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Summary: "Into the Wild" questions the ideals of society.
Review: Where does our society spend the most money, time and talents? This is the question Chris McCandless and Jon Krakauer express through the tale of going into the wild. Chris came from a well-off family that spent a lot of time working for the American Dream. This ideal of working hard to support a family and to have a lot of money is the basic dream that many Americans face. Therefore, the goal that Chris was expected to reach was to go to college then law school. However, Chris leaves the security of his chosen path, giving away his money and leaving school, to prove that he can survive on a subsistent level. Many people regard this action of leaving his family and following his dream as selfish. Chris' actions were extreme and hurt the one's that loved him. On the other hand, his actions are true to what he believed in and worked for all his life, his ideals. In conclusion, I would give the book five stars becuase it made readers, like myself, question the ideals that we follow and the relationships that we have with people.
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Summary: McCandless had a good basis but didn't think out his ideas
Review: In the book Chris McCandless had a good idea base, get back to being one with nature. However, his thoughts were flawed in that he never thought this idea all of the way through. Sure people must become more closely related to nature than they are today. We abuse nature's resources and never really appreciate her beauty. Most people can't because they're too caught up in their life in the city of of making money, they lose sight of their roots. Chris McCandless realized this and tried to get closer to nature but in his thought process he figured people didn't need others, only nature. Without other people emotions are pointless. Our friends make us happy and our enemies make us angery, nature doesn't do this for us. If humankind were meant to live solely by themselves in nature, people probably wouldn't have emotions not to mention an enormous number of problems would arise in the way of reproduction. McCandless was wrong in his idea that people don't need others. Without others to makes us feel sorrow or joy we are nothing. Emotions evoked by others are what make us who we are. Chris McCandless even realized this when he was in Alaska. He felt it was time to go back to civilization. Why, because he was too lonely. He needed other people just like everybody else. A second flaw in Chris McCandless' thoughts is the sources from which he drew his ideas from and how he applied them to his own life from authors such as Tolstoy, London, Thoreau, etc. Not to say that these men don't have good points, but there are many more peoples' thoughts in other books that should be considered as well. McCandless seemed to take only what he like and discard the rest. He took no heed to the fact that some of these men who he worshiped were hypocritical. They preached chastity but practiced something else. Some of his favorite authors tried to write stories involving landscapes they didn't know everything about. Chris McCandless tried to live a Henry Thoreau life style in a Jack London setting. Living off the land doesn't quite work when you're trying to live off of a frozen tundra. McCandless needed to have more realistic settings in which to employ his ideas. In the end Jon Krakauer's presentation of McCandless' life is to disjointed. It would probably be best to tell McCandless' story from beginning to end and not jump all over the place. He even interjects personal information in awkward places.
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Summary: Are you kidding me?
Review: As I read through "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, I wasn't expecting such an interesting book. Chris McCandless (the main character in this true story), a recent college graduate, decides to abandon his life as he has known it and set out on a "great adventure" in America. Tramping across the United States, McCandless learns countless skills which will someday help him in his ultimate dream -- living in solitude in the Alaskan wilderness. After 2 years of wandering aimlessly in South Dakota and the West Coast, McCandless finally decides it is time to travel to Alaska. With nothing more than 10 pounds of rice and a few pieces of hunting equipment (a .22 caliber and fishing pole), McCandless begins a stay in the wilderness which is beyond my imagination. The writing technique of Krakauer in this book is very similar to his "Into Thin Air." Peppered with difficult vocabulary and vivid description, "Into the Wild" is a classic Krakauer book. My personal feelings of this novel are as follows: Krakauer is an amazing writer, but the subject of his book is one of the most ridiculous people I've ever heard of. McCandless's Tolstoyan/Thoreau philosophy to life leaves much to be desired. Reading about how McCandless deserted his family, followed the ideas of fellow mortal men, and became arrogant in front of God's creation (Nature), I am left with sympathy for the boy. He was lost in this world and no one ever took the time to rescue him. What a sad commentary about our society. If nothing else was gained by me from reading this book, I learned that the youth of today is being misled by society constantly. This book was so great because it continually pointed out that society is more interested in dealing with lost people in whatever way is easiest. Society doesn't care to take time out and help lost people find the Way. May GOD guide our generation in finding lost people so that there are no more stories like this one of Chris McCandless.
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Summary: A mystery of why somebody would give up everything
Review: Why would a person want to give up everything they have and go out on their own little expidition around the country? Chris McCandless gives away his life savings and after graduation from college heads out and develops a whole new lifestyle for himself. Many people would look at him and just think that he is nuts for doing something like that. But there is something inside of him that drives him to do this. It is impossible to come up with the real reason he wandered off and headed to Alaska to brave the rough terran up there. But Krakauer tries to track the trail of McCandless and talks with many people that knew him. Everybody seemed to agree that he was a very intelligent kid. Everyone of them wondered why he was doing this and sometimes tried to even talk to him about it. But by then he was on the move again and leaving a bag full of questions for the people behind him. This book leaves the reader wanting to more and to read on. It also touches the readers sense of adventure inside of them.
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Summary: Into the Wild
Review: Chris McCandless was a very intelligent young man who did not want to walk the path that had been paved before him. He was willing to go to ultimate extremes to ensure that his future was not an extension of the past. After giving up almost everything of value to today's society, McCandless headed off on an adventure that only he could understand. However, McCandless had no idea that his journey would end in tragedy. Author Jon Krakauer definitely shows that he did his homework before writing this book. Krakauer's vast knowledge shines brightly as the result of countless interviews and astonishing personal experiences. With the help of McCandless's family, friends and journal, Krakauer brilliantly reconstructes the events that led McCandless around the country and into what proved to be the deadly Alaskan wilderness. Throughout this incredible book McCandless shows without a doubt that he wanted to live life and not just be alive.
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Summary: Unlike any other book I've ever read.
Review: I found the book to be somewhat interesting, but I do not agree with McCandless' ideas about life. Throwing away all your possessions and marching off into the wilderness unprepared is just plain foolishness, and from the other examples that Krakauer cited, usually ends in death. How fruitless is that? Although it is interesting to learn about McCandless' adventures via Krakauer's book, it would've been better to learn about it from McCandless himself, had he been more prepared to walk into the Alaskan interior and survive to walk out again.
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Summary: Into the Wild and out of reality
Review: Into the Wild is about a dreamy college graduate that has the potential to do many things with his life. With a wealthy family and a good college education, Chris McCandless throws all of this opportunity away and goes his own seperate way. After graduating from college Chris gives away the majority of his money and deserts his possesions to fullfill a life in the wilderness. Escaping from the capitalist world we live in, McCandless hops in his 1982 Datsun B210 and starts his journey. All throughout the trip McCandless is challenged with many problems such as finding food, keeping warm, and traveling after the loss of his Datsun. Chris lived off of the generousity of others while on his voyage. He met many different people and was offered many necessities by them. He was offered shelter, food, money, rides to places, and most important he was offered friendship. Chris didnt seem to be bothered by leaving his family and friends behind, but he still struggled with being alone when he was in the wilderness. Chris wrote to many of his newly found friends throughout his journey, and seemed to enjoy the company they brought him. "Into the Wild" is a good book that traces Chris's steps throughout his journey and attempts to explain his rare personality. It is a good book for dreamers, but it reminds the reader that escaping from every day necessities leads into a painful death.
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Summary: "Alex Supertramp"...into the wild and on the road
Review: I think this was a very interesting book. The true story of how a young man gave up everything to go out and explore this vast country, and in the process, himself. He was able to discover what was really important in life. Now, is it possible for all of us do the same? By different and less drastic means, of course. Can we truly take a break from this fast-paced life, step back, and think of why we are here, and how we should approach living life to it's fullest? I believe that Chris McCandless had gotten it all figured out. He risked so much, and gave up many things, but I think he figured it out. Yes, he could have let his family know of his plans, and he could have been more prepared, but that would have defeated his purpose of living completely on his own. One of my only problems with this book was with the author. His own personal experience, and those of others like Chris could have been better placed in the book to set the story better. If we had known earlier on about his own adventures, maybe we could see him as a more credible source to be writing about the life of a young man he had never known, but researched so much.
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Summary: Proving one's courage and autonomy
Review: Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild" was the story of a young man's rebellion from society and his spiritual journey as he struck out alone in the wilderness. Although Chris was selfish and overconfident in what he did, I can't help but feel a sense of awe toward him. I believe the reason that he went "into the wild" was to prove to himself that he could succeed and live alone in the wilderness. Ever since he was little, it seems as if he had an overwhelming drive to be the best that he could be. His trip to Alaska was just one more way of proving that. He craved the personal freedom of his own choices- something that his parents never allowed him to do. I can't help but admire Chris for what he did. Although he was selfish in many ways, including cutting his parents off from his life, I believe that it took a large sum of courage to venture alone into Alaska. He gave up all sense of security by not bringing a map or radio, taking the challenge to the ultimate extreme. Krakauer was completely prepared in writing this book, having done large sums of research on Chris McCandlesse's life and Alaska itself. He gave good insights to possible explainations why Chris did what he did by writing of experiences of his own and of others.
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Summary: This book brings out the explorer/ wonderer in all of us.
Review: "Into the Wild", the national bestseller written by Jon Krakauer, is one of those books that brings out the "Chris McCandless" in all of us. This book, which is filled with a detailed account of the journey of a young man, and small summaries of others, takes me back to my younger years as I am sure it does for others as well. At times a person wishes they could just let go of their every say duities and venture off where ever they please. The reason you got four stars, Jon, was because of me. I am a straight foward guy and I don't liked to be skippped around. Otherwise it was an excellent book.
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