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Into the Wild Paperback – January 20, 1997

by Jon Krakauer (Author)

2,790 customer reviews

in Pacific West United States Travel Books

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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.  How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir.  In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his  cash.  He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and , unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented.  Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away.  Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.

Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandless's short life.  Admitting an interst that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the dries and desires that propelled McCandless.  Digging deeply, he takes an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.

When McCandless's innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris.  He is said  to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandless's uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity , and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding--and not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"God, he was a smart kid..." So why did Christopher McCandless trade a bright future--a college education, material comfort, uncommon ability and charm--for death by starvation in an abandoned bus in the woods of Alaska? This is the question that Jon Krakauer's book tries to answer. While it doesn'tcannotanswer the question with certainty, Into the Wild does shed considerable light along the way. Not only about McCandless's "Alaskan odyssey," but also the forces that drive people to drop out of society and test themselves in other ways. Krakauer quotes Wallace Stegner's writing on a young man who similarly disappeared in the Utah desert in the 1930s: "At 18, in a dream, he saw himself ... wandering through the romantic waste places of the world. No man with any of the juices of boyhood in him has forgotten those dreams." Into the Wild shows that McCandless, while extreme, was hardly unique; the author makes the hermit into one of us, something McCandless himself could never pull off. By book's end, McCandless isn't merely a newspaper clipping, but a sympathetic, oddly magnetic personality. Whether he was "a courageous idealist, or a reckless idiot," you won't soon forget Christopher McCandless.

Review

"Terrifying...Eloquent...A heart-rending drama of human yearning."
--New York Times

"A narrative of arresting force. Anyone who ever fancied wandering off to face nature on its own harsh terms should give a look. It's gripping stuff."
--Washington Post

"Compelling and tragic...Hard to put down."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"Engrossing...with a telling eye for detail, Krakauer has captured the sad saga of a stubborn, idealistic young man."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review

"It may be nonfiction, but Into the Wild is a mystery of the highest order."
--Entertainment Weekly

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Product details

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Anchor Books; 1 edition (February 1, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385486804
ISBN-13: 978-0385486804
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 2,790 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Travel > United States > West > Pacific
- #2 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Adventure
- #4 in Books > Travel > Travel Writing

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Tracey Fifer

Great Biography

August 11, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book gave a great insight of the path Chris McCandless's troubled life took.
I watched the movie "Into The Wild" a few years back and have always been curious and saddened to think about Chris's journey. This book seemed to clear the story a bit. Sometimes I had a lump in my throat thinking that this is not a "character" in a made up story but a real life that seemed to yearn for a peace that only existed in his heart. Jon Krakauer does a great job of giving us a key hole view of "Alex's" life. The good times even when he had nothing. I personally feel like unfortunately Chris was a troubled individual weather it was mental imbalance or emotional disconnect and after this book I feel so sad for his torment. The movie left me disliking his parents, but this book turned that emotion completely around. And I loved the Epilogue. Thank you Jon Krakauer for that. If the movie intrigued you most definitely read the book.

Comment 15 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

I'm a Deck

No-one will write a book about me, after I die in a van down by the river.

December 14, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

It's one of those books that you have to read at the right time to get the full impact or at least be in the right state of mind. Krakauer does a great job of pulling you into this mystery thriller of a human truly attempting to be a "gutter punk", without any of the safety nets. It's the wet dream of preppers or Alex Jones survivalists that think there is a poetry in nature, but would spend way too much time buying the right shoes and never actually follow through. There is an argument that McCandless was simply unprepared, you may watch Man VS Wild or some other schlock and miss the fact that he wasn't doing this to entertain. It's very difficult to even log off facebook let alone leave your family and friends and modern society behind in search of your wits. There is some speculation that happens, but from McCandless own writings in letters he sent we can often relate to his sentiments and goals, but we also know we don't believe any of this stuff as much as he did. It's a lack of faith on our part I suppose that keeps us safe and not worth writing books about after we pass.

Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Audra B

Excellent Read

September 15, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Ordered for my 14 year old son, arrived fast and perfect.
I've read the book a few times...as a nature lover, explorer and adventure seeker myself, I completely understand his need and desire to "walk into the wild" as a mother of 4 boys, seeing how my own adult sons are still so naive and unprepared for life sometimes, I totally get how he could find himself in the situation that took his life. Had he just ventured out further into other directions, had he only does this or that, but he was young, inexperienced. A fascinating story. Sad to tears in some parts, but smiling and cheering in others. Everything happens the way it is supposed to, the way the universe, mother nature, God, has planned.

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Todd Kinsey

Tragic

June 24, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I remember reading Krakauer's article about Chris McCandless in Outside Magazine about the time my service in the U.S. ARMY was coming to an end. I had a very harsh opinion of him at the time as I was about his age and had spent the better part of a year in the desert having served in the Gulf War. One thing five years in the Army taught me was to respect nature as it can humble you in the blink of an eye.

Fast forward twenty-five years and Into the Wild pops up in my suggested reading after reading A River Runs Through It. Now I'm a father of two sons and my heart has softened with time and experience.

Knowing how the story ends, I kept thinking of the many corollaries between McCandless and myself. And then juxtaposing them with the knowledge of how hard parenthood can be and just kept thinking of how tragic the story is. That Chris couldn't go to either of his parents and get the other side of the story.

I feel certain that while McCandless died while living out his dreams, he most certainly died with a heavy heart.

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Mar Twain

I like to stick to straight up fiction genres

August 9, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Normally, I like to stick to straight up fiction genres, and I always had this idea that nonfiction also meant non-interesting. However, Jon Krakauer's compelling novel "Into the Wild" quickly reversed that misconception. This is one of the easiest stories, in any genre that I've read, to get involved in, and I never once found myself bored with the book.

"Into the Wild" is the story of Christopher McCandless and his unique journey into the depths of the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer makes you really empathize with the troubled young protagonist, and does an excellent job balancing the narrative with his own personal anecdotes. It is abundantly clear that the author is well-versed in both the story and the whole hiking/outdoors culture, and his knowledge helps add to the book. The writing is very direct, but still managed to capture my emotions and keep me engrossed in the story. The story itself would be incredible without all these other elements, but I really felt like Krakauer's talents elevated the book from just an interesting account to a fantastic piece of literature.

Even though the book was suggested to me because of my love of hiking, I found that the human element of "Into the Wild" was what kept me reading and enjoying it. Overall, you'd be hard pressed to find a better piece of nonfiction out there.

Highly recommended

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ConorE728

it felt like such a waste that this was how he spent ...

January 17, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It took me a few years to read this book. As years went on, I would read a little bit, put it down for a while, and come back to it. I think that the process of reading this over a number of years allowed me to view Chris McCandless in a different light as I aged. When I began reading this when I was younger, it felt like such a waste that this was how he spent his time on Earth. As I grew older, I came to appreciate the perspective that Chris had on life. By the time I finished, I found Chris to be an unbelievably courageous young man. Some may say that it doesn't take a lot of courage to lead the life that Chris lead up until he left for Alaska, but I would respectfully disagree. To buck a conventional life and to live as Chris did is an exceptionally difficult thing to do. He challenged the preconceived notions of those he met along the way and changed their lives for the better. His life may have been short, but it was well lived in the end.

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Amazon Customer

Three Stars

Quite a good story but switching characters was disruptive

Published 1 day ago

Good read for a middle school child and accurate to the movie.

I saw the movie a few years book so figured I would try reading the book and found it pretty accurate.Read more

Published 1 day ago

Kindle Customer

Heartbreaking

Really well written and if you don't agree with the author about Chris, read the book with an open mind! You might just find it changed.

Published 2 days ago

Matt P

Jon manages to weave in his own stories which made the book that much better to read

I'm a huge fan of mountaineering and certainly all Jon Krakauer's books. In this book, he turned one of his magazine articles into a shorter book.Read more

Published 6 days ago

Robert Douglas

... the Wild by John Krakauer's book and it was awesome. Can't imagine what Chris McCandless went through

I just finished into the Wild by John Krakauer's book and it was awesome. Can't imagine what Chris McCandless went through.Read more

Published 6 days ago

chexet

McHappy

This time for book club my group decided to read Into The Wild. It was a really good book and reminded me one of my favorite books, The Glass Castle.Read more

Yes, I tried to read this book multiple times and yes I couldn't finish it any of them. I get what people say about the history this book tells you about but every chapter is the...Read more

Published 9 days ago

Joy M Burger

Interesting

I had a change of heart when I read this book on Chris McCandless!!! He may not have been as stupid a s some people think.

Published 12 days ago

Corban S.

Not great but not horrible

Watched the movie and loved it. Read the book and enjoyed it. What I didn’t enjoy was the author using words to make himself sound very smart and 2 chapters about 10 pages per...Read more

Published 14 days ago

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