Giving Krakauer a Second Try!

If I were to recommend a book for this class, I would suggest Into the Wild by Krakauer. I know we've read a lot by him (and Into Thin Air didn't necessarily go over well with everyone, me included) but Into the Wild presents a different perspective of adventure that we haven't really experienced in class. This novel is a lot like Endurance, it is a nonfiction story retold by an author that is trying to capture the essence of truth in his recreation of the tale. It presents a completely different type of arctic adventure, because it focuses on a solo explorer, whose motivations and reasons are very different than the others that we have been reading in this class. Many of the horizontal narratives we've read are set in the 1800s, and Into the Wild presents a modern version of the arctic expedition tale.  It could create interesting discussion when contrasted with Voyage of the Narwhal or Endurance. Krakauer's portrayal of McCandless and his ideas about the thought processes behind adventure touch on the themes that we discuss in this class, like "why adventure?" and "what does adventure do?" Overall, I think that this could generate some interesting discussions on these topics, and this novel would contrast nicely with the other arctic expeditions that are already a part of this course.