Scan barcode
libby_libaryon's review against another edition
3.0
I usually like this author's work, but the peppering of other stories separate from the subject, bogged this down for me. Chris McCandless's story was fascinating. the other stories that interrupted it were kind of boring. Was Krakauer pushing for word count?
internetnomads's review against another edition
4.0
This book, and the situations told of within, started a long chain of deep thoughts. What would I say to McCandless if I met him on the street, or perhaps in the so-called afterlife? Would I pat him on the head or kick him in the ass?
In the end I decided the ass-kicking was in order. McCandless's last written words were that he'd had a happy life - I couldn't disagree more. He spent his life on the run from life. There is a blurry border between eccentricity and mental disorder, and he was certainly in there. Krakauer comes down on the side of sane-but-weird but I think he was farther along the road to insanity than that. He deliberately went into the wilderness without enough supplies or equipment, yet he didn't seem to have a death wish.
I don't know what I'd do with him if he was my kid, either. Locking him up would not have helped him out a bit. He accepted that he was living on the edges of life and death and that it was very easy to slip one way or the other. I hope his parents are able to have some peace in their life after what happened.
And one more thing bothered me: Dude, you wanted to go Into the Wild. What a cliché! McCandless's worldview was so narrow, he barely thought of the fact that there is a river of people pouring Into the Wild every day. Many, many people long to live the life of the Noble Savage. Why don't we all just do it? Oh yeah, maybe because Mother Nature will swallow you whole without a thought - let's ask Timothy Treadwell about that. McCandless was so young & naive he believed his experiences and thoughts were special and unique. This is something that age and experience teaches one - that it's all been done. Not that that invalidates people's experiences, just that there is something to be learned from the mistakes of others.
And yes, I agree that Krakauer was a little too worshipful towards his subject. He did say a lot of things I was thinking, though.
In the end I decided the ass-kicking was in order. McCandless's last written words were that he'd had a happy life - I couldn't disagree more. He spent his life on the run from life. There is a blurry border between eccentricity and mental disorder, and he was certainly in there. Krakauer comes down on the side of sane-but-weird but I think he was farther along the road to insanity than that. He deliberately went into the wilderness without enough supplies or equipment, yet he didn't seem to have a death wish.
I don't know what I'd do with him if he was my kid, either. Locking him up would not have helped him out a bit. He accepted that he was living on the edges of life and death and that it was very easy to slip one way or the other. I hope his parents are able to have some peace in their life after what happened.
And one more thing bothered me: Dude, you wanted to go Into the Wild. What a cliché! McCandless's worldview was so narrow, he barely thought of the fact that there is a river of people pouring Into the Wild every day. Many, many people long to live the life of the Noble Savage. Why don't we all just do it? Oh yeah, maybe because Mother Nature will swallow you whole without a thought - let's ask Timothy Treadwell about that. McCandless was so young & naive he believed his experiences and thoughts were special and unique. This is something that age and experience teaches one - that it's all been done. Not that that invalidates people's experiences, just that there is something to be learned from the mistakes of others.
And yes, I agree that Krakauer was a little too worshipful towards his subject. He did say a lot of things I was thinking, though.
rosario_c's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
3.0
I judged Chris before reading this. In fact I wrote a whole essay about it. However, he was a man with one dream: to live in the wild, and how many of us can say they truly pursued their dreams like he did?
snukes's review against another edition
5.0
"Eh, kids these days!" I think, as I read about the life and death of a man born thirteen years before me. I read as Krakauer describes Chris McCandless' temperamental break from his family, his decision to wander the country unaccounted for, his stash of heavily underlined reading material glorifying the ideals of Thoreau, London, and other (often hypocritical) apostles of nature and loneliness. I cringe as McCandless starts preaching the word himself, encouraging an 80-year-old friend to give up everything he owns and go live alone in the wilderness.
"It is easy, when you are young," Krakauer observes, "to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it."
Like so many others who have read about McCandless' life and death in the Alaskan wilderness, I found myself judging him. He was only 24 when he died, full of idealism, self-righteousness, and immortality. I was never like that. I would never have done the kind of thing he did.
As I scoff at the lofty passages of Thoreau McCandless has underlined, I catch myself underlining passages by Krakauer.
I started thinking about my pile of heavily underlined books. Krakauer by the handful. Everst titles galore. Biographies of Malory, memoirs of hikers who lost and found themselves on the worlds longest trails, journals of National Park Rangers who live in the backwoods for whole seasons without other human interaction.
"Aw, shit. Am I secretly just like McCandless and I just can't admit it?"
No, because I am 38 years old and have not yet died from starvation, exposure, or bear attack. Why? What differentiates my idealism from his? I used to be immortal. I remember it. I have an unhealthy fascination with the idea of extreme sport in extreme locations. Which is weird, come to think of it, because I am a total marshmallow of a human being with no capacity for exceptional physical exertion -
Oh.
Would my flights of literary fancy turn into actual ventures of ill-conceived daring-do if I were just a little stronger, a little tougher, a little braver?
No, not least because unlike McCandless (probably due to temperament, certainly aided by the additional 16 years I've been alive), I don't need a long stay in the wilderness to teach me of my need for human companionship. I could never separate myself so thoroughly. Also unlike McCandless, I have a keenly honed sense of self-preservation. I'm a fanatical prepper (for regular life situations, more than for the End [though I do have a very well-stocked bug-out bag and end-times plan - oh, nevermind]). The thought of going into the backcountry for a prolonged stay with only ten pounds of rice gives me heartburn. And a last, not insignificant difference: I cannot handle the thought of shooting my own food.
In the end, I cannot cast waves of contemptuous judgment upon McCandless, because large parts of our hearts beat the same way. If anything, I'm forced to admire him for having the resolve and courage to actually do the things I only flirt with through words.
This book gave me a lot of paths to introspection. I keep coming back to the line quoted above: "I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt." I want that. I want that sense of walking away. I'm even trying for it, though I don't find it so easy. The sale of my home and business could be imminent, but without that huge milestone crossed, there's no easy way to just leave. Once across that line, though... I could literally walk away from life as I know it. I could do anything. I want to find out what it's like to be completely free from upcoming obligations. Not, "Ah, two whole weeks of vacation before I have to think about work again!", but "I don't have work to go back to. I can do whatever I want until I don't want to do it (slash-can't-afford-it) anymore." I don't think many people get to experience that. Seems selfish. Still want to try it.
I want to experience the utter and complete silence of the mechanical world. I want to learn how to start a fire and forage for edible plants. I want to know the secrets of the wilderness, including how to stay safe there, and as warm as possible. I want to hike the world's long, magnificent trails. I want to see everything, and live to tell the tale.
"It appeared more beautiful to live low and fare hard in many respects; and though I never did so, I went far enough to please my imagination." (Thoreau, from Walden)
Far enough to please my imagination. That's what I want.
Sorry, this wasn't much of a book review. More like a Laura review. Uh... this book was well-written and very interesting. As always, I'm impressed by the thoroughness of Krakauer's research and the tenderness of his approach to the subject. Very worth the read.
"It is easy, when you are young," Krakauer observes, "to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it."
Like so many others who have read about McCandless' life and death in the Alaskan wilderness, I found myself judging him. He was only 24 when he died, full of idealism, self-righteousness, and immortality. I was never like that. I would never have done the kind of thing he did.
As I scoff at the lofty passages of Thoreau McCandless has underlined, I catch myself underlining passages by Krakauer.
I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt.
By and by your attention becomes so intensely focused that you no longer notice the raw knuckles, the cramping thighs, the strain of maintaining nonstop concentration. A trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream. Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence—the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes—all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand.
I started thinking about my pile of heavily underlined books. Krakauer by the handful. Everst titles galore. Biographies of Malory, memoirs of hikers who lost and found themselves on the worlds longest trails, journals of National Park Rangers who live in the backwoods for whole seasons without other human interaction.
"Aw, shit. Am I secretly just like McCandless and I just can't admit it?"
No, because I am 38 years old and have not yet died from starvation, exposure, or bear attack. Why? What differentiates my idealism from his? I used to be immortal. I remember it. I have an unhealthy fascination with the idea of extreme sport in extreme locations. Which is weird, come to think of it, because I am a total marshmallow of a human being with no capacity for exceptional physical exertion -
Oh.
Would my flights of literary fancy turn into actual ventures of ill-conceived daring-do if I were just a little stronger, a little tougher, a little braver?
No, not least because unlike McCandless (probably due to temperament, certainly aided by the additional 16 years I've been alive), I don't need a long stay in the wilderness to teach me of my need for human companionship. I could never separate myself so thoroughly. Also unlike McCandless, I have a keenly honed sense of self-preservation. I'm a fanatical prepper (for regular life situations, more than for the End [though I do have a very well-stocked bug-out bag and end-times plan - oh, nevermind]). The thought of going into the backcountry for a prolonged stay with only ten pounds of rice gives me heartburn. And a last, not insignificant difference: I cannot handle the thought of shooting my own food.
In the end, I cannot cast waves of contemptuous judgment upon McCandless, because large parts of our hearts beat the same way. If anything, I'm forced to admire him for having the resolve and courage to actually do the things I only flirt with through words.
This book gave me a lot of paths to introspection. I keep coming back to the line quoted above: "I was surprised, as always, by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt." I want that. I want that sense of walking away. I'm even trying for it, though I don't find it so easy. The sale of my home and business could be imminent, but without that huge milestone crossed, there's no easy way to just leave. Once across that line, though... I could literally walk away from life as I know it. I could do anything. I want to find out what it's like to be completely free from upcoming obligations. Not, "Ah, two whole weeks of vacation before I have to think about work again!", but "I don't have work to go back to. I can do whatever I want until I don't want to do it (slash-can't-afford-it) anymore." I don't think many people get to experience that. Seems selfish. Still want to try it.
I want to experience the utter and complete silence of the mechanical world. I want to learn how to start a fire and forage for edible plants. I want to know the secrets of the wilderness, including how to stay safe there, and as warm as possible. I want to hike the world's long, magnificent trails. I want to see everything, and live to tell the tale.
"It appeared more beautiful to live low and fare hard in many respects; and though I never did so, I went far enough to please my imagination." (Thoreau, from Walden)
Far enough to please my imagination. That's what I want.
Sorry, this wasn't much of a book review. More like a Laura review. Uh... this book was well-written and very interesting. As always, I'm impressed by the thoroughness of Krakauer's research and the tenderness of his approach to the subject. Very worth the read.
vanitha's review against another edition
5.0
For the past three years, I have had an urge to do something dangerous, like climbing mountains, going on solo trips, or even something as simple as a rope challenge (to cure my severe acrophobia). I've been experiencing a serious existential crisis, and I guess that naturally led me to seek such activities. I wanted to understand this urge and make sense of it. I just wanted to wake myself up, feel alive, and escape the mental rut I was stuck in. This book hit close, very very close, I dare say.
Jon Krakauer intertwines Christopher McCandless's story with his own reflections and thorough research, creating a narrative that is profoundly moving and thought-provoking. McCandless's motivations and the call of the wild were very relatable. While escapism might have been part of McCandless's intent, Krakauer shows us it would be too simplistic to limit it to just that. McCandless was trying to make sense of the world in his own way, as we all do. One thing that stuck with me, and I’m sure with everyone who read the book, is that even at the very hopeless end, he didn’t turn bitter or resentful. There was no spite in him; he was definitely made of better stuff than most. That really moved me .I aspire to be that way!
Also, I wept a lot :(
Kudos to Krakauer for bringing this story to all of us and making an impact on many lives.
“Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.”
Jon Krakauer intertwines Christopher McCandless's story with his own reflections and thorough research, creating a narrative that is profoundly moving and thought-provoking. McCandless's motivations and the call of the wild were very relatable. While escapism might have been part of McCandless's intent, Krakauer shows us it would be too simplistic to limit it to just that. McCandless was trying to make sense of the world in his own way, as we all do. One thing that stuck with me, and I’m sure with everyone who read the book, is that even at the very hopeless end, he didn’t turn bitter or resentful. There was no spite in him; he was definitely made of better stuff than most. That really moved me .I aspire to be that way!
Also, I wept a lot :(
Kudos to Krakauer for bringing this story to all of us and making an impact on many lives.
“Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past.”
punka55bookjockey's review against another edition
3.0
No matter how badly I think I've disappointed my family sometimes, it could never rival what this kid put his poor family through. The author paints a portrait from many angles, but his choices are still mystifying to me.
donnachadh's review against another edition
SUMMARY: Freshly graduated from college with a promising future ahead, Christopher McCandless walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people - a fearless risk-taker who wrestled with the precarious balance between man and nature. Based on a true story.
evagachus's review against another edition
5.0
Very interesting. Chris McCandless once wrote: "The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
Coming back to read this again after 5 years totally changed my perspective on the hero I used to picture Alex Supertramp as to the person Christopher McCandless was.
Coming back to read this again after 5 years totally changed my perspective on the hero I used to picture Alex Supertramp as to the person Christopher McCandless was.