Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended
Review:
This intriguing story is an easy and enjoyable read. Jon Krakauer's writing style is crisp, clear and colorful. I wish all books were written this way!
The story of Chris McCandless will inspire gut-wrenching ambivanlence among intelligent, open-minded readers. Krakauer delves into the psychology of this remarkable, brilliant young man who so often tossed "common sense" by the wayside in order to escape the contradictions and apparent meaninglessness of a cloistered life among the suburbs of Washington D.C. Using case studies, including an experience from his own youth, the author partially illuminates the motivations behind the courageous but naive quest of a young man searching for peace in the American West. Touching, disconcerting, tragic, and yet inspiring to all of those whose hearts have not been hardened by time and circumstance.
Rating: 
Summary: Not even close to "Into Thin Air"
Review: The only part of this book that had any success was the stirring up of controversy. It did, in a positive way. Be warnde, friends, that the actual book is fairly boring and very hard to get through. About 15% of the book actually talks about the dudes experiences in Alaska, the rest is a rambling fest
Rating: 
Summary: Although sensationalized, a fascinating look at the search
Review: Krakauer's narrative is tight, although at times inaccurate. For better or worse, McCandless has become an archetype for a certain stratum of society. Here in Alaska, the book polarizes people. Either Chris was some kind of Thoreau savant or an absolute idiot. The book is worthwhile for this reason. To answer a question posed in these reviews, the bus has become a bit of a shrine. I've been there. It's a relatively brutal hike in, especially if the Tek is high. His clothes are still there, as are his boots, a notebook for visitors and a plaque. Only about 30 people or so have made it up there, though. Be aware that Krakauer's distances are off.
Rating:
Summary: Are these reviews of the book or of the subject?
Review: The book was well written. Krakauer has a wonderful way of telling a story....that of a young man in search of something deeper in life than that of monatary possessions. From reading these reviews it seems that Krakauer did his job as a writer. He inspired and angered all with one story of a man, who could be anyone's son. Don't be angry with the subject.....if we didn't read books because we disagreed with a subject's philosophy....think of all we might miss learning about.
Rating:
Summary: Well-written, but fails to provide a complete picture.
Review: While Krakauer is an excellent author, I was amazed that he failed to delve more deeply into the subject of the religious convictions of the subject of the book (Chris McCandless). I would have finished the book much more satisfied if the author had offered a more complete picture of McCandless's search for purpose and meaning in life. McCandless believed in God, or so we must believe since his last written words (as included in the book) include thanks to the Lord and mention of God. Jon Krakauer identifies with McCandless and his search for an identity, but why did the author avoid the more serious question of why someone with some belief in a higher power would seek salvation in the wilds of Alaska? Why did McCandless look down, at the Earth, rather than up, to God in Heaven, when he went looking for "the answer"?
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for any idealistic college student planning a trip
Review: Krakauer enters the mind of this troubled, idealistic young man in an amazing feature story about the tragic death of Chris McCandless. My only gripe with this book is the confusing chronological order. However, it teaches us to never test nature because we will lose.
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Summary: THIS IS AN ADVENTUROUS BOOK AND IS VERY DESCRIPTED!!!
Review: IF YOU ENJOY ADVENTUROUS BOOKS THEN YOU WILL LIKE "INTO THE WILD." IT IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO TRAVELS AROUND THE UNITED STATES WITH ONLY 1 LB OF RICE ON FOOT. HE ABANDONES HIS CAR AND BURNS HIS WALLET WITH CASH IN IT. HE IS FOUND THREE MONTHS LATER BY HUNTERS IN A SLEEPING BAG DEAD. HE DIED OF STARVATION. HIS REMAINS WEIGHED 65 LBS. I ENJOYED THIS BOOK A LOT AND I RECOMMEND IT.
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Summary: a travel into the mind and soul of a fellow traveler.
Review: though out our life we get a chance to do so much and it is or selves that stop us. it is our very own lack of faith and our dis belief in our selves that stops us from being what we could do. Here is a story about a fellow traveler who shead his limitations for a pair of boots and a pack and took on the world. Sometimes we win but more times it takes back the life it gave me. Only the few have what it takes to try to be what they could be, and even fewer truely have it.
Rating:
Summary: A story of a young man who treks into the Alaskan wilderness
Review: Into the Wild What is it that every human being really desires in life? Is it money, is it job that demands hard labor in an office every day, is it to go to a prestigious school, or is it to live a natural life becoming one with nature? A life in which money, schooling, taxes, bills, materials and jobs are meaningless. Chris McCandless, the graduate from Emory, and the main character of this novel left his family, school, friends, and many other valuables to hike out into the wilderness of Alaska with a backpack and some rice. The question here is why? Were his actions normal, or was Chris just insane? Into the Wild touches on this question by mentioning several other courageous people who trekked out into the wilderness with rebellious minds. The novel reaches deep into the minds of these unexplained hikers who choose to isolate themselves from society. What makes this novel so eerie is that no one has the answers to these unfortunate happenings. There are several theories, some outlandish, and some more legitamite. Someone who seemed so normal and intelligent ends up dead in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. This novel is one grand mystery that even the author cannot let the reader in on. It is for the reader to decide what happened. In this novel, the opinions from the Alaskans are given so that the reader can have a variety of sources to help them figure out this mystery. Some reply that he was stupid, crazy, disrespectful, and immature while many believe that he was simply fed up with society and had no other way out. Not only does this book tell a story, but also it lets the reader witness these accounts by giving excerpts from Chris's journal that he religiously wrote in. This is not a lingering novel; it takes the reader through almost everyday of Chris's adventure with use of great detail. It is similar to the writings of Jack London. The imagery and descriptiveness of the story reels the reader right into the setting. One should feel as though he or she are experiencing Chris's experiences and would perhaps wish that they could be in the wilderness. Here is just a little taste. " He butchered the carcass under a thick cloud of flies and mosquitoes, boiled the organs into a stew, and then laboriously excavated a burrow in the face of a rocky stream bank below the bus"(Krakauer 166). Into the Wild really questions ones mind on how whole of a society we really are. Where cars, computers, buildings, and corporations really meant for this earth, or are we just polluting it and burdening ourselves because we are too ignorant to lookout for our future and ourselves? Should we revert to living off the land, or is that impossible? Into the Wild studies this theory closely by giving the reader Chris's experiences and how successful he was. This is truly a story that gives man respect for natures beauty along with its underlying dangers.
Rating:
Summary: a person that everyone can identify with
Review: Until his death, very few people knew McCandless. When he became a figure in the spotlight from Krakauer's initial magazine review, many were critical of him, except a few outdoor spiritual gurus who probably had lived a similar life. The book, Into the Wild, is the closest anyone will ever have to a chronicle of this enigma's life, and death. Though incomplete (no biography can ever be truly complete), it shows a person who, though extreme, has exemplified a part of humanity that every living person can connect with. Here was a person who would not accept, or relent, or owe his soul to the company store. Krakauer, using a voice only an experienced outdoorsman can have, explains the events that shaped McCandless' life, and then traces the fallout. The rebelious and wild fire that raged in McCandless is little more than a spark in most people, but one that glows until awakened.
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