Into the Wild
by Jon Krakauer

"In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt McKinley.  Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters."  So begins the Author's Note of Into the Wild, an account of the events leading up to the tragic death of Chris McCandless.  Krakauer began his research into this harrowing true tale for the purpose of writing an article which was published in Outside Magazine in early 1993.  The article received so much attention that Krakauer decided to do further research and expand the piece into a book.  Meticulously and sympathetically, Jon Krakauer retraces Chris's steps following his graduation from Emory University in 1990, when he disappeared into the West and discontinued all contact with his family.  Though estranged from his parents, Chris was no hermit.  He made friends and influenced people along the way.  In addition to revealing the passionate and intense personality of McCandless, Krakauer also includes stories of other adventurers who ended much as Chris did, and devotes a chapter to his own life when he was near Chris's age, all for the purpose of shedding light on the person Chris McCandless was.  A fascinating and engrossing read, Into the Wild is a cautionary tale against the pride of youth.  I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure story, but especially to young men with itchy feet and the intense desire to experience nature to the fullest. 
      --reviewed by Dail Sams