Into the Wild

I finished reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I don't read much non-fiction, but this was pretty good - it's the story of Chris McCandless, a young American who died in the wilderness in Alaska. After managing for 100 days, he died of starvation - the exact circumstances are unknown. Apparently, there was a lot of debate around the time of his death - some people saying that he was a foolish young man who wasn't prepared for living in the wild, others who argued that the fact that he survived 100 days is proof that he had done his homework and was well able to deal with his environment. The book explores at length the theme of young men's need to push the boundaries, to prove to themselves that they can accomplish great deeds in difficult circumstances, and their idealism in escaping society's focus on money and materialism.

There is a movie by the same name, which got good reviews, though it sounds like they've deviated from the story in the book somewhat.

It took me a good while to read this book, as I had downloaded it to my iPod Touch and I only read it whenever I'd be in the van waiting for Brendan if I accompanied him on a job. It's a perfect format for that kind of situation, but I don't think I'd be able to read on an iPod Touch for a long period of time.