#54856 - 07/18/0608:51 PMInto the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertramp)
Anonymous
Unregistered
Im sure many of you have heard of/ read this book. Its a great book with many topics of discussion and debate but aside from themes and motifs I have this one question:
What do you think Chris carried in his pack aside from some few pounds of rice? What would be the weight he probably carried on average?
#54861 - 08/04/0607:15 AMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertramp)
[Re: midnightsun03]
kevonionia
member
Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Timothy Treadwell . . . Alexander Supertramp . . . how many more unique characters are there up there to make a book/movie about? Suppose next they'll do one about the "The Pilgrims" of Wrangell/St. Elias, that rather large family (who's patriarch mistook himself for God) living on an in-holding in the park. They were trampling on NPS land and got all the land-rights people behind them until the entire, accurate story about this strange-to-say-the-least family came out. Their story would make a great American Tragedy.
#54866 - 02/18/0708:13 PMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertra
[Re: billk]
Anonymous
Unregistered
I had started readin the book, but after it was less his journey into the wilds and more a "crime scene" type setting, I quit. I'll just stick to Hatchet, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
#54868 - 03/27/0702:23 PMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertra
Jimshaw
member
Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
3030 I have to agree with you. I didn't like the book and I did read it start to finish. Its about a stupid arrogant kid who ignored all warnings and without first trying to learn something about a totally new area - one strange enough to kill him - and ventured into it with no respect. It killed him like many before him. What adventure? Wheres the story? Who cares what his mother thought? I definitely do not want to see a movie about an idiot who dies in the wilderness. Whats this thing about making movies that sensationalise people for being candidates for the Darwin award only they managed to survive? Jim
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
#54869 - 07/17/0708:26 PMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertra
[Re: Jimshaw]
Anonymous
Unregistered
Regardless of what you think of Chris McCandless, one thing's for certain: he followed his convictions and desire to live the life he wanted, a life free of virtually everything and everyone...something that can't be said about most people.
I think I understand him fairly well. I would've liked to have met him.
#54871 - 07/21/0703:55 AMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertra
[Re: jshannon]
Gary_N9ZYE
member
Registered: 05/21/07
Posts: 51
Loc: Indianapolis, Indiana
Chris McCandless lived (and died) his dreams. While he made an effort to understand how to live in the wild, he failed or chose not to prepare for the challenges he would meet.
#54872 - 08/20/0711:11 AMRe: Into the Wild (The Story of Alexander Supertra
mockturtle
member
Registered: 06/06/07
Posts: 251
Loc: WA
Just finished this book last night. While I don't share Krakauer's obvious fascination with the subject [Chris McCandless], I admire and enjoy his writing style [this is the second book I've read by JK.] Toward the end, though, he became almost obsessed with defending McCandless' choices, down to a drawn-out investigation of the seeds he may or may not have eaten which may or may not have poisoned him.
I found the best part of the book to be Krakauer's account of his own Sisyphean attempts at the summit of Devils Thumb. He has a knack for balancing the material with the abstract without exploiting either. I'd like to read his story, as he is a more interesting [IMHO] and worthy adventurer than was McCandless.
#54873 - 08/20/0703:58 PMRe: Into the Wild
[Re: mockturtle]
Hector
member
Registered: 12/20/04
Posts: 325
Loc: LA/ARK/TX corner
I wonder, while reading some of the things folks say about Chris, in how much regard folks would hold John Muir if he'd gotten himself killed hiking around the Sierras in just a coat with biscuits in the pocket...
I wonder, while reading some of the things folks say about Chris, in how much regard folks would hold John Muir if he'd gotten himself killed hiking around the Sierras in just a coat with biscuits in the pocket...
Well said. I don't think you can every judge someone else with any certainty based on what they are wearing or carrying or doing when they meet their end. All you can do is try to figure out your own plan from what you might see as others mistakes and triumphs, and your own, and then see where it takes you.
I would love to say I could do the same as Chris some day. Not the last bit of course, but most of the rest, and there are far worse things than the last bit even. Anyhow, I've got other adventures in mind, more modest and closer to home, but something. We never know how our lives might end, but we should at have the courage to start living.
#54875 - 08/21/0701:01 PMRe: Into the Wild
[Re: Hector]
mockturtle
member
Registered: 06/06/07
Posts: 251
Loc: WA
Since your post directly responded to mine, I must ask you to re-read my review. Nowhere was I critical of Chris McCandless, nor did I impugn his motives or his methods. I merely stated my opinion that his story was not particularly interesting.
Perhaps, because he came from a 'well-to-do' family, his experience elicited more coverage than might have been the case had he been some poor Joe, down on his luck, who wandered north in search of his destiny.
#54876 - 08/21/0703:56 PMRe: Into the Wild
[Re: mockturtle]
Hector
member
Registered: 12/20/04
Posts: 325
Loc: LA/ARK/TX corner
Not accusing you of anything at all, I promise. I think his story might have been quite interesting to those who identified with his particular enthusiasm, though. But then, someone out there is even buying turgid romance books, know what I mean? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Takes all kinds.
#54877 - 08/21/0704:21 PMRe: Into the Wild
[Re: Hector]
midnightsun03
member
Registered: 08/06/03
Posts: 2936
Loc: Alaska
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
Edited by midnightsun03 (08/21/0704:22 PM)
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Perhaps, because [McCandless] came from a 'well-to-do' family, his experience elicited more coverage than might have been the case had he been some poor Joe, down on his luck, who wandered north in search of his destiny.
midnightsun wrote
Quote:
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.
I was mulling these ideas over when I stepped into my neighborhood bar, and who did I see except the man himself: Jon Krakauer. I introduced myself and then steered the conversation towards the _Into the Wild_ rich kid angle. Here's what Krakauer had to say:
Jon Krakauer said
Quote:
It's true--they're on to me. I had wanted to write a book about dead young man in the wilderness for a long time, but I just couldn't find the right subject. Most of them were really poor, reportedly kinda smelly, and frankly not very attractive. Then I heard about Chris McCandless, and it was like striking gold: a wealthy kid, high-school athlete, white, knew how to read. I knew this stuff would pump up sales. I mean, twenty-four grand in his savings account--can you believe it?
Of course, I was a little worried at first about the downside. I mean the way McCandless gave all that money away to charity, and then ditched his car, and then burned the last little bit of his cash. Plus there was the whole philosophy thing, his Thoreauvian rejection of materialism, the Tolstoy-esque embrace of poverty and purity, his love and longing for the natural world. I thought readers might be turned off by all this stuff.
But it turns out readers don't even notice much of that. They pick up on what's important: McCandless was a rich kid, and that's why his story is worthy. I'm thinking of building a franchise around the concept. Like, "Rich Kids Gone Wild," except, you know, different.
#54880 - 08/21/0706:26 PMRe: Into the Wild
[Re: azcanyon]
midnightsun03
member
Registered: 08/06/03
Posts: 2936
Loc: Alaska
LOL AZ, but to be fair, IIRC, Krakaur didn't choose the subject himself... it was originally an assignment for Backpacker Magazine, but grew too long for an article. At the same time, it was too short for a book, so Krakaur added the bit about the Devil's Thumb to fill space.
Anyway, who knows why Backpacker picked up on the story... IMHO there really is very little of interest to backpackers or armchair adventurers in what really is a story about apparent mental illness. I suspect that the acclaimed and well known adventure author has more to do with why so many people have read this book than the subject himself. One wonders if Joe Schmoe had written the book whether it would have even gotten off the editors desk.
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