Alumni Book Club
The current Alumni Book Club selection is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.
About the Book
Each year the entering class in the College of Arts & Sciences is assigned to a First Year Seminar course. These courses are interdisciplinary and meant to aid new students as they transition to college life.
The courses are highly demanding academically, but offer extensive support as the students begin college. The curriculum varies widely between classes, but each year the entire freshmen class is expected to arrive on campus having read one assigned text.
The assigned text for the class of 2012 is Into to the Wild by Jon Krakauer.
“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.” – From Random House
All members of the University community are invited to join with the students in reading this unforgettable tale.
You can order the book from Pacific University's Bookstore.
About the Author
Jon Krakauer is the author of Under the Banner of Heaven, Eiger Dreams, Into the Wild, and Into Thin Air and is editor of the Modern Library Exploration series. Random House
Discussion Questions
We encourage you to post comments and discuss the novel. To comment on a specific question, click on the link following the question. To view what others have commented, click on Pacific Alumni Blog.
To learn more about Into the Wild visit Random House.
- Did Chris McCandless love "truth" more than relationships? Are they mutually exclusive? Post Your Response!
- What mistakes, if any, did Chris make before going to Alaska? Post Your Response!
- What do think caused Chris to embark on his journey? Post Your Response!
- What do you think of Krakauer’s insertion of himself into the narrative? Did it add or detract from Chris’ story? Did it help you understand Chris’ own motives? Post Your Response!
- What significance, if any, do you attach to the note Chris left in the margins of Dr. Zhivago: “Happiness only real when shared” as he neared the end of his life? Post Your Response!
- Did you find the book suspenseful? Why or why not? Post Your Response!
- Contrast McCandless' feelings about his family with his family's feelings about him in Into the Wild. Post Your Response!
- How did Into the Wild impact you? Post Your Response!