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agatha_hopkins's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Not one of my favorite books, but it was a decent read. Read as part of our sort of "Transcendentalism" unit in school. I had already read a review about the book, which most definitely led to a biased viewpoint, but I would probably have drawn a similar viewpoint.
This book was well-written, and the author, Jon Krakauer, clearly went into much effort and research to put it together.
That said, despite the author's attempt to convince me that what Chris McCandless did was noble and mature, I found much evidence to the contrary.
The credibility also begins to fall apart at the end with the speculation about the specific way that he died. Sure, Chris was generous, but he was far from humble. He believed in his ability to be able to conquer the wilderness to the point that it got himself killed. He almost died in the desert, but that only convinced him to pursue it further.
I lack the ability to relate to Chris. I consider myself smart, but I would never consider myself clever enough to say I know everything I need to know.
This book was well-written, and the author, Jon Krakauer, clearly went into much effort and research to put it together.
That said, despite the author's attempt to convince me that what Chris McCandless did was noble and mature, I found much evidence to the contrary.
I lack the ability to relate to Chris. I consider myself smart, but I would never consider myself clever enough to say I know everything I need to know.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Cursing, Addiction, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Mentions how his body changes from starvation and living off the wild.d_t_havarson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
And I could swear
That the ocean sings, and the mountains talk to me
I could swear
That I hear her breath, and her heartbeat in the air
I could swear
I could swear
Reading this book for the second time one can't help but to recognize the apologetic patterns Jon Krakauer adopts while talking wistfully about Chris McCandless' life. In cruel and bitter disregard I chalked this book, once deemed one of my favorites, as just another journalistic attempt at glorifying an absentminded youth's attempt at tempting the wild.
However, one can never forget what Chris has done. It has been immortalized throughout film and media, all thanks to Krakauer's inquisitive work and most importantly of all, through Supertramp's ill-fated journey. The comments on McCandless' journey, weather positive or negative, fueled by this book, will forever remain nothing more than scattered thoughts of strangers of a life lived according to one's ideals. That said, I cannot rate this book in a manner of stars, I cannot rate it in any matter at all, I can only read it, try to comprehend what little we now of someone's travels and enrich my life with a fraction of the reflectiveness woven into this work.
That the ocean sings, and the mountains talk to me
I could swear
That I hear her breath, and her heartbeat in the air
I could swear
I could swear
Reading this book for the second time one can't help but to recognize the apologetic patterns Jon Krakauer adopts while talking wistfully about Chris McCandless' life. In cruel and bitter disregard I chalked this book, once deemed one of my favorites, as just another journalistic attempt at glorifying an absentminded youth's attempt at tempting the wild.
However, one can never forget what Chris has done. It has been immortalized throughout film and media, all thanks to Krakauer's inquisitive work and most importantly of all, through Supertramp's ill-fated journey. The comments on McCandless' journey, weather positive or negative, fueled by this book, will forever remain nothing more than scattered thoughts of strangers of a life lived according to one's ideals. That said, I cannot rate this book in a manner of stars, I cannot rate it in any matter at all, I can only read it, try to comprehend what little we now of someone's travels and enrich my life with a fraction of the reflectiveness woven into this work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Eating disorder
kelly_e's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Title: Into the Wild
Author: Jon Krakauer
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: January 13, 1996
T H R E E • W O R D S
Tragic • Mysterious • Absorbing
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In April 1992, Christopher Johnson McCandless donated his savings to charity, abandoned his car along with most of his possessions, and burned all of the cash in his wallet before hitch hiking to Alaska, where he walked into the wilderness to create a new life for himself. Four months later his decomposed body was discovered by a moose hunter. In Into the Wild Jon Krakauer reconstructs the tragic true-story of how he came to die in the wilderness.
💭 T H O U G H T S
This is one of those books that has sat unread on my shelf for far too long. I decided to tandem read a physical copy along with listening to the audio, and I appreciated this experience more than I anticipate I would have had a done either alone.
Krakauer has delivered an objective and comprehensive account, neither praising or critiquing Chris, of what lead to his death. It's is obvious he has thoroughly researched and investigated this case, and the narrative is extremely interesting and well-written. Krakauer captures the essence of nature unlike anyone else.
As someone who values time spent in nature (by no means do I consider myself to be an expert) this book really opened my eyes to the realization that mistakes do happen, even to the most skilled of expeditioners. I was interested in the story, but also saw this as a cautionary tale.
Overall, a worthwhile reading experience that left me reflecting and wanting to know more.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Wild and/or Between a Rock and a Hard Place
• travel enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past."
"I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often."
Author: Jon Krakauer
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: January 13, 1996
T H R E E • W O R D S
Tragic • Mysterious • Absorbing
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In April 1992, Christopher Johnson McCandless donated his savings to charity, abandoned his car along with most of his possessions, and burned all of the cash in his wallet before hitch hiking to Alaska, where he walked into the wilderness to create a new life for himself. Four months later his decomposed body was discovered by a moose hunter. In Into the Wild Jon Krakauer reconstructs the tragic true-story of how he came to die in the wilderness.
💭 T H O U G H T S
This is one of those books that has sat unread on my shelf for far too long. I decided to tandem read a physical copy along with listening to the audio, and I appreciated this experience more than I anticipate I would have had a done either alone.
Krakauer has delivered an objective and comprehensive account, neither praising or critiquing Chris, of what lead to his death. It's is obvious he has thoroughly researched and investigated this case, and the narrative is extremely interesting and well-written. Krakauer captures the essence of nature unlike anyone else.
As someone who values time spent in nature (by no means do I consider myself to be an expert) this book really opened my eyes to the realization that mistakes do happen, even to the most skilled of expeditioners. I was interested in the story, but also saw this as a cautionary tale.
Overall, a worthwhile reading experience that left me reflecting and wanting to know more.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of Wild and/or Between a Rock and a Hard Place
• travel enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Some people feel like they don't deserve love. They walk away quietly into empty spaces, trying to close the gaps of the past."
"I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he did too much thinking. Sometimes he tried too hard to make sense of the world, to figure out why people were bad to each other so often."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Cannibalism
Minor: Mental illness
nicoleherz's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Philosophical, living off the land, adolescent arrogance or ignorance?
Raised some interesting questions. I really liked the author's well researched approach and how they wove in so much information into a larger narrative. Just a fascinating take on a sad story that you might not give much thought to, ordinarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, Murder, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, and Medical content
lunaviolet's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.75
This book was so. long. Usually a 200 page book is on the smaller side for me but the pacing of this one made it feel twice as long. This book could have been a quarter of the length and still include all the same information. There were several parts that I felt like I had read already. The author has a tendency to walk in a circle, take a little detour, walk in a circle, talk about himself for two chapters, and return to walking in a circle. Very tedious to read. Also leaves a lot of important information out until the end (despite telling the part of the story the information pertains to at least three times) or leaves it out completely. If this were a fictional novel, I would have no issue with that, but it’s nonfiction and written by a journalist. That means I expect it to be more informative than entertaining, and it definitely tried (and failed) to lean into entertainment. Some things didn’t add up or seemed sketchy and the author was obviously biased, especially near the end. He’s aware that he’s biased, and even tells the reader so in the author’s note, but it made me, as a reader, doubt a lot of the information given and the way it is presented. All in all, if I didn’t have to read this for school, I wouldn’t have picked it up in the first place (I’m most definitely not the target audience (which is important for you to know so that you aren’t deterred by my review if you are the target audience, but, just like the author did with his book, I put vital information in the end of my review when it should have been in the beginning)) nor would I have wanted to read past chapter 3 if I tried to read it out of curiosity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Self harm
Minor: Animal death
stemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Drug use and Mental illness
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