Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild. Anchor Books.1996. Nonfiction. There are many themes throughout this book but the one that continually surfaces is about a life in search of independent happiness and finding pure joy in nature and not within the presence of others. “I have lived through much, and I think I have found what is needed for happiness”. – Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild)
Into the Wild is about a young man named Christopher McCandless who during the summer after his college graduation left everything he had ever known behind to forever vanish into the wild. He abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, burned all of his remaining cash (he had given all his savings to charities), and dubbed himself the reckless and free spirited Alexander Supertramp. For the next two years McCandless would live as a homeless drifter leaving people as fast as he would meet them. Until his decomposed body was found in an old bus out in the Alaskan wilderness in August of 1992. Into the Wild tells of the events leading up to McCandless’s death and the adventures he had along the way in his search for true happiness.
Into the Wild is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking and a book I could not put down without feeling I was letting go of Christopher McCandless himself. The book is wonderfully written and uses large excerpts from his journal to help you somewhat understand what he was thinking and allow you to connect with him on a more personal level. Jon Krakauer truly does what an author is supposed to do when writing about a story so tragic and misunderstood as Chris’s. He strips McCandless of all the rumors and backlash that surrounded his death and shows him for who he really was.
As fascinating and troubling as Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air, the unfortunate and troubling story of young Christopher McCandless will bear down on your heart and mind long after you have finished reading. It will make you question McCandless’s choice to leave his family so abruptly and the circumstances that may have caused him to separate himself from society.
My opinion of this book has still not changed, whatever anyone else says Chris McCandless was living out his dreams, something many of us fail to do, and no one can fault him for that. Into the Wild has drastically changed the way I look at life. It made me want to find happiness in nature yet I’m making sure that some of my goals are different than McCandless’s.
This is one of the best books I have ever read and has enlightened me in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind once you read this book Christopher McCandless and his story will stay with you for a life time. I recommend this book to anyone over the age of 15 but it may not be appropriate for teens that are unable to look past the element of adventure.
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The Last Lecture: Randy Paucsh
Just finished with our book club. A life changing memoir with upbeat advice!
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Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild. Anchor Books.1996. Nonfiction.
There are many themes throughout this book but the one that continually surfaces is about a life in search of independent happiness and finding pure joy in nature and not within the presence of others. “I have lived through much, and I think I have found what is needed for happiness”. – Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild)
Into the Wild is about a young man named Christopher McCandless who during the summer after his college graduation left everything he had ever known behind to forever vanish into the wild. He abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, burned all of his remaining cash (he had given all his savings to charities), and dubbed himself the reckless and free spirited Alexander Supertramp. For the next two years McCandless would live as a homeless drifter leaving people as fast as he would meet them. Until his decomposed body was found in an old bus out in the Alaskan wilderness in August of 1992. Into the Wild tells of the events leading up to McCandless’s death and the adventures he had along the way in his search for true happiness.
Into the Wild is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking and a book I could not put down without feeling I was letting go of Christopher McCandless himself. The book is wonderfully written and uses large excerpts from his journal to help you somewhat understand what he was thinking and allow you to connect with him on a more personal level. Jon Krakauer truly does what an author is supposed to do when writing about a story so tragic and misunderstood as Chris’s. He strips McCandless of all the rumors and backlash that surrounded his death and shows him for who he really was.
As fascinating and troubling as Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air, the unfortunate and troubling story of young Christopher McCandless will bear down on your heart and mind long after you have finished reading. It will make you question McCandless’s choice to leave his family so abruptly and the circumstances that may have caused him to separate himself from society.
My opinion of this book has still not changed, whatever anyone else says Chris McCandless was living out his dreams, something many of us fail to do, and no one can fault him for that. Into the Wild has drastically changed the way I look at life. It made me want to find happiness in nature yet I’m making sure that some of my goals are different than McCandless’s.
This is one of the best books I have ever read and has enlightened me in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind once you read this book Christopher McCandless and his story will stay with you for a life time. I recommend this book to anyone over the age of 15 but it may not be appropriate for teens that are unable to look past the element of adventure.
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