Non-Fiction Genre -- Into the Wild

Into the Wild

by Jon Krakauer

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publication Date: 1996

Number of Pages: 207 pages

Geographical Setting: Mostly Alaska, though many places in the western U.S. are mentioned

Time Period:  Late 80’s, early 90’s

Series:  N/A

Plot Summary: Jon Krakauer explores the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who inexplicably departs on a lengthy cross-country journey after graduating from college.  McCandless travels west, exploring the outdoors on his own in many locales before making his way to Alaska in what is assumed to be an attempt to live off the land, much like what was depicted in the books by his favorite authors Jack London and John Muir.  Months later, his body is found in a make-shift shelter often used by hunters with no concrete explanation as to what happened to bring about his death.  Krakauer interviews many of those people who met (and often helped) McCandless during his wandering, searching for what drove the young man to travel, and why he felt such a need to take on the wilderness in such a way.  Bits of McCandless’ story are compared to other instances in history where young men have wandered off and some of Krakauer’s own life adventures in an attempt to explain what might have been going through McCandless’ mind at the time.  McCandless’ journal is analyzed to add to the timeline of events leading to his eventual demise.  While real answers to ‘why he did it’ and ‘what went wrong’ may never be conclusively found, Krakauer does a good job of covering possible explanations for each and revealing that McCandless might not be as blatantly arrogant or utterly naïve as the reports of his death made him appear. 

Subject Headings: Non-Fiction, Alaska, Wilderness survival, Hitchhiking, Wayfaring Life, Family Problems

Appeal:  Non-task oriented, Leisurely paced, Reflective, Thought-provoking, Journalistic

Terms that best describe this book:

·          Non-Fiction, mid-range on the narrative continuum

·          Wilderness adventure

·          Outdoor life and survival

·          Tragic end, described in the beginning of the book

Similar Authors and Works (all Non-Fiction, from Goodreads):

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston – A true story of wilderness survival, the author describes his experience being trapped for days with no one aware of where he was.  Ralston is forced to make a large sacrifice to escape what otherwise could be his death.

Alive: The story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read – A survival story not about people who put themselves into a wilderness survival situation, but of people who crash-landed head-on into the situation.

The Last Season by Eric Blehm – The true story of a National Park Service ranger who goes missing in the Sierra Nevadas.  The author seeks to solve the mystery of what happened to Randy Morgenson.

Touching the Void: the True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson – An account of two climbing partners who suffer a major accident while climbing in the Andes.  This, while it does not have as tragic an end, is a story of suffering and survival in the wilderness.

 

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer – May appeal if readers enjoyed Krakauer’s particular writing style.  Also deals with a tragedy in an adventurous outdoor setting, in this case, while climbing Mt. Everest.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales – A collection of many true stories of survival or tragedy, and an analysis of what makes a person a survivor.  The subject may be of interest to those who enjoy survival stories.

Western Genre -- Journal of the Gun Years

Journal of the Gun Years

by Richard Matheson

Genre: Western

Publication Date: 1991

Number of Pages: 224 pages

Geographical Setting: Novelist places the setting as ‘Colorado’ but I would say ‘the Wild West’ – various places across the western United States

Time Period:  1864 to 1876

Series:  N/A

Plot Summary: This book is written in the form of a journal, edited by a journalist-friend of the supposed author after the author dies in a shootout.  The journal tells how Clay Halser, a young man who fought in the civil war, returns home to find he is bored with farm life.  He heads west in search of adventure, starting out as a bartender’s assistant, then a stagecoach guard.  After being injured while guarding a coach from Indians, he works briefly at the stagecoach depot, until he kills his abusive boss, thereby becoming a fugitive from the law.  Barely escaping a hanging, he lives the life of an outlaw for a time.  Eventually the lawlessness of it begins to grate on him.  For a time he works as a ranch hand, falls in love, and becomes involved in a ‘war’ between two ranches.  When he takes revenge on the killers of his ‘boss’ (a man who had become a father-figure in his life), he is once more facing the gallows.  Escaping his fate a second time, he continues on to a new locale.  There he eventually becomes the Marshal, marries the woman with whom he’d previously fallen in love, and has a child.  Still unable to settle down, Clay takes on a job in a new city that needs ‘taming’ despite his wife’s protests.  She ends up leaving him, his friends are killed in a shoot-out against the local villains, and Clay finds himself alone and on the move again.  After a stint on the east-coast in theatre (playing himself as the ‘Hero of the Plains’), he once more heads west, living off the earnings of gambling and moving from place to place.  He marries again, which turns out to be a mistake.  Not long thereafter he leaves his new wife and begins to travel once more, pausing in Silver Gulch with the idea of trying his hand at mining.  This is where his journalist-friend re-discovers him, only to witness his death.

Subject Headings: (From Novelist)  Gunfighters – Southwest (United States), United States marshals – Colorado, Nineteenth century, Gunfighters, Violence, Frontier and pioneer life,  (I would also add) Outlaws

Appeal:  Fast-paced, Character-driven, Bleak, Violent, Gritty

Terms that best describe this book:

·         Written like a diary, first person perspective, edited by a friend

·         Main character’s fate is mentioned in the beginning

·         While some cursing occurs, it is censored with dash-marks.

Similar Authors and Works (from Novelist):

Welcome to Hard Times by E. L. Doctorow – A town is all but destroyed by ‘the Bad Man from Bodie’, and another man attempts to rebuild it while remaining braced for his return.  This book is written in a ‘diary’ sort of style.  It’s a western involving gunfighters, violence, and pioneer life.

A Town Called Fury by William W. Johnstone – Settlers headed westward are attacked by Native Americans.  They prevail, despite their losses, and finally find a place to settle their new town.  This book is a western, written with a rather bleak outlook, involving gunfighters and frontier and pioneer life.

The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok by Richard Matheson – Written by the same author, the main character of this book, Wild Bill Hickok, is mentioned by name a couple times in Journal of the Gun Years.  This western also involves Untied States marshals in the 19^th century and pioneer and frontier life.

Deadwood  by Pete Dexter – Wild Bill Hickok and a friend return to the town of Deadwood hoping to settle down, but life just won’t let them.  This book is also a western, written with a rather bleak outlook, involving gunfighters in the 19^th century.