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Cover of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Into the Wild

  • 284 pages · about 5 hours
  • First published 1996
  • 32 editions

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1 About this book

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. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and , unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented.

Good for readers who want: a true life story and travel writing.

  • Adventure
  • Discovery and exploration
  • Biography
  • Outdoor life
  • Travelers
  • Journeys
  • Hitchhiking
  • Travel

2 About Jon Krakauer

Born 1954

Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling nonfiction books—Into the Wild; Into Thin Air; Under the Banner of Heaven; and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman—as well as numerous magazine articles.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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