Summary

In April 1992, Chris McCandless, a young man from a wealthy East Coast family, hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Four months later, moose hunters found his decomposed body. Driven by a desire for raw, transcendent experience, he had changed his name, given his savings to charity, abandoned his car and possessions, and invented a new life for himself wandering across North America. His family was unaware of his whereabouts until his remains were discovered.

Jon Krakauer's investigation into McCandless's death reveals a complex young man with a streak of stubborn idealism, captivated by the writings of Leo Tolstoy. McCandless admired Tolstoy's renunciation of wealth and privilege, emulating his asceticism to a degree that alarmed those close to him. He sought peril and adversity in the Alaskan bush, ultimately finding them in abundance.

McCandless's journey, documented in his journal and photographs, takes him across the American West. He abandons his car in the Mojave Desert after a flash flood, paddles a canoe down the Colorado River to Mexico, works odd jobs, and befriends fellow travelers. Throughout his travels, he maintains a near-constant state of motion, driven by a desire for unfiltered experience and a rejection of societal norms.

The book interweaves McCandless's story with Krakauer's own youthful adventures in the Alaskan wilderness, exploring themes of the allure of high-risk activities, the complicated bond between fathers and sons, and the grip of the wild on the American imagination. Krakauer acknowledges his own identification with McCandless's intense idealism and desire for self-discovery.

McCandless's death, attributed to starvation, likely resulted from his accidental ingestion of toxic seeds. While his preparedness and judgment have been criticized, Krakauer argues that McCandless was not suicidal but driven by a profound desire for self-sufficiency and a romantic vision of the wilderness. His story continues to resonate with readers who are captivated by his courage, his ideals, and the tragic circumstances of his demise.