Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

Sep 2009 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. This is the unforgettable story of how Christopher Johnson McCandless came to die.

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

McCandess 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. Not long after, he was dead. Into the Wild is the mesmerizing, heartbreaking tale of an enigmatic young man who goes missing in the wild and whose story captured the world’s attention. 

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 interest that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled McCandless. 

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. Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.

Ratings and reviews

Ahem...@Uquitnaq, I'm pretty sure this is a book review and not an attempt for Monday Morning Quarterbacking by The Great Outdoorsman! Do you feel better pointing out where this lost sole erred and we know the outcome....? I'm asking you a question. Do you feel better, you piece of garbage! If you didn't like the book, rate it and write about that, if you want to feel superior, go find some 7 year olds to show off for and stop wasting space! And I really hope I hurt your feelings!😲

Great writing style, but Chris was very immature and naive. I would never leave for the bush without the proper equipment. Alaska is a tough place. A woman was mauled by a bear a mile away from where I'm sitting, and I'm in the largest city. The actual wild is much scarier. Than you think.

One of my all time favorite novels, I have read it multiple times. Krakauer is an extremely gifted writer and I simply adored his telling of Chris McCandless's tale. I know that many people think Krakauer over romanticized, glossing over some rather obvious flaws in the young man's reasoning and execution of his plan, but I believe that the story was told just the way it was meant to be. What is important is the overall message and the inspirational effect McCandless's "Alaskan Odyssey" has had on culture as a whole. I read Into the Wild for the first time at the age of 24, but even now, ten years later, the story sticks with me in a way that few "based on a true story" novels have. I hope one day to find time to embark upon an "Alaskan Odyssey" of my own... making sure, of course, to visit the site of Chris's "Magic Bus" and pay tribute to the remarkable, if somewhat misguided, young man whose bold journey of discovery has influenced so many in the years since his tragic death.

About the author

JON KRAKAUER is the author of eight books and has received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. According to the award citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer."