Into the Wild and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Sell Us Your Item
For a $1.88 Gift Card
Trade in
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Into the Wild on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Into the Wild [Paperback]

Jon Krakauer
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,613 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

August 21, 2007

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....



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 207 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor; Reissue edition (August 21, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307387178
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307387172
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,613 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
517 of 541 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Unforgettable July 19, 2000
Format:Paperback
There is little suspense (in the traditional sense of the word) in Krakauer's Into the Wild, as anyone who reads the synopsis or picks up the book instantly learns that it is the story of a young man, Chris McCandless, who ventures into the Alaskan Wilderness and who never gets out. Chris' body is found in an abandoned bus used by moose hunters as a makeshift lodge, and Krakauer skillfully attempts to retrace his steps in an effort both to understand what went wrong, and to figure out what made McCandless give away his money, his car, and head off into Denali National Forest in the first place.

His book was one of the most haunting, unforgettable reads in recent years for me. I was mezmerized by passages in the author's other best-selling masterpiece Into Thin Air, such as the passage involving stranded and doomed guide Rob Hall, near the Everest summit, talking to his pregnant wife via satellite phone to discuss names for their unborn child. However, I was unprepared for the depths of emotion felt in reading Into the Wild - it literally kept me up at nights, not just reading but thinking about the book in the dark.

Some reviewers criticized the book because they thought McCandless demonstrated a naive and unhealthy lack of respect for the Alaskan wilderness. This is no hike on the Appalachian Trail - Chris was literally dropped off by a trucker into the middle of nowhere, with no provision stores, guides, or means of assistance nearby at his disposal. He had a big bag of rice and a book about native plants, designed to tell him which plants and berries he could eat. "How could he have been so stupid?", they ask....

Well, I certainly didn't feel compelled to give away my belongings, pack some rice and a Tolstoy novel and walk into the woods after reading the book, but the author does a remarkable job of exploring McCandless the person, including passages derived from interviews with the many poeple whose lives he touched in his odyssey as he drove and then hitch-hiked cross country from his well-to-do suburban home. Some of the more touching parts of the book involved tearful reminisces by some of these old aquaintances when they learned he had perished.

Krakauer also throws in for good measure an illuminating passage about a similar death-defying climb that he foolishly attempted at about the same age as McCandless, with little training and preparation, providing insight into what makes a person attempt a dangerous climb or hike. He even tells several fascinating tales, all of them true, of other recreational hikers who were stranded in the wilderness.

By the end of the book, I thought I understood McCandless' character, and I thought Krakauer was probably right in putting his finger on exactly what caused his death. I was moved by his plight regardless of his possible foolishness in venturing into Denali, and the final scenes involving Chris' family were emotionally devastating. You need not be an outdoorsman to appreciate it, and in fact unlike Into Thin Air the book is completely accessible to those who know nothing about the subject. I think this book is destined to become a classic. Read more ›

Was this review helpful to you?
97 of 102 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Read it in one night. It's a well-written book. August 21, 2007
Format:Paperback
Several words come to mind when thinking of Chris McCandless, as reviewers on Amazon and others in Krakauer's book note: rash, impulsive, idealistic, individualistic, selfish, histrionic, foolhardy. Indeed, the book had the trappings of apologia for the young man's destructive nature. Contrary to many reviewers, though, I believe Krakauer gave a fair assessment of Chris.

Krakauer attempts to salvage the good name of Chris, primarily because he saw much of his subject's characteristics in himself as a young man. The renunciation of a comfortable, secure environment for the aesthetic, ascetic, and the existential does not make sense to some. However, Krakauer admits that these are the same attitudes on which countries capitalize to recruit men into battle. In one of his more eloquent writings, Chris declares that nothing is more destructive to a man's adventurous spirit than a secure future. Some who have always had security--a life without hardship--begin to look at it with contempt; it becomes something shameful. Giving 25,000 dollars to OXFAM and feeding homeless on K Street was just as charitable as it was self-serving. As is most philanthropy. I admit character portrayal does border on romanticization, but ultimately Krakauer is more sober. Understanding McCandless's flaws, Krakauer still manages to upon McCandless with empathy

But, all this is beside the point. It would be unfair to attack or support a book solely on a personal judgment about the characters. Let Chris be scorned, but I think Jon Krakauer told a good story, and attempted to fully understand the motivation, emotion, and conflict among his characters.
... Read more ›
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
84 of 88 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Anacortes, WA August 20, 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
After having had this book for some time, I finally set out to make it part of my summer 2000 reading schedule. I am drawn to books of the northern wilderness, which was the initial attraction to this one. I'll state up front that I have not read anything else by Krakauer, so I cannot draw any comparisons as other reviewers have done.

Krakauer tells the tale effectively. He uses an intelligent vocabulary balanced with a conversational writing style. He easily held my attention as the facts unfolded throughout, employing logic and drawing inferences to fill in many questions that remain. He obviously did his research on the central character, Christopher McCandless, and must have invested countless quantities of money and time to gather accurate information. With so many of the facts of this distressing story remaining obscured probably forever, his assumptions and extrapolations about Chris' actual fate are posed as theories rather than as irreproachable conclusions. I appreciate this aspect of Krakauer's account.

Hats off also to the McCandless family, since Krakauer relied upon them not only for information about their son, tragically lost, but also for their courage in allowing many private family issues to be exposed in support of telling the story as thoroughly as possible. Chris' father, mother, and sister are true heroes in my eyes.

I have some degree of understanding of Chris and his northerly wanderlust, and also an appreciation for the not-so-uncommon desire to conquer the wilderness. What concerns me, however, is the apparent arrogance of the central character....

My only complaint: the personal reflective chapter towards the end of the book. I understand why Krakauer included it (personal connections with the need for adventure, context, struggles with nature, etc.), but for me it was irrelevant and it de-railed the flow of the story.

Perhaps we can learn from Christopher McCandless' experience, not in any attempt to qualify him as a martyr or to label him a fool. I have thought about how my appreciation for the north has changed, how families need to be close, the requirement to really listen to and understand people, and countless other themes which have been tweaked by Jon Krakauer's writing about Chris' misadventure. I recommend this book highly. Read more ›

Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure awaits!
This book fills in a bunch of details that the movie could not include. Overall this book is a great but short read for the price being a little inflated.
Published 1 day ago by Mickey Bobella
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
Great surprising! I have watched the movie, but the book as good as the movie. I can't forget the soundtrack, unbelievable!
Published 2 days ago by Waldemar Stoicow Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars Logical End
The author concludes that the story of Alex McCandless isn't entirely unique. Many other mavericks - including the author himself - have set out to find themselves in nature and,... Read more
Published 2 days ago by William Pulgarin
5.0 out of 5 stars sad story
Like this outdoor adventure story, sad what happened to the young man. Left me wanting to know more as to what happened and what led him to be this way.
Published 2 days ago by BRUCE A FELTON
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow ... Is all I can say!
I first saw the movie by the same name and was so intrigued with Chris's story that I immediately ordered the book, and so glad I did. Mr. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Arlis
3.0 out of 5 stars Sad tale of a young fool.
The author told the story of a young, upper middle class dreamer who had the misfortune to die of hubris and starvation in Alaska The treatment is compassionate and empathetic as... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Zou Zou
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book
Jon krakauer does well to tell this kids plight and journey. i really appreciated how well the feelings and emotions are told. Read more
Published 8 days ago by seb
5.0 out of 5 stars Into the Wild
I enjoyed this book on tape very much, I needed to read it for school, but I ened up loving it.
Published 13 days ago by Brooke Eyster
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous
I have been in love with this book since reading it for my Senior English class. The story of Christopher McCandless is crazy and makes me believe he was down right insane. Read more
Published 13 days ago by L. Jane
4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect author for this story
Although there are writers who could have told this story with perhaps a little more literary illustration or even poetry, I feel there was no better candidate than Jon Krakauer. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Robert Daniel Page
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews



Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
Wild by Clint Willis
 

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
Welcome to the Into the Wild forum
I just finished reading INTO THE WILD and I can't seem to get it out of my mind. Krakauer's reporting that some Alaskan "locals" fumed about any sympathy for this poor kid's horrible death reminded me a lot of local contempt for another Alaskan tragedy--the "GRIZZLY MAN"... Read more
Feb 13, 2006 by C. Flores |  See all 9 posts
What if Chris got out???
i don't think it matters what he would've done with his life. But what matters is if we'd care enough to read his story. because i'm sure there are many more people out there who've had similar adventures
Jun 22, 2010 by Alex Ramos |  See all 3 posts
Age appropriateness of book?
I agree with R. Milford, editing some language might be needed. However, the theme of the book is perfect for 8th grade - my own 14 year-old son just read this for a report in school. What impressed him was that this young man never found what he was looking for because he left everyone he... Read more
Jan 15, 2009 by S. L. Wilson |  See all 5 posts
Into the Wild...the MOVIE
As a longtime Alaskan who lived half my life in arctic bush Alaska, and as a writer (who is quoted incompletely, and therefore out of context in the book version of Into the Wild) I find the continued hoo-ha over both Jon's book and the resulting film to be astounding. The book was basically an... Read more
Oct 23, 2007 by Nick Jans |  See all 36 posts
What book is he reading?
The gold cell.
I too was trying to figure it out. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Cell-Knopf-Poetry-Sharon/dp/0394747704
Jun 30, 2008 by jc43156 |  See all 3 posts
Into the Wild Kindle Edition Be the first to reply
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 






Look for Similar Items by Category


Want to discover more products? You may find many from jon krakauer shopping list.