The beginning of this book caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect to know how Christopher McCandless died or even that he had died in the opening chapter of the book. But as soon as I did read about this and what led him to his death, I was ready to read about Chris McCandless’ entire life. This is exactly what the author attempts to give you; the story of Chris McCandless’ life, and the moments leading up to his death in the Alaskan wilderness. However this book isn’t entirely about the story of Chris McCandless. The author includes insight from people very close to Chris McCandless, including his own parents and siblings. This book isn’t simply a biography of Chris McCandless’ experience in the Alaskan wilderness; it is an engrossing novel that makes you feel like you were a part of Chris McCandless’ life.
When Chris McCandless’ body was first found dead in Alaska, many people thought he was a complete fool for attempting to survive in the wilderness. After reading about Chris’ journey though, I believe he was not a fool, however maybe a bit arrogant. Everybody has a large goal in life, and this was Chris’. Had it not been for a few mistakes and misfortunes, Chris would have made it out alive. And if he were to have made it out alive, people would have most likely changed their entire perspective of him. They would have thought he was a very brave man that made it through an almost impossible undertaking. Chris was only going to do what he felt was right, and wasn’t going to follow anybody else’s advice.
One thing the author does a great job of is including other people that Chris met throughout his travels, and even stories of own. This keeps the reader entertained, because you are not just reading the same story many times over. The author also does a great job of helping the reader understand more about Chris’ motivation for his adventures. He includes stories of people who had similar experiences to that of Chris McCandless, including their motivations and what led to their death. Chris’ adventure was well researched by the author, which I thought made it a very interesting book to read. However there were a few things that I felt the author could have done better. I thought that the book felt confusing at times, especially in the beginning after the author first talks about Chris McCandless’ death. Overall, it is a great book to read for people that enjoy adventures or traveling into the wild.