"into the wild", "into thin air", and "under the banner of heaven" are all remarkable true stories that are incredibly well written. I can't recommend this author enough. I promise you, you won't regret reading his stuff.

I've only read "Into the Wild," but I really enjoyed it. I read it quickly, but it resonated with me like a long novel. It's about as compelling as nonfiction gets in my experience.

As a side note, the movie of "Into the Wild" is also excellent and does a wonderful job of turning the story into an effective dramatic movie.

Under the Banner of Heaven was very good. I couldn't put it down.

quote:

Originally posted by The Friar:
Under the Banner of Heaven was very good. I couldn't put it down.

Yeah, given that one of the front runners for president of the u.s. is a member of the cult which this book exposes, I'd say it's even more relevent than ever.

regarding "INto Thin Air" see if your library has the counter point written by the Russian who was on the climb. I will find the title tomorrow if I remember to look for it.

quote:

Originally posted by rockthief:
counter point written by the Russian who was on the climb. I will find the title tomorrow if I remember to look for it.

That sounds pretty interesting. I wouldn't mind knowing the name of that book...

I'm reading Into the Wild right now and the story is what's really interesting to me but two teachers of mine have mentioned Into Thin Air and Under the Banner of Heaven each saying they liked one of them. I don't know if/when I'll pick up his other books but it's a possibility.
I saw the Iconoclasts episode with him and Sean Penn which was really interesting, so I'll probably read them in a while.
Sorry for the rambling there.

I just finished Into The Wild. I really liked it. I thought it was very moving and I completely understood McCandless' drive to seek adventure. Many folks have said that Krakauer was glorifying the kid's story, but I don't think that's the case. I think he presented it very much like a journalist would approach it showing all sides.

However I wish that Krakauer would have left out the few chapters relating to stories he thought were similar to McCandless' story. I know he put these in for context, but I thought they were unnecessary and distracted from his narrative. I did enjoy the chapters about his own experiences and thought those provided enough context.

I've just finished "Under the Banner of Heaven" and thought it was a powerful statement about religion gone awry. I wonder what can be done to STOP these people?

quote:

Originally posted by rockthief:
regarding "INto Thin Air" see if your library has the counter point written by the Russian who was on the climb. I will find the title tomorrow if I remember to look for it.

That book would be "The Climb: Tragic Ambitions On Everest" by Anatoli Boukreev.

I just read that Krakauer will be tackling Pat Tillman's story for his next project. That should be interesting.