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Apr 15, 2008

Dixie Diamond rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

53 comments like (91 people liked it)

Jul 25, 2008

Melinda rated it:

This book is a wonderful cautionary tale. I will probably read it again with my daughter when she is old enough to discuss it. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the reason most people will read the book and see the new upcoming movie, is for a different reason. Chris McCandless (in the book, and from what I understand in the movie), is a hero and courageous for flying in the face of everything he grew up with to find a better way. A young man unhappy with the materialism, hunger, and waste in the wo More...

38 comments like (68 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2012

Petra X rated it:

We are all heroes to ourselves. McCandless was, Krakauer is. This doesn't vary. All that varies is how we define heroism and how much, or how little, we are prepared to do to for that stance.

In order to get people, usually young men, to sacrifice their lives we tell them of those that went before and tell them they were heroes who died for their countries, died for their principles, died even for their dreams. Impractical dreams that are the province of the young. And those who More...

8 comments like (30 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Nadine rated it:

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this book. The genesis of the book was an in-depth magazine article, and I suspect that the article was superb. But I just don't think there's enough here to warrant an entire book. As evidence, I point to several lengthy chapters that have nothing to do with the underlying story--they discuss other people who have gone "into the wild" and, surprisingly, Krakauer includes a whole chapter about himself.

My other problem is that I fou More...

7 comments like (25 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Maudeen rated it:

I first read Into the Wild ten years ago when it first came out after finding out that parts of it are set in Carthage, Miner County, South Dakota pop. 187, a town where my mother has family and where her cousin was once mayor. My great-grandmother is buried in Howard, the Miner county seat. So that was the book and movie’s initial appeal. I mean this town is the true “blink-and-you-miss-it” town. That is, if one would ever even happen to drive through it as it isn’t on a main road. So I wondere More...

0 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2008

Dini rated it:

This book got me riveted in the tragic story of Chris McCandless, a young man who left his family and friends, abandoned most of his material possessions, went to the Alaska wilderness and perished there. The author does a great job of portraying McCandless complex personality through meticulous research based on interviews, letters and journal entries. The writing is so engaging that although it is already clear from the beginning how McCandless' story would end, I was hooked till the last page More...

22 comments like (27 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2008

Forrest rated it:

n April 1992, a young 20-something walked into the Alaskan bush to live off the land and experience Reality. His emaciated body was found four months later. Some of you may have heard about the incident; it was reported in an article in Outside magazine, and carried by some news services. Some lauded him as a new Thoreau, living life to the fullest and taking the consequences; others say he was a stupid, hopeless romantic, an example of what happens when suburbanites try to do The Nature Thing. More...

3 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2008

Traci rated it:

I love Jon Krakauer. I didn't find one single thing about the Alex McCandless even remotely interesting. He came across as a spoiled brat with no concept of reality - basically because of his priveleged upbringing. But somehow, he blamed his parents for that void of myopic self absorption.

I live in Alaska and I've lived in Idaho and Colorado and Oregon . . . basically AROUND people who love the great outdoors. I am more comfortable in a heated coffee shop READING about the great out More...

8 comments like (21 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2007

sylas rated it:

After watching the film of the same name, I was interested to learn more about the life of the kid described. His was a captivating story and I was hungry for further details of Alex Supertramp's life.

However, this book mostly served as a reminder of why I don't like to read books written by journalists. Jon Krakauer is a fine writer, but like many other journalists is prone to irritating exaggeration and spent quite a bit of time romanticizing the parallels between Supertramp's More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Paul rated it:

Ah, nature. That lovely, peaceful place where we go for a few minutes or hours during a hike in the mountains or for a day or two during a camping trip. Just driving by the forests on the mountains of Utah, I so long to pull over on the side of the road, leave my car just as Chris McCandless did in Nevada, and journey into the wild.

Uh, yeah.

After reading this book, I realize that I have much to learn. I do believe that nature is gentle and yet the consequences of tak More...

4 comments like (11 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2008

Jeanne rated it:

I found a review that I'd like to share. I believe that this reader's review represents how I feel and she writes it in a way that I never could have. For me, this book was less than likeable, I thought I was the only one. I was on the verge of re-reading it after hearing so many positive responses to it, maybe I didn't get it the first time...

After reading this reader's review, I am reminded that I don't want to revisit this story or get to know that character again.

More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Jul 10, 2008

Palsay rated it:

Sejatinya, menurut saya, setiap petualangan adalah pencarian. Dan temuan atas pencarian itu selalu menjadi hal yang tak terlupakan.

Namun akan halnya Chriss Mc. Candless, penemuannya tak kan pernah dapat diingatnya sendiri, karena ia telah melebur bersamanya.

Menyisakan sesak bagi kita, orang-orang yang membaca kisahnya.

Disuguhkan dalam gaya reportase, tak membuat buku ini menjadi membosankan. Ada memang bagian-bagian yang menggoda untuk di-skip, tapi saya ber More...

10 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 04, 2008

HappyHippo rated it:

Tadinya gak terlalu pengen baca buku ini, tp pas maen ke toko buku dan ngliat buku ini didiskon 50%, ya.. sikaaat bleh.

Menceritakan tentang seorang Chris McCandless, seorang lelaki yang sangat dipengaruhi oleh karya2 Tolstoy, Thoreau dan Jack London yang memutuskan untuk berpisah dengan dunia yang dia anggap penuh dengan kebohongan dan kemunafikan. Orang yang menyalahartikan semangat dan hasrat sebagai ilmu pengetahuan/wawasan yang akan mampu membimbingnya. Kemarahan terpendam kepada More...

25 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2007

Kirk rated it:

So I pulled this out yesterday trapped at home in a rainstorm and reread it. I haven't seen the movie, but I did read the recent Men's Journal article that questions the Alexander Supertramp cult. How readers feel about Chris McCandless and his vagabonding tends to divide into three groups: 1) People either revere him as a self-made Thoreau, an "aesthetic adventurer" as he refers to himself (ascetic, too); 2) a rather silly, naive child who starved to death unnecessarily, hurting his f More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2007

Lissa rated it:

Into the Wild is an expansion of an article that Jon Krakauer wrote for Outside magazine about a young man named Chris McCandless. McCandless came from a wealthy family in Washington, DC, but had strong ideals about communing with nature, living a life where everything you owned could be fit on your back, and finding one's true self. Therefore, when he finished with college at Emory University, he cut himself off from his parents, donated the remainder of his college money to Oxfam ($24,000), an More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2010

Jason rated it:

Chris McCandless had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder!! This is not a spoiler; it's my interpretation of the evidence provided by the author. McCandless had OCD. Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild is objectively written (more on the written word later), and goes to great length—medically, pharmacologically, and, especially, psychologically—to explain what happened to this 24 year old when he traipsed into the Alaskan bush under-equipped with 20 pounds of gear, mostly dry rice and books.

I'm More...

8 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2010

Aerin rated it:

I tried to read Into The Wild once, many years ago as a teenager. I remember thinking "This book is about a crazy person," and setting it aside.

Much more recently, I saw the film, which changed my viewpoint on the story completely and piqued an interest in rereading the book. When I finally found my old copy in a dusty corner of my basement, I set all of my other books aside and read the entire thing that evening.

This is a biography of Chris McCandless, a youn More...

9 comments like (17 people liked it)

Dec 30, 2007

Aaron rated it:

Really enjoyed it. McCandless had in him an exceptionally large dose of the passions that at one point or another consume most young men, if only for a brief period. His strong distaste, bordering on hatred, of modern American life, with all its easy pleasures is idealistic rebellion at its purest.

While he chose nature has his release from the artificial trappings that he rejected, I think many men, myself included, share or at least empathize with his idealism. In my frequent solit More...

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

merryxmas rated it:

I found this book in a drawer at my old job and started reading it. The first 100 pages are phenomenal! You really feel exuberant reading it and you find yourself cheering him on for the awesome adventures he takes. Then it starts painting more of McCandlesses background and I no longer feel that he is some back to nature davy crocket getting in touch with his spiritual side but rather a self-centered brat who had everything handed to him and not only threw it all away but alienated himself f More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2011

Velvetink rated it:

Now I have the book - library borrow. (is much thinner than I imagined).

Just caught up with the film Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn & written by Krakauer - the true story of Chris McCandless' journey into the wilds of Alaska, which was released in September of 2007. The wild scenery was breathtaking, the cityscapes gritty & reminiscent of Kerouac's trainhopping, along with the storyline to some extent. I have not got hold of Krakauer's book yet and missed the first 15 minutes of More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

Sep 18, 2011

Laurel rated it:

[If you don't already know the basic story of what happened to Chris McCandless, then this review will contain spoilers].

After graduating with honors from Emory University, Chris McCandless opted out of law school and instead donated all of his savings ($24,000 worth) to charity, abandoned his possessions, gave himself a new, silly name (Alexander Superstar) and without telling his family (something I found quite troubling) spent two years on a journey of self-discovery as he travers More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2008

Sarah rated it:

I think this book (and I guess the movie probably...I haven't seen it) are interesting, especially if you identify at all with the character (ie. young, white, male, risk a lot to find meaning). It's obvious reading it that Krakauer finds a lot of connection and I was annoyed by the constant theme of comparing McCandless to other similar stories and then separating him from the crowd. Just tell the story and let us make our own comparisons or judgements! Overall Krakauer seems to be defending Mc More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2008

Jamie rated it:

I first heard about Christopher McCandless in college or shortly thereafter, some years after he died, via a song by Harrod and Funck, who were college favorites. But then I knew nothing about him except from the lyrics of their song "Walk Into the Wild" (they change his name slightly to Chris McCandle).

Then this fall "Into the Wild" with Sean Penn at the helm came out in theaters with Emile Hirsch playing the tormented Alexander Supertramp. I went to see it and More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2007

Pam rated it:

I thought it fitting to take this book with me while I was going to go hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon. I find the story to very interesting and didn't think that the author 'romanticized' Chris McCandless adventure. He told the story of a young man greatly influenced by Thoreau, Emerson and Gogol. Who hasn't wanted to leave behind their worldly things and live life 'simply'?

The thing that saddens me about this is that it is quite obvious that Chris had issues with society an More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2007

Antoinette Maria rated it:

The writing was good, but lacking a little perspective. The tone very much conveys how much he empathizes with the protaganist (the who didn't take risks when they're young approach) and points out the perhaps valid reasons he had to not get along with his family. But he gives the guy a pass on his self righteousness and stupidity. I ended it feeling not exactly deserved to die, but I didn't feel sorry for him either. I do wonder what I'd think of this book now as opposed to when I first rea More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2007

Penny rated it:

An absorbing book, but also quite a downer. In 1992 Chris McCandless, a young man recently out of college, hiked out into the Alaskan wilderness -- a few months later (as Krakauer tells us from the beginning of the book), his body is found: he starved to death. For the rest of the book, Krakauer tells us Chris's story, and speculates why he, and others, are drawn to immersing themselves in the wilderness. A number of the stories Krakauer tells are gripping -- one of them is about his own experie More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Stacy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2008

Jenifer rated it:

As I started to read this book, I wanted to judge this young man. I wanted to prove to myself that he was stupid, unprepared, and maybe even crazy. He wasn't crazy, but I think he was overly idealistic. He didn't take the usual precautions, that's true. But he was competent enough and only made mistakes that anyone could make who put themselves in this or any other extreme situation.

I liked Krakauer's more forgiving approach. He seemed to understand a lot of the motivation of his sub More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2008

Claudia rated it:

New review from my most recent reading of the book! Zac and I have disagreed for nearly a year about the character of Chris McCandless, so I promised I'd read it again. He sees Chris's quest as worthy, even tho he died. I see the horrible waste of a life.

This time, I concentrated on Chris's character, and his motivation. I must admit, I didn't see a lot of difference in his wild adventures than I did the characters in "On the Road." I kept asking myself if the anger I felt More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2008

Bryan rated it:

Jon Krakauer is an author who is fascinated by people who go to extreme lengths to find meaning in their lives, whether by climbing Everest (Into Thin Air), clinging to the tenets of fundamentalist religion (Under the Banner of Heaven), or stripping themselves of every support of human society (Into the Wild). As revealed by Krakauer, their common characteristic is a blinding self-absorption that is eventually fatal.

In Into the Wild we meet Alex McCandless, a young man who is obses More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

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