_cover.png "Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer")
Since Into the Wild is one of my favorite books of all time, I'm always on the lookout for related reading. Here's a list for Into the Wild fans, which includes several titles from Chris McCandless' personal library. Aside from Walden (of course!), my favorite among these is The Other, by David Guterson. But you can't go too far wrong with any of them.
Finding Everett Ruess:
The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer, by David Roberts
With a foreword by Krakauer,
this book traces the life of another rugged individualist, a writer and artist
who mysteriously disappeared in the Utah desert in the 1930s.
Wild: From Lost to Found
on the Pacific Crest Trail, by
Cheryl Strayed
A well-written account of an
inexperienced hiker who undertakes the PCT to gain some perspective on her
life. She's not Chris, but she does have an interesting story to tell. I've reviewed this at:
http://utzling.blogspot.com/2012/05/cheryl-strayeds-walk-on-wild-side.html
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
An earlier book by the author of Eat, Pray,
Love, this is the story of Eustace Conway, who moves out of suburbia and into
the wilds of Appalachia as a teenager to live as a mountain man.
The Other, by David Guterson
From the author of Snow
Falling on Cedars, this is a beautifully written fictional account of two best
friends, one of whom is a quirky eccentric who leaves behind his wealthy family
to live alone in a cabin in the back country of the Pacific Northwest.
More at:
A Walk in the Woods:
Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson
Amusing account of AT
thru-hikers and history of the trail itself.
THE place to start reading, if you haven't already.
Wilderness and the
American Mind, by Roderick Nash
Delving into Americans' attitudes about the idea of nature throughout history, this 1967 book influenced the environmental movement.
Desert Solitaire, by Edward
Abbey
Three seasons as a park ranger
in southern Utah. Abbey is feistier and more political than McCandless.
Coming into the Country, by John McPhee
Well-written, literary
account of Alaska and Alaskans
Fire Season: Field Notes
from a Wilderness Lookout, by
Philip Connors
Poetically written book
about a man who spent a decade as a fire lookout in NM and other "freaks
on the peaks."
Eiger Dreams: Ventures
Among Men and Mountains, by Jon
Krakauer
His first book. Articles and
essays about mountaineers and rock-climbers, and what motivates them.
The Grizzly Maze: Timothy
Treadwell's Fatal Obsession with Alaskan Bears, by Nick Jans
The controversial subject of
the fascinating Werner Herzog documentary Grizzly Man, who lived beside grizzlies for 13
years...until he didn't...
The Man Who Quit Money, by Mark Sundeen
Excellent,
thought-provoking bio of a man who's spent 12 years dwelling in a cave in Utah,
reflecting deeply on life's big questions while living without coin.
More at:
Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak
The last book McCandless
read. His highlighted passages appear in Into the Wild.
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
McCandless was
unquestionably influenced by Jack London. This classic is one of several London books he was
known to have read.
Education of a Wandering
Man, by Louis L'Amour
The famed Western writer's
unfinished memoir of globetrotting during the 1930s. McCandless tore the final
page from it, which quotes a Robinson Jeffers poem.
One Man's Wilderness: An
Alaskan Odyssey, by Sam Keith
Keith’s 1973 book about
Richard Proenneke, who exited the rat race in 1968 to go live in the Alaska
wilderness, in a cabin he made completely by hand, by himself, for $40. It's
more descriptive than deep. I actually enjoyed the Alone in the Wilderness DVD version more.
On the Road / The Dharma
Bums / The Subterraneans, by
Jack Kerouac
McCandless was known to have
read Kerouac. I'm going to take a not-so-wild guess that he polished off at
least one of these in his voracious reading.
The Autobiography of a
Super-Tramp, by W.H. Davies
Another known influence on
McCandless was this famed Welsh writer/poet, who tramped around the world for a
significant portion of his life. This book covers his time hoboing in the UK and US in
the 1890s.
Back to the Wild, by Christopher McCandless
Original photographs, postcards, and journal entries from his travels. I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of this (it's out of stock on Amazon), so can't vouch for it, but sounds great.
Back to the Wild, by Christopher McCandless
Original photographs, postcards, and journal entries from his travels. I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of this (it's out of stock on Amazon), so can't vouch for it, but sounds great.
Other titles you'd like to add? Please leave comments. I'm always interested in eccentrics and iconoclasts who took to the wilds.
Looking for an Into the Wild tattoo? Check out some samples of skin art at http://utzling.blogspot.com/2011/03/into-wild-skin-art.html
Looking for an Into the Wild tattoo? Check out some samples of skin art at http://utzling.blogspot.com/2011/03/into-wild-skin-art.html
