Rating: 
Summary: Where's the mystery?
Review: Okay- so I'm only half way through the book, but I still don't get that feeling that you get when a book just captures your imagination. Mabey thats cause it's nonfiction, but still, it's almost as borring as heck. I mean, wheres the mystery in it? Sure, this guy leaves life as we know it out to rot and instead takes the dangerous road of life, but how many other people have done the same? Look at the hippy era for instance. Everyone suddenly deciced that they wanted to live a life on the road. My parents are from that time. So this guy went more than overboard in deciding that he wanted to live off the wilderness, but alot of other people have done the same, as the book reveals. If Krakauer knew how to write a book, he wouldn't have done that. It ruins the whole story when he begins to tell how other people have died doing the same thing- searching for some meaning to life. But I do have to admit, that guy who educated hiself for fun, then decided to live in the stone age was pretty cool. If the book was about him, well, it would of been something different cause no one has ever done that before, or even considered it. And thats probably my point here- you can tell what will happen in the book cause its something that hear about in everyday life. It's nothing new. And thats what a good book is- something new that stimulates the imagination.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the OUTSIDE Article Instead
Review: I just finished this book even though it's been on my shelf for years. Unfortunately, I found this to be one of the worst books I've read in a while. First off, the story of Chris and his life is extremely skimpy--basically, he was excruciatingly average. Therefore, the author pads the story with entire chapters about himself! Secondly, the writing is atrocious. Krakauer creates whole passages of melodrama, too ridiculous to cite here. Finally, my biggest problem with the book was the lack of conclusions it draws: "Was Chris nuts? Was he sane? No one will ever know..." erases all the previous efforts the author described to get to the 'soul' of this young man. Bottom line for those curious about Chris and his travels is to look for the OUTSIDE magazine article about him because it offers as much info as the book does and is a lot cheaper and quicker to read.
Rating:
Summary: More than McCandless
Review: This book began in an interesting way, but fizzled out at mid point. It was difficult to follow because it is not completely linear in its time line and often a location is mentioned without naming the State it's connected to. I was interested in learning what happened with McCandless or a possible reason for his lack of rational. Unfortunately, the story begins to discuss other people who have done similarly foolhardy things and this is where the book became a chore to read. I would not recommend this book unless it is a strong topic of interest to you.
Rating: 
Summary: K. Zirlott University of Alabama
Review: Into the Wild is one of the best works of recent nonfiction, a work of true drama and mystery, and an attempt to answer the question "What would cause and very intelligent and adventurous young man to die in the wilderness of Alaska?" I sat spellbound as I read through Krakauer's book and all the time feeling as if I was with Chris on his journey across America and into Alaska. I highly reccommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: good collaboration of Jon's and Chris McCandless's adventure
Review: The book turned out to be interesting and left me wondering what really happened to Chris...Krakauer respected the life of Chris and honored his memory, but still provided the reasons native Alaskans thought Chris died. If you are looking for a similar read to Into Thin Air this isn't it...but good nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Into The Wild
Review: He couldn't understand how some people could be starving to death and some people could be so rich. The year after his sophomore year in college, he gave away $25,000 in college savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, and burned all his money. Chris McCandless adventured into the Alaskan Wilderness and invented a new life for himself, and was found dead four months later. No one is quite sure what happened to Chris, but Jon Krackauer attempts to retrace Chris's footsteps in his book, Into The Wild. Krackauer has spent the past several years following Chris's path, and interviewing his acquaintances. We learn that Chris is not just a rebellious young man, but a fascinating individual who is bored with the common way of living.
Born into a well to do family, everything came easy to Chris. He got excellent grades in school and was well liked by many. Chris, however was unique. Unlike many us, he followed his beliefs and dreams. It takes a lot of courage to do this, and that's just what Chris had.
Krackauer writes about the past two years of Chris's life in immense detail. Sometimes it might even seem unnecessary, but I think it helps the reader get a greater image and better understanding of the story. The book is divided into eighteen chapters and only 200 pages long. It isn't too long or drawn out and keeps the reader interested throughout.
This book enlightens a different way of thinking and looking at the world and nature. Anyone who is looking for this and/or for a good adventure with a twist would certainly enjoy Into The Wild. Other books that I would also recommend, like this, are Into Thin Air by Jon Krackaur and Call of the Wild by Jack London. Call of the Wild was one of Chris McCandless's favorite novels.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, touching story
Review: Into the Wild is the story of Chris McCandless, a young man from a privileged background who left everything behind to live off the land in Alaska but who starved to death shortly thereafter. Many who have heard his story have criticized McCandless for his hubris and lack of preparation. Perhaps those would be my feelings too were it not for Krakauer's sympathetic portrayal of McCandless and others who don't fit into mainstream society and search for a different life on the margins. Krakauer does a masterful job hunting down the people McCandless met on his journey, presenting historic examples of other misfits, and evoking the hunger for freedom that drives so many adventurers, but then gives the last word to Chris' mother, reminding us that the price paid by those who love and are left behind is severe.
Rating:
Summary: Adventure, Youth, and Death
Review: Fascinating story and great writing. Krakauer does a fine job detailing the fateful odyssey of a young and idealistic soul.....
Rating:
Summary: disappearance of a young man
Review: i gave this a 2 rating because i felt the author tried to take his very good newspaper/magazine article and expand it a bit too much into a novel. at times this book went to places that really never held my interest.
Rating:
Summary: Living the Self: A Book Review of Into the Wild
Review: Living the Self: A Book Review of Into the Wild
"I wanted movement and not a strong course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life."Leo Tolstoy
"Family Happiness"
Passage highlighted in one of the books found
with Chris McCandless's remains
Jon Krakauer, an adventure novelist, was asked by the editor of Outside magazine to write an article on the mysterious youth, Chris McCandless, who had recently been discovered dead in Alaska. Krakauer writes for many national magazines and newspapers. He became further intrigued with the investigation and story behind Christopher McCandless after the completion of his nine-thousand-word article published in the January 1993 issue of Outside. He spent the next several years retracing Chris's past by visiting locations along Chris's journey and interviewing locals in which Chris had acquainted himself with. Jon Krakauer is also the author of Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains and Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster. This novel retraces the path of a gifted individual who disliked the common person's role in society. Chris McCandless was from a well-to-do family, a brilliant student, a superstar athlete, and a young man of great ... character. In the summer of 1990, after graduation with honors from Emory University in Atlanta, Christopher Johnson McCandless took on a new lifestyle. He gave the [dollar amount] in his savings to charity, deserted his personal possessions, and burned the cash in his wallet. Along with deserting the material-life, Chris deserted his birth name often traveling under Alexander Supertramp. For nearly two years Chris ventured about the US before making his great "Alaskan odyssey." However, this adventure would be his last, for Chris was found dead four months later by a moose hunter. Chris's emptiness in his societal life led him to desire a non-materialistic life. Chris devoted his free time to solo road trips in which his family recalls Chris disappearing for weeks at a time without contact. He was a very sociable person, but he also respected solitude and the outdoor life. In a postcard sent to Ron Franz, Chris writes,
...So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. 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. What drove Chris to exchange a prospective lifestyle for [end of life] by starvation in the Alaskan wilderness? Was he another individual uncertain about his life and destiny or was he a sane man living out his passion? Well, you will have to make the decision yourself by reading Krakauer's novel, Into the Wild.
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