Synopsis
INTO THE WILD developed out of an article which Mr. Krakauer wrote for "Outside" magazine. The Emory University honors graduate Christopher Johnson McCandless--"Alexander Supertramp"--took off after school in rebellion against authority and his privileged upbringing. Krakauer reveals the details leading up to the boy's death in the Alaskan wilderness, where he was found by hunters in September of 1992, at the age of 24. The author shares personal reflections about his own risk-taking adventures, as well as impressions of those who knew Christopher. In 2007, the book was made into a film directed by Sean Penn.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-02-01 |
| Size | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.5 in | | Weight: | 6.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, Krakauer searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled 24-year-old Chris McCandless to leave civilization behind and head into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Four months later, McCandless's emaciated corpse was found at his campsite by a hunter. Mesmerizing and heartbreaking, Krakauer's powerful and luminous storytelling blaze through every page. Map.
In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and , unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.Jon Krakauer constructs a clarifying prism through which he reassembles the disquieting facts of McCandlesss short life. Admitting an interst that borders on obsession, he searches for the clues to the dries and desires that propelled McCandless. Digging deeply, he takes an inherently compelling mystery and unravels the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.When McCandlesss innocent mistakes turn out to be irreversible and fatal, he becomes the stuff of tabloid headlines and is dismissed for his naiveté, pretensions, and hubris. He is said to have had a death wish but wanting to die is a very different thing from being compelled to look over the edge. Krakauer brings McCandlesss uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows, and the peril, adversity , and renunciation sought by this enigmatic young man are illuminated with a rare understanding--and not an ounce of sentimentality. Mesmerizing, heartbreaking, Into the Wild is a tour de force. The power and luminosity of Jon Krakauer's stoytelling blaze through every page.
Industry Reviews
"'Into the Wild' is an investigation into [the] need to forsake a life of wealth and privilege in order to wander amongst the destitute....It is a fascinating story expertly researched, with Krakauer puzzling out just how McCandless came to his end. In so doing, it becomes the truth behind so many wilderness fantasies."
Literary Review - Tom Otley
"Because the story involves overbearing pride, a reversal of fortune and a final moment of recognition, it has elements of classic tragedy. By the end, Mr. Krakauer has taken the tale of a kook who went into the woods, and made of it a heart-rending drama of human yearning."
New York Times - Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (01/04/1996)
"A wonderful page-turner written with humility, immediacy, and great style. Nothing came cheap and easy to McCandless, nor will it to readers of Krakauer's narrative."
Kimball
"[A] careful account which is both and compassionate..."
Times Literary Supplement - Kathleen Jamie (01/07/2000)
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