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maddieburke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Something about this book is so relatable to us all. The idea of forgetting society and rekindling your relationship with yourself and the earth. Trying to live independently away from the “poison of society” is so exhilarating… and this man actually went through with it. There is something so admirable about Chris that made me fall in love with his character. Krakauer’s use of story telling is exciting and thorough, the best it could possibly be. I was not once bored with this book because it made me think and appealed to the adventurous side of me. I have 0 negatives from reading this book. Everyone should read Into The Wild.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Animal death, and Eating disorder
realsiderzz30's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A brilliantly beautiful blend of the adventurous spirit of humans and a reflective tale of a man who takes to the wild .
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Grief
Minor: Toxic friendship
whatwentwrong1177's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Grief, and Death
mheiling's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, and Grief
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
sarahbythebook's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
1.0
Warning in advance for a bit of a rant.
This book made me so angry. It's supposed to be the book in the someone-gets-lost-in-the-woods subgenre. However, I can't understand that as this book is irresponsible and self serving, and I my god I have nothing nice to say.
As someone who loves hiking and the outdoors, the author's rose-tinted view of this easily preventable tragedy is, in my opinion, a neglectful recounting of Chris McCandless' death. To dismiss his critics and deny the young man's hubris is dangerous, especially coming from a respected voice in the outdoor industry.
Chris had absolutely no business being in the Alaskan back country. He was ill prepared and ill informed, and the man was too pig-headed to heed the advice of those who knew better than him. Traipsing around near the Gulf of Mexico in no way prepares a person to brave the Alaskan bush off peak season.
Add to that his pseudo-intellectual fascination with Tchaikovsky and Thoreau, and Chris becomes yet another arrogant and disrespectful young man who caused harm to so many people without a thought or care for what he would leave behind in his wake.
The first rule of risky adventure is to have a plan and to have someone who knows your plan. Without that, your demise becomes your own responsibility. The author's apparent worship of what Chris did is negligent and irresponsible. The fact that the best part of this book to me is the criticisms written in by Alaskans following the initial article neatly sums up my feelings on both this tragedy and this book.
I'm not totally heartless, though I feel virtually no sympathy for Chris himself, reading about his family's trip to the bus did make me tear up. I'm sorry for the loss that they suffered because of the hubris of their son. I want to read his sister's book soon to see if that's a less bias account. Even if it isn't it would be more understandable coming from his family rather than some stranger that can see almost no wrong in Chris' actions.
This book made me so angry. It's supposed to be the book in the someone-gets-lost-in-the-woods subgenre. However, I can't understand that as this book is irresponsible and self serving, and I my god I have nothing nice to say.
As someone who loves hiking and the outdoors, the author's rose-tinted view of this easily preventable tragedy is, in my opinion, a neglectful recounting of Chris McCandless' death. To dismiss his critics and deny the young man's hubris is dangerous, especially coming from a respected voice in the outdoor industry.
Chris had absolutely no business being in the Alaskan back country. He was ill prepared and ill informed, and the man was too pig-headed to heed the advice of those who knew better than him. Traipsing around near the Gulf of Mexico in no way prepares a person to brave the Alaskan bush off peak season.
Add to that his pseudo-intellectual fascination with Tchaikovsky and Thoreau, and Chris becomes yet another arrogant and disrespectful young man who caused harm to so many people without a thought or care for what he would leave behind in his wake.
The first rule of risky adventure is to have a plan and to have someone who knows your plan. Without that, your demise becomes your own responsibility. The author's apparent worship of what Chris did is negligent and irresponsible. The fact that the best part of this book to me is the criticisms written in by Alaskans following the initial article neatly sums up my feelings on both this tragedy and this book.
I'm not totally heartless, though I feel virtually no sympathy for Chris himself, reading about his family's trip to the bus did make me tear up. I'm sorry for the loss that they suffered because of the hubris of their son. I want to read his sister's book soon to see if that's a less bias account. Even if it isn't it would be more understandable coming from his family rather than some stranger that can see almost no wrong in Chris' actions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Animal death, and Classism
stroop's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death
amiyaabrown's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
it was very interesting reading chris's story. it was courageous of him to do what he did and i admire it a lot. the things i didn't like in the book, however, was how much the author would drift away from the story. i get he was trying to connect chris to other explorers (and to himself) but it completely threw me off and made the story very hard to read. i think he dragged the comparisons out way too long and it just made me not want to finish the story at all because of how confusing everything became. however when it did get back on track, i think it was the last few chapters, it became enjoyable and easier to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism
lucy12345's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
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