Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The movie for this book, which I did see first, seemed to drag quite a bit. So I picked up the book with some apprehensions about its content. I knew I wanted to read it, as it is a true account, but I was unsure how much I would actually enjoy this book.
The story is of Chris McCandless' tragic foray into the Alaskan wilderness in the spring and summer of 1992. Krakauer was drawn to the story by his own adventures as a young man; he followed McCandless' trail from the point at college graduation when McCandless donates several thousand dollars to charity and takes out on the open road for a few years before making his way into Alaska; Krakauer spoke to most of the people that McCandless encountered on his trek as well as included the few postcards and letters McCandless sent not to his family (who did not know where he was) but to those he encountered on the journey within the book.
The book, although dry in parts, was an easy read with quite a bit of information involved. Krakauer intersperses McCandlesss' story with other wanderers throughout history as well as some of his own past. I thought the book was very interesting, although it tended to get bogged down in information in parts (although I found it to be quite interesting).
It seems that reaction to this book was greatly varied; some people saying McCandless was a nutcase who shouldn't be glorified for his stupidity and others who expounded upon the tragedy that cut short his brilliant life. For me, McCandless was a spoiled strong-willed, intelligent young man, who lacked quite a bit of common sense. I wouldn't go so far to say he deserved his death, but he knew the consequences of his actions when he made the journey; although he may have realized too late what he wanted out of life, the decision to travel into Alaskan wilderness without so much as a compass will always remain his and only his decision.

The book did raise a desire in me to see the southwest portion of my country; it made me realize the ridiculousness of wanting to see Europe or India when I've missed out on the majority of my own homeland.

I would only recommend this book to those who enjoy travel and/or travel books as it does get dry for the casual reader--it is entirely true, so there are no dramatic plots to follow within its pages.