This book is about the real life story of Everett Ruess, an young wanderer, who in the 1930s went out on his own, and explored the Southwestern desert area for months and months at a time on his own. He did this from the age of 16 to the age of 20 when he disappeared in the Southwest and was never seen again. This book tells the story of this life and of those voyages up to when he disappeared. During his travels, he wrote, painted, etc and these writings have inspired people ever since. He was very much like the boy who went into the Alaskan forests on his own that was described in the book Into the Wild and was made into a movie. The author of Into the Wild writes the forward for this book. After telling Everett's story, the author attempts to uncover the mystery of his disappearance, and when an old body is found relatively near to where Everett disappeared, an investigation begins to determine whether the body was Everett's. It is interesting to read about this young man and all that he did in his very short life. He has inspired countless others and therefore lives on through what he did, his writings, etc. I very much admire the young man. The book was enjoyable to read, and it was very well balanced. The author presents possible theories about Everett that are controversial, but he handles them in a very even-handed way. I recommend this book.

I received this book in one of the Goodreads giveaways.