I first heard of the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer through Jessica Brody's Free Book Friday website. While I entered the contest to win a copy, I had a copy from the library before the results were announced (I didn't win). After I finished reading the book I immediately borrowed an eBook from my library of The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless. I read both books within a three day period.The blurb that caught my attention (there is a much longer "blurb" on amazon) was this:
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. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. 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. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.
Before I get into the specifics of my review, I would like to point out that I enjoyed Into the Wild enough that I purchased a copy and had it sent to my stepfather. The only reason I didn't do that with The Wild Truth too is that I didn't feel it would appeal to my stepfather but I would definitely still recommend it to others.
Okay, that all said, Jon Krakauer is a journalist. When Chris' body was discovered in Alaska he was tasked with writing an article for the magazine he worked for. He had a hard deadline so it wasn't as in depth as he would've liked. The article garnered international attention and received more mail than any other article every had in the history of the magazine (I believe that record still holds to this day). That, combined with his own interest in nature outings, caused him to want to dig deeper into the story. He sought (and got) the permission and cooperation from Chris' family to write the story of Chris' journey. To do so, he used journals that Chris had kept about his adventures, as well as pictures he had taken along the way. Because of this, he was able to meet with and interview many of the people that Chris had encountered along the way. In this way he was able to piece together the events that made up most of the last 27 months of Chris' life.
As for the writing of the book, Krakauer is a good writer. However, there wasn't enough material to fill an entire book. Because of this there are several chapters dedicated to other "adventurers" with some small comparisons to Chris' adventures. Two whole chapters are dedicated to Krakauer's own adventure in the wild. From that perspective, I found the book to be a bit self serving. There are times in the book where he is setting the scene with much description and atmospheric language. None of this relates to Chris' story other than it sets up the environment of an interview he had with someone who met Chris along the way. It was a bit distracting and unnecessary, in my opinion. But, as I said, I liked the book enough that I had a copy sent to my stepfather.
The Wild Truth is written by Chris' sister, Carine McCandless, and was published eighteen years after Krakauer's book. It doesn't speak much to Chris' travels but rather gives some insight into what made him abandon his life and go out on his own. According to Carine, she and Chris were brought up in a very abusive household. She goes into great detail about the abuse and why she had asked Krakauer not to disclose the abuse. At about the halfway mark in the book is when she learns about Chris' death. The rest of the book details events that brought her to the point of telling of the abuse and how it impacted Chris and his life decisions as well as her own. Like Krakauer, Carine is a good writer. That said, as with Krakauer's book, I felt this one was a bit self serving but I also understand why she may have felt the need to tell this side of the story.
Regarding the abuse Carine details in the book, I believed everything she wrote about it. Any doubt I had about it was removed when I saw the pictures that were included in the book (Into the Wild did not have pictures). Chris looks unhappy in all the pictures from his childhood up until the last picture taken on the night he graduated from college - just before he left and broke ties with his family. Chris had taken a camera with him and there were many photos of himself as well as pictures of himself with others. He looks happy in all of those pictures. The last picture taken of him was believed to be taken within days of his death. He was holding up a sign in the picture that reads: I have had a happy life. Goodbye. God Bless All - and he was smiling and looked happy in the picture. By that point he knew he wasn't making it out alive but he was at peace and genuinely looked happy. So, I believe Carine's claims of abuse.
I did want to touch on one topic that was rather interesting to me. The blurb for Into the Wild mentions that Chris abandoned his car, which is a bit misleading. He had driven his car into a governmental area marked with NO TRESPASSING signs so when it wouldn't start for him, he wasn't in a position to seek help. He left a sign on it saying that whoever could get it out could have it. He'd removed the license plates and the VIN took authorities to the rental car establishment Chris had bought it from and since they didn't want it back, the car was used in undercover operations for many years after Chris left it behind. :)
Reading both books gave a more clear picture as to what happened to Chris McCandless than either did on their own but I could recommend either without hesitation.
For more reviews, go to barriesummy.blogspot.com.
