Get Into it

Employing a thorough, journalistic style, author Jon Krakauer does a great job chronicling the road odyssey and last days of Chris McCandless in Into the Wild.

The synopsis for this true story hooks you — "In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter."

Krakauer admits to an obsession over McCandless' story, but succeeds in offering as much insight as seemingly possible into why this happened. Some of the best bits don't even involve McCandless, including Krakauer's detailing of his own near-fatal Alaskan adventure and the story of Everett Reuss, who disappeared in Utah in the 1930s.

Great book, and another movie I want to see. I'm guessing you can see the movie first and still get a lot more out of the book too. You may also want to check out the episode of Iconoclasts on Sundance Channel featuring Krakauer and Sean Penn, director of the film version.