I think what one gets out of this book depends entirely on the perspective one has while reading it. It isn't an adventure story at all... it is a mental health story that just happened to take the subject of the story into the Alaskan wilderness. I suppose if my brother in law had ben found dead in Alaska instead of turning up alive in Santa Fe NM, 4 months after disapearing from Iowa, he might have been the subject of a book too. Thousands of people take off into "the wilderness" (whether urban or otherwise) every year because of mental health issues... there really was nothing remarkable about Chris aside from the fact that his wanderings took him to Denali National Park. Maybe Krakaur should write a book about the guy who disappeared in Denali NP a couple of summers ago... searchers spent 6 days trying to find him and came up completely empty handed. Oh, but he didn't come from a wealthy family... sorry, I suppose he isn't a worthy subject.

Into the Wild is more about the wilderness of the mind and soul than it is about being smart or dumb about going into the Alaskan wilderness "unprepared."

MNS