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Completed	09 January 2008
Title	Into the Wild
Author	Jon Krakauer
Published	1996
Quote	"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 has 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."
Review	I had meant to see Into the Wild in December, when I was in London. But although I'd seen a million movies, I somehow couldn't manage to make the time to see this epic. The movie is about three hours long. So I was delighted when, in Colorado for Christmas, my brother Chris suggested that we read the book first then take a trip to the moviehouse. My brother was especially keen on reading the story as he is an avid outdoorsman, a mountaineer, a big game hunter, a veritable Jeremiah Johnson. I read the book in two days. On the upside, I'll say that I like the way the movie so closely followed the book. I appreciate it when the adaptation is precise; I dislike it when screenwriters take too many liberties. On the downside, though, there is something about the author, Krakauer, that really rubs me the wrong way. He is just so full of himself. For instance, instead of simply telling McCandless' story, as is his job as an author, Krakauer insists on sprinkling tales of his own outdoors adventures throughout the entire book. Krakauer flatters himself into drawing parallels between himself and McCandless, and it makes me sick. Krakauer utilizes every opportunity to steal the spotlight from McCandless. Krakauer initially wrote an article about Chris McCandless for the January 1993 issue of Outside magazine, and apparently the article received an enormous amount of attention. People were enthralled, intrigued, upset, and critical of Chris McCandless' "adventure". Who goes into the wild unprepared? they questioned. And it's a valid question. Having grown up camping in a family of seven, I have cultivated an awe of the mountains and love of all things outdoorsy. I appreciate the value of preparation. I was a Girl Scout, after all. Always expect the best but be prepared for the worst. McCandless, though, wasn't on a Boy Scout camping trip. He was on an adventure. He was young, with a post-college idealism tangled with familial issues. He was confused. He was running away from something yet running toward something else. He was on his way to Alaska. My brother Joe lives in Alaska, and I have yet to visit him there. I can't believe he's been there for seven years now, and I still haven't made my way north. I intend to, without doubt, but when? Like McCandless, I believe that Alaska is the last great frontier. It's the modern-day Wild West. It's where life is boiled down to the basics. Without frills, life is lean in Alaska and lived hard. Alaska, I believe, is no place for pansies. So, can you blame McCandless for going into the wild, for seeing if he could cut it, for eliminating the frills and focusing only on necessities? Can you blame him pushing the limit? For delving into his own little form of philosophy and questioning this and that? I don't. I think it's cool to go into the wild. If for just a day or a week or a long long time. It's always a good idea to get away from civilization periodically, to have the time and space to think, and to just live without societal barriers. Sure, McCandless made a few mis-steps, and he ultimately died as a result of it. But, I think the one thing that his story reinforces is that not all of us are meant to die of old age. Some of us will live a life unusual, and with that comes risk.

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