Into the Wild

On September 6, 1992 the body of Christopher Johnson McCandless was discovered in a school bus on the Stampede Trail in Denali National Park, Alaska. Since Jon Krakauer first published a story about his journey in a 1993 issue of Outside Magazine, McCandless has been an extremely polarizing figure - either adored and revered as a brave, honest hero, or utterly despised for his hubris.



 

If you haven't read Into the Wild, do it.  Sean Penn's 2007 film adaptation of the story starring Emile Hirsch is good (mostly because of the Eddie Vedder soundtrack) but for a deeper look at the character of Chris McCandless, the book is a must-read.