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| Into the Wild | 
 enlarge | Author: Jon Krakauer
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £2.86
You Save: £5.13 (64%)
New (27) from £2.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 904
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 033045367X
EAN: 9780330453677
ASIN: 033045367X
Publication Date: September 7, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: New Book - In Stock - UK Seller - Very Fast Delivery - First Class Customer Service
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Amazon.co.uk Review
What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life. --Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Beautiful Blueberries! September 23, 2008
I got into Jon Krakauer through Joe Simpson books and have found him to be an excellent writer. With little material to go on he manages to paint a vivid picture of Chris McCandless and his adventures across the USA. Towards the end of the book, Jon relies mostly on guesswork as to what happened with Chris, and I thought it extremely well done. The only point which jarred slightly for me was Jon describing his troubles with his father, which didn't seem entirely relevant to the rest of the plot. However, one sentence from the book (written by Chris in his copy of Dr Zhivago) will always remain with me: "Happiness is only real when shared with others". Read it and enjoy.
 the film might be more easy to understand !!!! August 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
takes a very long time for the story to get going and you could very easy put this book down and move on.
 Unforgettable Adventure July 31, 2008
Think adventure, dream of being free, living each day as it comes, never really knowing what joys or hardships tomorrow may bring.
This is the story of Chris McCandless, who in 1992 abondoned everything in search of adventure and survival in the Alaskan wilderness. Notes, lettersw and diaries discovered after he was found dead in an old bus detailed his day to day adventure after leaving his home state of Atlanta.
This true story ends in tragedy, but the very way Chris lives freely during that time has a rather uplifting affect.
Whether you read the book or see the film, I highly recommend this one.
How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good
Real Life Dramas - Volume One: 1
Darren G. Burton
Gives Depth to the Film July 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was inspired to buy this book after seeing Sean Penn's amazing film. At the beginning I thought it was just going to underline how faithful Penn's film is to the book, but Krakauer does give a lot more background to the McCandless saga, which is really fascinating.
I really enjoyed the quotations at the beginning of each chapter, some of which have introduced me to new authors like Anthony Storr. Krakauer also weaves in accounts of other idealistic young adventurers, which gives a useful perspective. He has also his own dramatic story to tell, which he does in a very understated way.
The subject matter is extremely absorbing and Krakauer writes beautifully and tells the story at beguiling pace. He quotes the story of Everett Ruess by means of comparison, and he quotes how Everett Ruess's father mused after his son disappeared in the desert, "The older person does not realize the soul-flights of the adolescent. I think we all poorly understood Everett."
The amazing bravery and foolishness of McCandless that reminds us of our own adolescent soul-flights, and how, beneath our exteriors, we have so much yearning and anguish.
Amazing story, Brilliant character July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Chris McCandless had courage, imagination, passion, desire, humility, intelligence, intellect, creativity, spirit, buckets and buckets full of spirit, standards, principles, morals, strength, stamina, ability to cope in adversity, individuality, conviction and many, many other attributes that could go on forever. He also had weaknesses and he sometimes made judgements that were wrong. He was incredibly human in that respect. His story is one of the greatest stories I have read and it has inspired me and filled me with enthusiasm for the wonder of life. Whatever his mistakes were that lead to his death well I for one could never criticise him for any of them. He accepted his mistakes like a man and got on with them, even the mistake that lead ultimately to his death. He didn't blame anyone else and he never complained. He died following his adventurous spirit and he willingly took himself on a journey that had masses and masses of risk. He knew that and went on regardless of the risk, not in a wanton disrespectful way as some of his critics may have you believe, but in a testing himself and a desire to achieve self-reliance and discover himself. That takes courage of the sort very, very few people on this planet possess.
The book is a brilliant read and the stroy of Chris McCandless' life is told and analysed with a great deal of perspective through careful investigative journalism and the descrptions of other similar characters and fates over the last couple of hundred years. It isn't all romanticism, it is placed in the context of reality. But even in that context, Chris McCandless spirit rises powerfully above it all.
I expect his parents and sister are bursting with pride at what their son has achieved but filled with pain at his continued loss. I would so wish to tell them how sorry I am he died and how much of a great impression their son has made on me.
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