Into the Wild
Christopher McCandless, a gifted college graduate from an affluent Virginia family, gave his savings to charity, burned the cash in his wallet, and hitchhiked to Alaska, where he walked alone into the bush and eventually starved inside an abandoned bus. Jon Krakauer reconstructs his two-year wandering from interviews with those he met along the way, from his journals, and from his own experiences on the mountains that drew such young men. The result is a contested, empathetic portrait that treats McCandless as neither hero nor fool, and interrogates the American pull toward the wilderness as a place to prove oneself.
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What you might want to know about Into the Wild
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Chris McCandless, fresh out of Emory, gave away his savings, abandoned his car, and hitchhiked toward Alaska. Months later he was found dead in an abandoned bus. Krakauer follows his trail.
Yes. Into the Wild is Jon Krakauer's nonfiction reconstruction of Christopher McCandless's 1992 journey into the Alaskan wilderness, where he died. Krakauer drew on McCandless's own journals, photographs, and interviews with people who met him along the way.
Yes. Sean Penn directed a 2007 film adaptation starring Emile Hirsch. The film is widely considered a faithful and emotionally accurate adaptation of Krakauer's reporting.
Into the Wild was written by Jon Krakauer, published in 1996 by Anchor Books.
Into the Wild is 284 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Into the Wild takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Into the Wild is a standalone novel by Jon Krakauer, not part of a series.
Into the Wild is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.