Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer was first brought to my attention when it came to film. I watched the movie and was shocked when Chris died at the end (this is not a spoiler, you find this out in the first chapter of the book) because I knew very little history about the story. I was so enthralled I went out and bought the book. Although it did take me a while to actually open the book, once I did I was halfway finished before I took a breath.

Krakauer’s writing is both thoughtful and insightful. I was impressed by the amount of research he was able to sift through and the stories he heard from the people who met Chris. I was also surprised that although it had been over a decade since he initially published the article in “Outsider,” he has obviously not stopped working or thinking about Chris. I was surprised by how much I could relate to Chris as well as how different we were. He did something incredible, and although a few oversights stopped him from walking out of Alaska alive, I don’t think he failed. He lived for 2 years exactly how he wanted to after turning away from everything he had known. He went to Alaska and lived off the land until he was ready to leave. Although he did not leave, he was ready to walk out as what seemed to be a changed man and he never seemed to regret going into the bush.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story and left me thinking about it for days after I had finished the last page.

* I finished this book ….. before I started my blog but I wanted to get the review up before the end of the year.