Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.69 You Save: $9.26 (62%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Into the Wild
Book Review: A Book with No Adventure
Summary: 2 Stars
i thought this book was boring and even though it was supposed to be adventurous i found the book to be very boring. it is a great story but poorly written.Book Review: A Character Study Disguised as a Bestseller
Summary: 4 Stars
"Into the Wild" is an engrossing read...it grabs and keeps your attention, traces an interesting story arc and covers a unique subject matter. That being said, the real draw and merit of this book is the character study enmeshed in the broader story.
Krakauer's strong storytelling skills, his subject matter expertise and his in-depth reporting on the story of Chris McCandless combine to weave an engaging...and disturbing...tale. This tale addresses the "what" part of McCandless's journey into the wild, but it is the "why" part of the journey that really makes this book interesting.
In addressing the question of "why"...why would McCandless do what he did...Krakauer draws on a number of other like stories to build an interesting and introspective character study.
As with another book written by this author, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, Krakauer's own persona looms large. In the case of "Into the Wild," I found Krakauer brought his own experiences too far into the center of the character study aspect of this book. That being said, the author's perspective is interesting and relevant, just too front-and-center when compared to the other personalities paralleled over the course of the book.
All in all, this is a good book and I recommend it to readers interested in a general entertaining and informative book, as well as to readers with an interest in a good character study.
Book Review: A Compeling Story.
Summary: 4 Stars
As an avid hiker, outdoor lover, and general interest in adventure, I found this story to be somewhat amazing. Krakauer does an excellent job of giving the reader descriptions that let the mind wonder what it would like in this young man's shoes. I only wish he had gone into more detail about the young man himself. That mystery, however, is part of what makes this story so enjoyable.Book Review: A Consideration of Style and Presentation
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to write a review of thisbook without pronouncing judgments. But let me be clear from theoutset that I am not here joining the ongoing debate into thecharacter, motivations or judgment of either Chris McCandless or Jon Krakauer. Such detachment is not easy as this volume is both a biography and autobiography of values, and I have discussed it from that perspective with my own family and friends.The book is well-written, and Krakauer has performed a neat bit of detective work in piecing together McCandless' story. The subject matter-- a young man's odyssey...-- is compelling. I suspect that the extensive number of reviews reflects just how compelling and contentious the subject of this book is. The paperback suffers from the lack of photgraphs and visual documentation available in the hardcover edition. The stark, essential facts are still here, however.
Krakauer's own bias is clear and admitted. That is to his credit. There is no rule that says an author must be detached. Indeed, Krakauer's involvement in his story strengthens and focuses his prose.
I strongly recommend this book to other parents. If it makes you think and worry, and if it inclines you to ACT by teaching children basic survival skills, so much the better.
Book Review: A Different Krakauer
Summary: 4 Stars
An emaciated, decomposing body of a young man was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness. He died of starvation. For 16 weeks, he had lived off the land, adopting the lifestyle of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. But he went in without a large calibre rifle to hunt big game. No proper map, no axe, no compass, no radio. When this made the news, many Alaskans judged that the victim was stupid and arrogant even before his identity could be established.
The deceased turned out to be one Chris McCandless. From a well-to-do family, he had graduated with honours from Emory University. But instead of embarking on a promising career, McCandless donated his entire savings to charity, changed his name and went tramping. He even sneaked into Mexico by canoe and slipped back into the US by sea. He worked at fast food outlets, living out of a backpack, in search of a more meaningful, romantic existence of Jack London and Leo Tolstoy.
His biggest challenge was to live off the land in the Alaskan wilderness. He started in spring, made an abandoned bus his base camp and lived on wild fruits, squirrels, porcupines and other small game. He managed to shoot a moose, but wasted the meat when he failed to preserve it. When McCandless felt that he had enough and was ready to return to civilisation and write a book, but it was summer, the rivers were all swollen and he could no longer ford the river he had so easily crossed in spring.
McCandless returned to the bus, failed to hunt any big game, got poisoned by mouldy seeds, was too weak to hunt or gather fruits and gradually starved to death.
Amid the criticism from most quarters of society, Krakauer tries to balance the views by painting a sympathetic picture of the young man. He tells of his own youth when he did a solo ascent of Devil's Thumb in Alaska. He described his upbringing which was quite similar to the autocratic style of McCandless' parents. Krakauer's defence of the young McCandless is so robust that I wondered if it's the same Krakauer who gave us the preachy and finger-pointing Into Thin Air.
If only McCandless had a good topo map with him, he would have realised that he was not that far off from civilisation. He could have crossed the Sushana River or reached a ranger's cabin when it was time to call it quits. Krakauer seems to be very forgiving towards these mistakes but judge his fellow climbers on Everest using a very different yardstick.
It's a gripping, well-written book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. However, I find it difficult to agree with the author's defence of a foolhardy, cocky, irresponsible young man's actions.