Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August ?"
Chapter 2, pg. 12
Review:
What a great book to read over the Thanksgiving break! I really loved this book and am so glad I finally tackled it. A few months ago there was a lot of hype about the movie, soundtrack and re release of this book, that I was turned off by the story all together. The plot is a simple one: man disappears into the wilderness thinking he can fight nature and nature wins. At first, I felt sorry for Chris McCandless, but as I read Krakauer's piece, I felt anger and sadness towards him. The whole story is too much of a mystery and Krakauer did an excellent job trying to make heads and tails out of McCandless's madness. What a tragedy for the family and anyone who ever crossed his path and cared about him. At last, Krakauer exposed me to a whole history of explorers who failed and succeeded at conquering nature. I was never a camper/hunter, so I could not tell you what McCandless should have done differently, but he seemed ill prepared and arrogant, which makes you want to shake him as you are reading his diary entries and letters to friends. A very sad story, yet a must read.
