Into the Wild

Author: Jon Krakauer

Genre: Biography

Publication Date: 1996

Overview

Into the Wild

Into the Wild is a popular book by writer, journalist, and mountaineer Jon Krakauer. Published in 1996, the book is a work of non-fiction that documents the investigation that led to discovering the reason behind Chris McCandless’ death. Chris McCandless was born into a privileged family in Annandale, Virgina. At his graduation, he told his parents that he wanted to live the life of a wanderer and travel across the country. Into the Wild is an extension of the long-form article titled “Death of an Innocent” that Krakauer wrote about McCandless’ death. Krakauer pieces together the last two years of McCandless’ life through letters from strangers who had encountered Chris during his adventure, interviews with Chris’ family members, and the journal entries that Chris left behind before he died of starvation.

The writing is partly investigative and partly speculative since Krakauer uses a journalistic style to reconstruct the life of the main character. At the same time, it can also be characterized as a biography. Krakauer, like Chris, was an adventurer and shares many traits with Chris’ personality, making some sections of the book autobiographical. The book became an inspiration for a film directed by Sean Penn in 2007.

Into the Wild Biography

Into the Wild Context

Into the Wild Characters

Into the Wild Summary and Analysis

Into the Wild Main Ideas

Into the Wild Quotes

Into the Wild Discussion Questions