ioana_cis's review against another edition
5.0
I love Jon's style of having chapters with introductions from books recommended or interviews, you never stop learning. I think you want to discover as much as possible about a topic like this, to understand the calling of nature and maybe prevent others from going that last step.
Alex was right to loose himself those months, to discover people's authenticity and simple life. I just wish the ending was different. I consider that he indeed got to confident in his survivor powers and that got him blocked in the bus.
Definitely a recommended book!
Alex was right to loose himself those months, to discover people's authenticity and simple life. I just wish the ending was different. I consider that he indeed got to confident in his survivor powers and that got him blocked in the bus.
Definitely a recommended book!
theyettiden's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
clair_shaw's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Very interesting read. While I've never felt any desire to live on the fringes of civilization I can absolutely see the draw of it for some people. The need to escape the invisible walls of society and it's definition of achievement and success. There's an emptiness that comes from unauthentic living, from plotting the course of your life by someone else's standard. Chris McCandless felt it, it's possible that everyone at some point feels it, that need to escape and invent a life that is completely their own. Chris isn't every different from most individuals in this regard, what marks him as different is the way he went about it.
Daring is the word. Though many would call it reckless and immature, perhaps it was a little of both.
What happened to Chris is without a doubt a tragedy. But his odyssey wasn't a complete failure, he found exactly what he was looking for in the wild: clarity, adventure, and peace. I believe like the author had events unfolded differently he would have returned to society a changed man or a least attempted to. We'll never know if he would have been able/willing to rebuild his life, or mend the broken relationship with his parents. We only know that he spent the last few moths of his life doing exactly what he'd always dreamed of, and I can think of any number of things far more tragic than that.
Very interesting read. While I've never felt any desire to live on the fringes of civilization I can absolutely see the draw of it for some people. The need to escape the invisible walls of society and it's definition of achievement and success. There's an emptiness that comes from unauthentic living, from plotting the course of your life by someone else's standard. Chris McCandless felt it, it's possible that everyone at some point feels it, that need to escape and invent a life that is completely their own. Chris isn't every different from most individuals in this regard, what marks him as different is the way he went about it.
Daring is the word. Though many would call it reckless and immature, perhaps it was a little of both.
What happened to Chris is without a doubt a tragedy. But his odyssey wasn't a complete failure, he found exactly what he was looking for in the wild: clarity, adventure, and peace. I believe like the author had events unfolded differently he would have returned to society a changed man or a least attempted to. We'll never know if he would have been able/willing to rebuild his life, or mend the broken relationship with his parents. We only know that he spent the last few moths of his life doing exactly what he'd always dreamed of, and I can think of any number of things far more tragic than that.
chrisofferoff's review against another edition
4.0
This wont be for everyone, but if you find interest in fascinating people and philosophy based around nature then you may very well love this book.
riseclare's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked this. I listened to some of it on Audible, and the narration was nice but I finished it up on my Kindle. Well researched, well thought out and wonderfully executed book.
ckshaw13's review against another edition
3.0
Found it a bit rambling. I had high expectations after reading "Under The Banner of Heaven". I was disappointed.
titanic's review against another edition
3.0
"...no longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild"
I'll admit that the first two or three chapters of this book were rather slow and I expected the rest of this book to go the same way, but it didn't. It picked up and my interest grew and I was able to enjoy reading about Chris McCandless and his journeys.
There was a small flaw in my opinion, and that was that the author wrote two chapters on his escape to Alaska, and how he went climbing and how he saw himself as McCandless, only he survived. And I agree on this count, they both have a handful of things in common but I didn't enjoy his story, reading about his expedition bored me and I thought two chapters on the journey was a bit much.
When the author wasn't telling his story, I enjoyed his writing. It was really nice how he linked all the people who knew "Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp" into the story, he would give a little bit of background information on them, not enough to bore you but enough to give you some idea of the person(s).
I'll admit that the first two or three chapters of this book were rather slow and I expected the rest of this book to go the same way, but it didn't. It picked up and my interest grew and I was able to enjoy reading about Chris McCandless and his journeys.
There was a small flaw in my opinion, and that was that the author wrote two chapters on his escape to Alaska, and how he went climbing and how he saw himself as McCandless, only he survived. And I agree on this count, they both have a handful of things in common but I didn't enjoy his story, reading about his expedition bored me and I thought two chapters on the journey was a bit much.
When the author wasn't telling his story, I enjoyed his writing. It was really nice how he linked all the people who knew "Chris McCandless/Alex Supertramp" into the story, he would give a little bit of background information on them, not enough to bore you but enough to give you some idea of the person(s).
orbufo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Enjoyable read overall. One chapter that focused on the author’s life seemed unnecessary, but an interesting story that flows well.