Summary of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

Buy now to get the main key ideas from Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

Chris McCandless is a name that resonates with those looking to find the answers to everyday life in the boundless beauty and mystique of nature. And yet, his unfortunate death at age 24 proves that nature can never fully grant you everything you want.

Jon Krakauer looks into the strange yet inspiring existence of McCandless in Into the Wild (1996), from his comfortable, upper middle-class upbringing to his ultimately painful demise in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer attempts to answer why McCandless chose the vagabond life, what effect this had on others, and how McCandless eventually perished in Alaska.

McCandless will never be alone in his pursuit to make it on his own in the wild. He joins a small club of young people who chose this faith, but were unable to tell their tale themselves.