Bookworm: Concise and well written book reviews so you can decide what to read next.
"Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Review by Natalie Masse, 25th June 2009 . Tags: adventure, Alaska, death, non-fiction, wilderness
“Into the wild” is the story of Alexander Supertramp, aka Chris McCandless, an idealist American youth who died aged 24 in the wildnerness of Alaska, in 1992. This is also the story of Jon Krakauer, an American writer and mountaineer, who understood what Chris tried to achieve, who understood the concept of testing himself against nature.
The book includes interviews with those who played a role in Chris' life, be it his parents or people he met on the road while hitchiking. Almost more important than the interviews is the central chapter during which Jon relates his own experience when he climbed a new route up the Devils Thumb, Alaska. Even though this chapter is about Jon, it feels very much about Chris.
Whether you admire or criticise Chris for what he has done (I'm personally on the fence), this book will help you understand what goes on in the mind of those giving themselves extreme physical challenges, something the film based on the book failed to do.
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