well. Thats why it deserves five stars.
A Character Study Disguised as a Bestseller August 16, 2008
"Into the Wild" is an engrossing read...it grabs and keeps your attention, traces an interesting story arc and covers a unique subject matter. That being said, the real draw and merit of this book is the character study enmeshed in the broader story.
Krakauer's strong storytelling skills, his subject matter expertise and his in-depth reporting on the story of Chris McCandless combine to weave an engaging...and disturbing...tale. This tale addresses the "what" part of McCandless's journey into the wild, but it is the "why" part of the journey that really makes this book interesting.
In addressing the question of "why"...why would McCandless do what he did...Krakauer draws on a number of other like stories to build an interesting and introspective character study.
As with another book written by this author, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, Krakauer's own persona looms large. In the case of "Into the Wild," I found Krakauer brought his own experiences too far into the center of the character study aspect of this book. That being said, the author's perspective is interesting and relevant, just too front-and-center when compared to the other personalities paralleled over the course of the book.
All in all, this is a good book and I recommend it to readers interested in a general entertaining and informative book, as well as to readers with an interest in a good character study.
Troubled man takes on the Wild - and loses August 14, 2008
Jon Krakauer's `Into the Wild' is a very interesting look into the late life of a college graduate who gives away all his possessions and becomes a vagabond: Only to meet his demise in an abandoned school bus in the wilderness outside Fairbanks, Alaska.
The trip between graduation and death is a bizarre study of Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) and his 2 year journey across south-western and mid-west America, ending-up in Alaska.
The book is a strong testament of a young man with an upper-class upbringing who becomes seduced by wilderness and adventure, only to ultimately become its prisoner. Krakauer's book is primarily testimonials of people who knew Chris and their experiences with him. Most were fleeting, few lasting for more than several weeks. McCandless' journey without any destination took him many places and cultures within the US. Yet his intent was to learn - then flee. An escape artist, his final destination to Alaska is testament that even the bright and educated can learn plenty from sheer experience. McCandless almost obsessive introversion and despondency of his father sets the stage for a disastrous ending.
Anyone who has camped outdoors for any length of time will be amazed this man made it that far: Until finally, when the luck that protected McCandless' runs out. His meager writings found in the bus, initially show more cockiness than respect for nature. Later, when his body begins relying on itself for survival, McCandless becomes scared and aware of his imminent end. Only then does the educated idealist come to terms with the power of nature and the serious lack of planning on his behalf.
Sadly, this is another testament to why no one goes into a forest without the necessities: A map, compass, shelter and food.
I highly recommend this book. If there is anything one can learn from this book is what NOT to do outdoors, then this is it. The writing style of Krakauer is fluid and easy to ready. The character study of McCandless is much more abstract. I do appreciate the writer's attempts to rationalize the mentality and actions behind McCandless. Yet the writer, himself a seasoned outdoorsman, can't help but detail the futility of this misadventure. The writer's own outdoor experiences help paint a better picture of the enviroment McCandless experienced in his travels. I commend him on tackling such a complex character.
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