Into the Wild

By: Jon Krakauer

Narrated by: Philip Franklin

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

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. His body - along with a camera with five rolls of film, an SOS note, and a cryptic diary written in the back pages of a book about edible plants - was found six months later by a hunter.

©2007 Jon Krakauer (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A narrative of arresting force. Anyone who ever fancied wandering off to face nature on its own harsh terms should give a look. It's gripping stuff."—Washington Post

"Compelling and tragic ... Hard to put down." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Engrossing ... with a telling eye for detail, Krakauer has captured the sad saga of a stubborn, idealistic young man."—Los Angeles Times Book Review

Great Real Life Story!

It's amazing what this young man went through. There are many lessons to be learned about what is important in life. Especially for the materialistic got-a-have it now Blackberry generation.

A great story about living!

I very much enjoyed the movie of the same name and decided I wanted to learn more about Alexander Supertramp. The author didn't let me down because he makes this young man come to life for those of us who didn't have a chance to personally meet such a brilliant and adventurous young man who gave more than he received. This book touched my heart and my soul like no other book I have listened to in a very long time!

Short on substance, plenty of tangents

This book isn't written in linear fashion. It starts out with McCandless's entry into the Alaskan wild and then digresses into all sorts of story lines, some of which add to the story and some of which leave you scratching your head.

The actual story of what happened to McCandless in the Alaskan wilderness doesn't appear until 75% of the way through the book. First you'll hear about unrelated adventurers, mostly irrelevant backstory about McCandless's youth, and a totally irrelevant section about the author's perilous climb of the Devil's Thumb.

I don't know why this book gets such good reviews. It's not terrible, but it's not what's advertised. It's not about McCandless's journey into the wild. It's an attempt by Krakauer to psychoanalyze a stubborn and self-centered young man. Ultimately there's not a lot of mystery or intrigue in what actually happened to Chris. Despite all his intelligence and book smarts, this is just a guy who went into rugged nature completely unprepared and unsurprisingly met his doom.

AMAZING

Theres more of about this story that a trip to Alaska, its a redemption of freedom..of being in contact with yourself..get to know who you really are!..you wont be the same after knowing this story...AMAZING

Wild like Muir

It is clear that this protagonist took risks that many of us would find irrational. Jon K. acknowledges this but approaches his story with a sense of compassion and humanity. His sense of longing to create a basic understanding of what drew him into the Alaskan harsh land is apparent throughout. As a mom of two teenage boys, I appreciate his candid and careful exposition. Great book.

Just OK...

Audio skips or repeats several times which was annoying. Also not a fan of the added parts about others who have explored like main character. I get that they are a point of reference; but they were too detailed, a simple short explanation would have been sufficient. I felt like those were added to make the book seem longer than it was and mostly unnecessary. I did like the parts about the character's journey, so overall the book is just OK.

Thrilling Ride

A thrilling ride, make sure to time for this one. Taken back also on how I've heard of his father's name within NASA news. Hang on tight.

Could have been so much better

I love the story but it is a boring audiobook.
I get the feeling that the writer made a terrific effort to paint Chris as virtuous and pure. The truth is that he made one foolish decision after another and it led him to a premature death. You simply can’t ignore all advice and authority and be “free” and expect a good outcome.

Just too sad.

well written, just to sad. Just too sad, informative. why does every high school student have to read it?

read now

such an amazing story. so well written. had to purchase this for my nephew before I even finished