If McCandless Read Ishmael....

I never really got the big deal over Ishmael. It seemed fairly dull, and as someone else said, amateurish. The point was a bit over elaborated too. I say this as an environmentalist, too. Each to their own, I suppose.

bootlegger10 wrote:

I agree. Especially with this McCandless guy. He died alone in Alaska. A real winner there. It is funny the types of people some try to glorify.

The point isn't how he died, it's how he lived. Some people go through life never experiencing what he did, and die nice and warm in bed. He's not a 'real winner' because he tried to live his life the way he wanted, in the extreme, and died for it?

Heineken Helen wrote:

well the books I'm talking about certainly don't expand on Quinn's ideas... not from a literary point of view but from a human point of view I suppose. Real life is much more interesting and exciting than any theory Quinn has to talk about.

what books might those me so maybe others can read them too

quit hoggin!

I didn't find Ismael that inspiring.

Chris1401 wrote:

For those of you who have read or seen Into the Wild and have read Ishmael, how do feel McCandless would have interpretted the book? As in, do you think McCandless would have agreed with the problems of humanity put forth in Ishmael? How would McCandless intpreted Quinn's view of evolution?

And..there is no right answer, this is for open and intriguing discussion!

I am still trying to figure out my answer.

Great thread, both books are amazing and life-changing (IMO)

NothinGBetteRPJMaN wrote:

what books might those me so maybe others can read them too

quit hoggin!

I would suggest 'touching the void' by Joe Simpson

http://www.amazon.com/Touching-Void-Story-Miraculous-Survival/dp/0060730552/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195204299&sr=8-2

'Concise and yet packed with detail, Touching the Void, Joe Simpson's harrowing account of near-death in the Peruvian Andes, is a compact tour de force that wrestles with issues of bravery, friendship, physical endurance, the code of the mountains, and the will to live. Simpson dedicates the book to his climbing partner, Simon Yates, and to "those friends who have gone to the mountains and have not returned." What is it that compels certain individuals to willingly seek out the most inhospitable climate on earth? To risk their lives in an attempt to leave footprints where few or none have gone before? Simpson's vivid narrative of a dangerous climbing expedition will convince even the most die-hard couch potato that such pursuits fall within the realm of the sane. As the author struggles ever higher, readers learn of the mountain's awesome power, the beautiful--and sometimes deadly--sheets of blue glacial ice, and the accomplishment of a successful ascent. And then catastrophe: the second half of Touching the Void sees Simpson at his darkest moment. With a smashed, useless leg, he and his partner must struggle down a near-vertical face--and that's only the beginning of their troubles'

or 'an unsung hero' by Michael Smith

http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Crean-Shackleton-Antarctic-Expeditions/dp/089886870X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195204385&sr=1-6

'I've read almost every book I can find on Antarctic exploration and without a doubt, this is one of the finest. Tom Crean is always mentioned in books about early Antarctic epics but we've never really got to know him and what kind of a man he was. Michael Smith has done a fine job in tracing Crean's life from his early days in the Navy, his subsequent trips with Scott and Shackleton right up to his final days as a Pub owner is his home in Ireland. This is the kind of man you'd want whatever your expedition might be. He was brave, strong, honest, trustworthy and humorus, no matter what the circumstances. A great story about a real hero! '


when you've finished them two come back to me for more but these are absolutely fantastic and as inspirational as anything you'll ever read.

Heineken Helen wrote:

Isn't that a contradiction in terms though? People have been trying to figure out forEVER how and why others live their lives... and yet we still ask the same questions.

Just read Vonnegut and not his other kid.