Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Into the Wild
Book Review: A Great book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I thinked I liked it because it made me ask questions about myself. I could see myself doing something similar to McCandless and I understood his passion for nature. The only part I didn't like about this book is when Krakaurer talked about the experiences he had with nature. I understand that Krakauer want to show his audience that he could relate with McCandless, but I think he went in to too much detail. I reckomend this book to anyone who has an imagination and likes adventure.Book Review: A Haunting Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Be prepared to have your thoughts consumed by Chris McCandless, his family, and those who crossed paths with him during the last few years of his short life. While I expected to experience some level of the "spook factor" involved in reading an account of someone's last days, I didn't expect to find myself as fascinated and moved by this young man's life and the choices he made. Whether you find yourself critical or sympathetic of McCandless, this book is well worth engaging.Book Review: A Haunting Story
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book in about a day and a half- I simply couldn't put down the haunting story of Chris McCandless. It is rare to find a true story so utterly compelling. I enjoyed how Krakauer not only told the tale of McCandless's journey around the country and into the Alaskan wilderness, but I found it even more interesting when Krakauer added a bit of his own history to the narration.
I think that no matter where you came from or who you are, everyone can identify with Chris McCandless in some capacity, which is why this story is so intriguing. I would recommend this book to any and all of my friends.
Book Review: A Journey Into a Soul
Summary: 5 Stars
As a high school classmate of John McCandless I was compelled to read this book as a matter of personal interest. I was completely surprised at how well Jon Krakauer crafted the story of Chris' journey. It's a book that not only appeals to wanderers and travellers and recluses, but to those of us who have journeyed into our own souls, questioned society and our place in it. Chris took this journey to an extreme and unfortunately met his demise before he could reconcile himself with society. I admire Krakauer's depth of understanding of Chris. The author respected the young man despite his many shortcomings. If Krakauer hadn't take on this difficult subject - this complicated person - Chris may have become just another one of those reckless losses of life in Alaska's wild. Instead, Krakauer gave Chris' life meaning in the end. That's all that Chris wanted. How ironic.Book Review: A Lengthy Magazine Article
Summary: 2 Stars
Strange things drive men to publish books; perhaps the worst among them is the idea that they can further cash in on a well-received piece in a magazine by expanding upon it and releasing it to the general public. This is the flaw of Jon Krakauer's _Into the Wild_ - Krakauer developed a winner in terms of magazine articles, but the story of Christopher McCandless, "Alexander Supertramp," does not lend itself well to a full-length paperback. While this is not the fault of Krakauer, who struck gold with the same formula with _Into Thin Air_, it was Krakauer's vanity that led him to pursue this idea.
Chock full of side-stories and tangents to fill the pages beyond a telling of Chris McCandless' story, Krakauer delves into the psyches of explorers and lost boys past, including his own stint as a rebellious mountain climber. It is easy to notice that all of these stories share one common thread outside the obvious: they are about the length of decent magazine articles, fluffed up beyond repair through repetition and rephrasing. What Krakauer has done with _Into The Wild_ is compile a series of seemingly independent magazine articles, slice them into pieces, and distribute them throughout the pages of his book.
One questions the sympathy Krakauer seems to show for McCandless, an intelligent, wealthy boy from a well-to-do family who decided to drop his life after college for that of the wandering philosopher. As the book progresses, McCandless appears less as the introspective philosopher and more as a young adult with grandiose views of himself and nature to the point of arrogance and condescension. While attempting to espouse the views of Emerson and Thoreau, McCandless comes off as just another wealthy kid on a field trip.
McCandless' story makes for a wonderful read. The only problem is that Krakauer already told this story successfully through his magazine article. Unlike _Into Thin Air_, this attempt to expand on a story ultimately flops.