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Kindle Customer

A sad, inspiring tragedy

Reviewed in Australia on 8 July 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A sad, inspiring tragedy. Chris walked his dream. I loved the story but also feel a deep sadness for his life lost and the people hurt by his loss. He set out with youthful exuberance matched with significant competence. However, he found out too late that we stand on the shoulder of giants and are weak in our own right.

If he survived, he would have faded into history. Now, we meet him because he died.

Nonetheless, he lived. He did not cower from his endeavor. This book chronicles his life by not simply making him a hero but also examining his weaknesses. Sure, he is a protagonist for Krakauer. But, he is not deified. He is shown to be somebody that came face to face with reality in a sad tragic end but at least he saw reality, instead of simply living in a dream of Netflix and suburbia.

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Alexandra Krzyszton

An inspiring tale, that reminds us that the Bravado ...

Reviewed in Australia on 1 February 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

An inspiring tale , that reminds us that the Bravado of youth, is no match for the harsh realities and lessons that we all eventually experience...

This is an enchanting and cautionary tale... sometimes hard to read, because the lessons of our own youth (especially those with wanderlust), quickly -becomes apparent and there's not much you can do about an inevitBle end.

The soundtrack to the movie , played in my head the entire time. I adored this book to read :)

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Amazon Customer

Reviewed in Australia on 6 August 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I watched the movie into the wild first then read the book. The book is indeed excellent and a lot more thorough than the movie, the movie kind of misleading us a little bit.
Jon is so good at tell a real story without putting too much his own judgement in it.

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Kirstie

Fascinating read

Reviewed in Australia on 25 September 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Beautiful descriptions of wilderness and the longing that draws a person into the wild. I enjoyed the interspersing of Chris' diary entries with the perspectives of his family and those that spent time with him along his pilgrimage.

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gerard

Reviewed in Australia on 5 February 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Shaving watched the movie countless times over. Listened to the soundtrack many times as well . This book ties it all together ' whether Chris had hurt his family forever making him a bad person or not is up to each of us to ponder,,,, or not judge at all, he simply knob y wanted to go d his peace

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Joylyn

I found this book rather onerous and struggled to maintain ...

Reviewed in Australia on 13 February 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found this book rather onerous and struggled to maintain interest as it headed off into the stories of so many other characters.

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Gillian

Eloquently descriptive

Reviewed in Australia on 17 January 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A boy's dream who followed his heart on an adventure that was against all rules as a society knows and tells us as being right, that's bulls*** to Chris McCandless, good on him....

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peter

Enjoyed the comparison with the author's own climb of the ...

Reviewed in Australia on 4 June 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Incredibly illuminating read. Well balanced. Enjoyed the comparison with the author's own climb of the Devils Thumb.

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Top international reviews

Ashok Krishna

Beautiful book for anyone that loves questions of an existential nature!

Reviewed in India on 7 February 2017

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“Youth is wasted on the Young!”
- The great GB Shaw opined thus. ‘Into The Wild’ is the tale of a young man on whom youth was wasted. Wasted but not thrown away.

Christopher Walt McCandless was a young man that went into the Alaskan wild, leaving his parents and siblings behind, donating all his savings, abandoning his car, possessions and even burning whatever little money he had in his wallet, thus shaking away the shackles of financial security. He went away from the human civilization not because he was a glum recluse or a misanthropist. He was just one of those innumerable youngsters who feel that the answers to the testing questions of Life can be found only far away from Life and not by being in it on a day-to-day basis.

With evidently little preparation but abundant confidence that is the trademark of Youth, Chris headed into the Alaskan wilderness determined to make a living ‘off the land’, by hunting and eating whatever he could gather there, far away from the nearest human being. Little would he have known that this would be his last venture away from his family, because his lifeless body was found in emaciated state, four months after he went in.

There are so many arguments already about whether Chris was right or wrong, wise or foolish and so on and hence I will cut them all out from my review. What stood out for me from this tale were a few things. Chris wasn’t impudent or headstrong. Ask any youngster about what his idea of a wildest adventure is and he will tell you about living untethered. Having had ideas of traveling across the country myself, alone in my bike, I could vouch for the forces that could have pushed Chris onwards. Add to that the ideals of authors like Henry David Thoreau and Jack London who happened to be the favorites of Chris, the impressionable young mind of McCandless had all the ingredients to leave on the wild seeking.

Of course, Chris had issues with his parents and their ways of life, as any normal teenager would. His father’s being bigamous aggravated things a lot too. But it didn’t make Chris a bitter person. As everyone who met Chris during his self-imposed exile would vouch for, Chris was an intelligent, amiable, ideal and hardworking young man. He wasn’t suicidal, because if he was, he could have simply jumped off a bridge or a cliff. He was just experimental about life in his own way and he wanted to simply relish the freedom of living ‘off the grid’. His notes and the concise journal entries during his last few days of life prove that he never went in there to simply die. As Jon proves beyond doubt, Chris lost his life to food-poisoning and starvation, having been cut off from his return to the safety of civilization by a flooded river.

Jon has done a beautiful job by not completely idolizing Chris. Jon presents the experiences of people who met Chris during his sojourn across North America and none of them have anything negative to tell about Chris. That was not just because he was dead, but because he was indeed good. Jon also shares his own personal experience of being stuck in a cold cliff during his own arrogant attempt to scale a peak, as a result of which he could relate with Chris easily.

This is a simple and beautiful book for anyone that loves questions of an existential nature. You may love Chris or hate him for the waste of a young life, but you cannot deny the fact that each and every one of us has a ‘Chris’ inside. Some of us have managed to smother ‘him’ by heaping our day-to-day responsibilities and concerns atop, but all of us have a Chris straining at the leash, wanting to run far, very far away from all this maddening crowd of life!

58 people found this helpful

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CathyR

Thought provoking tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 June 2016

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I listened to the audio version of this book and Philip Franklin does a great job with the narration. I haven’t read Jon Krakauer before and I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the gradual unfolding of Chris McCandless’ story. I’d never heard of Chris McCandless before this and I found the story fascinating, tragic and scarcely credible in parts. If this had been fiction I can imagine the reader or listener berating the ‘hero’ for his lack of foresight and preparation before embarking on such a dangerous and uncertain journey.

Jon Krakauer explores Chris’ McCandless’s life, and death, through his family, Chris’ own notes, photographs and letters, plus the people he met on his travels, most of whom felt a compelling pull towards the young man and came to love him.

Basically, I’m not sure what to think. Here’s a highly academically intelligent young man who had a privileged upbringing, protesting strongly against world hunger and the wastage of food. He was angry at his father who lead a double life for several years, which is understandable. Perhaps it was a combination of these things, coupled with the books he was fond of reading by authors such as Jack London, Tolstoy and Thoreau to name just a few, which fired his imagination and passions for the idea of travel and survival in remote and unforgiving areas, ultimately the wilderness. He believed a person should own nothing apart from whatever they could carry. No longer would he answer to Chris McCandless; he was now Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny.

The story begins on April 27th, 1992 as Chris, or Alex as he now calls himself, is hitching from Fairbanks, Alaska and is offered a lift by Jim Gallien. He wants a ride to the edge of Denali National Park so he can just walk into the bush and live off the land for a few months.

Chris’ death was a tragedy which could have been avoided if he’d prepared for his stay in the wilds of Alaska with practicality and learned enough about endurance in such a harsh environment. That he chose not to, shows a lack of common sense, an underestimation of the wilderness and what it takes to survive.

Chris’ idealism and intensity caused a tremendous amount of hurt and suffering. It seems he had no thought of how his lack of communication would affect his parents, Walt and Billie, and Carine, the sister he supposedly loved. I can only imagine how distraught his family must have been during the whole time Chris was missing from their lives. Then, to learn he died in such dreadful circumstances had to have been beyond devastating.

During the course of the narrative Jon Krakauer does an impressive job of delving into the mindset of adventurers drawn to the ‘call of the wild’, including himself. It’s apparent, and understandable, that he feels a fascination for, and identifies with, Chris McCandless, given the parallels between their lives. He doesn’t claim to be an impartial biographer, quite the opposite. I don’t, however, agree with the view that Chris’ mistakes were innocent ones. He deliberately went into the Alaskan wilderness rashly, unprepared and without the basic necessities or any kind of reserve or support should he find himself in an emergency situation, despite all advice to the contrary.

In the end, Chris lived his life the way he wanted to, mostly isolated from people and minus the pointless, as he saw it, trappings of a materialistic society, and paid the ultimate price. It’s still a very sad end to such a short life. I found the recounting of the last few weeks of his life, via the journals he kept, very poignant. Especially since it seems Chris was ready to return to civilisation and, had he possessed the relevant map and knowledge, would more than likely have made it. Jon Krakauer’s theory on the cause of Chris’ death seems the most reasonable explanation and makes a lot of sense. I’ll be checking out more of this author’s work.

22 people found this helpful

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Kindleworm Dot Com

A wonderfully portrayed book of how a tragedy came to be...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2019

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I enjoyed watching the film, a rarity for me, so when this came up on a Kindle deal for 99p i didn’t hesitate.

After watching the film i was of the mind that Chris McCandless was a total idiot, as apparently were most of the people who heard the basic story of his demise. But was it fair on him to be portrayed in that way? I wanted to know a bit more.

Jon was the reporter who first brought this story to the world in an article he was asked to write for ‘Outdoor Magazine’. But he knew he hadn’t done the story justice in the time constraints that he’d had to get that article written, so he went back over the whole story and wrote this book.

And this book really does put things into context. One thing the film doesn’t cover is the childhood that Chris and his sister suffered under a domineering, controlling, and oft times abusive, father who demanded excellence all the time, and when Chris found out the truth about his father’s excellence — how Chris and his sister came to be born — i think something really snapped inside him. He just wanted to be free of everything his father represented, to get as far away from it as possible — and having been bought up by a father like that who i had to escape from at 15 years old into my own wilderness, i can’t blame Chris whatsoever for being like he was and doing what he did, in fact, i totally understand.

As to the writing, this story is incredibly well thought out and presented and really does put a lot of Chris’ behaviour and attitude into a much broader perspective than a film could ever hope to get to.

So if you have watched the film then please don’t just stop with that view of Chris, i don’t think that’s fair. Take a little while, read this book and get to see a much wider picture of Chris McCandless.

4 people found this helpful

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Lord Bage

Will written and interesting!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 March 2017

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JK writes this epic tale with the knowledge of someone that has done their research, knows their topic and has at least some inkling of what Chris was feeling and trying to do. He's taken risks himself, albeit more calculated ones and clearly with better odds attached. This book was a pleasure to read, CMcC was an adventurer, a man who baulked at the idea of living in a stone house surrounded by technology, other people and living a comfortable and convenient life - he yearned for the solace of a lonely life and felt better connected to the wilds of Alaska than any WiFi. Was he ill-prepared? I think so. Idealistic and maybe a little naive? Possibly. But the gamble for CMcC was worth it, unfortunately, it didn't pay off!

7 people found this helpful

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Denz

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2019

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This is a fascinating book. What's also fascinating are the reviews of this book by other readers. Some people confuse their feelings of Chris\Alex with the writing and the book itself and give this a poor review, some think the author has an agenda and writes with a biased viewpoint whilst others think the book is well written and that Chris is to be admired. For what it's worth, I think Chris was naive and a little selfish but that's true of many 20 something's but I also think he was brave and true to himself. As for the book, it's very well written. I looked that the author has investigated other stories and has reflected on his own experiences to help explain what the driving force for such expeditions might be as well as why Chris made the decisions he did. Overall, a well written and interesting book.

One person found this helpful

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neil ferrans

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2018

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A well presented third-party "adventure" story whereby the author researched the protagonist`s life and dreams and manages to keep a continuous story despite the absence of the central character.
The characterisation of the dead character(Christopher) is sympathetic despite the branding of the lad as naive,foolish, unprepared for his challenge of survival and lacking in common sense.
The story needed to be told, for those who have similar aspirations, for those who would hasten to criticise the dreams of the young man, and for those who underestimate the challenges of survival in the wilds.
well written by someone who was able to sympathetically put together the forces which drove Chris to challenge the wilds and the tragic consequences of his naivety and the power of nature.

2 people found this helpful

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MrsGrimshawReads

Highly recommend this book - fascinating story that will make you reflect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 December 2014

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This book has stayed with me long after I finished reading it. As soon as I finished in fact, I downloaded 'into thin air'. I'm not going to give my opinion here of Chris M (needless to say I changed my mind countless times along the way), you cna make your own mind up, but I know this book does create a divide of those who are infurriated by what they consider to be hischildish, selfish and irresponsible behaviour and those who thing he is inspirational and his thoughts on how we live in this capitalist world are completely valid. If you have a friend who recommends you read this book, as they already have, then please do. When I had finished it, I was desperate to discuss 'Chris' with other readers!! It raised loads of questions for me, about the world and about my life and my role in it. I haven't read another book quite like this. Very enjoyable.

7 people found this helpful

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Mark Gannon

Three and a half stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 July 2018

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An interesting read. I can admire Chris McCandless for trying to seek his own way in life and trying to be his own person. I can admire Jon Krakauer for trying to be impartial in his telling of Chris' story. The book was well written and researched. By the end of the book, some people will outright admire Chris and his lifestyle choices, others will see him as a foolish child who died through his own mistakes. A lot of reasons were postulated as to why Chris did what he did, but it is sad that we will never truly know. Three and a half stars

One person found this helpful

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Malan

Much more than a Journey into the Wild

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2016

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A thoughtful account of the search to find solace from difficult family circumstances that affect a child growing into adulthood. The book is well written by an author who relates the story from personal experiences vividly recalled in a later Chapter. I found this an amazing read and would recommend it to anyone who has a love of the out doors and wants to understand how some people are driven to attempt extreme challenges with apparently slight regard for home comforts or safety.

3 people found this helpful

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susan

Interesting read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2020

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I definitely enjoyed this book, having heard about Chris McCandless and watched the film, which I also really enjoyed.
I would highly recommend this book, although some parts might be slightly hard going, however these sections are not very long and I wouldn't skip them.

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Bookworm

Powerful stuff

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2014

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I saw the trailers for the film and thought reading the book about Chris McCandless' life would be the best place to start. It is an interesting pretty balanced account of the life of the book' s chief protagonist.
Chris seems to have adopted a pretty black and white view of the world and the people in it.
I was taken with his single-mindedness and drive to experience the things he wanted to.

Not sure I understood the positioning of the comparative accounts of other similar individuals being inserted into the book's structure. Perhaps they might have been better placed as epilogue or prologue material to give the reader some idea of a solitary adventurer's mindset.
It would have benefited from having pictures to supplement the maps too.

Worth reading though.

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D. M. York

Starving to death was a small price to pay for such freedom

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2008

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What might motivate someone to cut all ties with their family, to give away all of their money to charity, dispose of their belongings and adopt a life on the road? In this day and age our possessions and vocations end up owning us, so it comes as somewhat of a shock to the system to see that a young and intelligent man would decide to dispose of the normal trappings of life. McCandless is infamous for having starved to death in the Alaskan wilderness, though the book looks at what brought him there.

In fact McCandless had spent a year or more on the road, moving from place to place throughout western and northern USA, holding down some basic jobs for a short time before moving on, seeming to all as though he were just one more drifter passing through. Though the book delicately looks at the young mans travels and examines the thoughts of McCandless as they are relayed through photographs and the accounts of the people he encountered along the way.

We find it so strange to think that somebody could turn their back on the trapping of society and seek to do nothing more than to travel around without the normal worries we all carry. Whilst I started the book knowing this young man starved to death, I could not help but feel that McCandless was doing something that many people do not have the courage for. A wonderful if somewhat sad read.

2 people found this helpful

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janeymc

A very interesting and sad story. I agree with another reviewer that there ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 October 2014

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A very interesting and sad story. I agree with another reviewer that there wasn't really a need for all the quotes from other books at the beginning of each chapter, apart from the ones that McCandless had highlighted. Also I read an awful lot, I have an english degree, and this is the first time I've had to use the function on my kindle to explain what a word means....and I used it about 4/5 times......personally I rather an author to not feel the need to use more convuluted language than necessary. But each to their own, maybe some people get off on ridiculously big words ;-) Maybe it'll improve my vocab. Also wasn't feeling the chapter where the author talks about his relationship with his father in comparison, but then I'll admit I kind of wanted to get to the end at that stage. All in all a great story and I'm glad someone took such time to write it. My heart goes out to his parents and sister.

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Amazon Customer

Adds nothing to the film.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2019

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Bought this book after watching the film and absolutely loving it. I was hoping the book would provide a detailed insight into the story and the charictors surrounding chris’ life. Have to say was somewhat disappointed as instead of delving deep into the lives of those within the story the author instead spends time recounting his own stories which add nothing to the overall story of the book and come across as self indulgent. This was an amazing story with many great sub stories, that should have been much better told.

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Sam D

a good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 March 2014

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I thoroughly enjoy true life survival stories, and came across Chris McCandless' story when I read an article about how 'into the wild' fans are trekking to the magic bus in Alaska where McCandless' body was found inside. These inexperienced trekkers are putting themselves into danger and one girl has recently died crossing the river to get to the bus. I think these fans of McCandless admire his will to go it alone, and not conform to society. Krakauer writes his story in a fairly neutral way, and obviously did extensive research into this young man's travels and eventual death. The book is very well written and it was definately thought-provoking. However, I finished the story feeling sad for his family, and thinking what a waste of a young man's life.

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