Xenophon Vos (Any/All)I just finished Into the Wild, my 9th book of 2026!
Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer, is the nonfiction, slightly speculative story of Chris McCandless, who wandered into the Alaskan wilderness in spring of 1992 to never return alive. For me, it was a 4 star book.
I don't normally read nonfiction, and I wouldn't have read this if not for my AP Lang class requiring it. Despite this, the way this book was written made it feel not so much like facts, but a story that Karakauer immerses the reader in. The story feels as true as anything else I've ever read.
The story of Chris McCandless is one I don't entirely know how to feel about. Throughout the book, Chris is framed as a fool with poor planning skills, who was lucky not to die before he did. In class, we talked a good deal about this. But despite what my classmates seem to think, I do think he was well prepared for his most notable journey. He wasn't trying to live the rest of his life, he was just trying to prove that he could and come out to better prepare after some time.
Overall, I think the framing and pacing of the class helped me really enjoy this book. I'd love to read more like it, if anyone knows a good similar book.
Eric Bono