Author: Jon Krakauer
Published Year: 1996
Pages: 207
Genre: Travel Essay
Not exactly what I was expecting from the book. I had not even heard about the book until the movie came out, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The movie stayed truer to the person the book is supposed to be about.
In 1992 Christopher McCandless left his life behind and set upon the adventure of a lifetime with his sights set on Alaska and living off the land. The book traces what history can be derived from the pictures and journal he left behind as well as the encounters with numerous people he encountered along the way while he criss-crossed the country. Eccentric is the one description I come away with of the young man (in his early twenties right out of College) that leaves everything behind to live out his ideals. What kind of person would do this? I finish this book with more questions about McCandless than I have answers.
One of the reasons that this is due to is the way the book is written. In addition to telling the story of McCandless, the author weaves his own adventures he has taken into the story as well as stories of other people who have tried to do the same things unsuccessfully just as McCandless does. It is no surprise that McCandless dies after just four months of being in the wilderness, this fact alone is listed on the front cover description of the book.
Finishing this book leaves me feeling empty and not knowing enough. Most of this comes from the fact that there is not enough evidence to what was actually happened during McCandess' whole track. I am hoping there is more information that has come to light since the time this book was published. I may be seeking some of that information out.
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