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Jon Krakauer

Other
I understood what he was doing, that he had spent four years fulfilling the absurd and tedious duty of graduating from college and now he was emancipated from that world of abstraction, false security, parents, and material excess.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
According to the moral absolutism that characterizes McCandless's beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Success
I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Although the far territory of the extreme can exert an intoxicating pull on susceptible individuals of all bents, extremism seems to be especially prevalent among those inclined by temperament or upbringing toward religious pursuits. Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants ratiocination, all bets are suddenly off.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
…such criticism and mockery are largely beside the point. All religious belief is a function of nonrational faith. And faith, by its very definition, tends to be impervious to to intellectual argument or academic criticism. Polls routinely indicate, moreover, that nine out of ten Americans believe in God—most of us subscribe to one brand of religion or another. Those who would assail The Book of Mormon should bear in mind that its veracity is no more dubious than the veracity of the Bible, say, or the Qur'an, or the sacred texts of most other religions. The latter texts simply enjoy the considerable advantage of having made their public debut in the shadowy recesses of the ancient past, and are thus much harder to refute.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Common sense is no match for the voice of God.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Happiness [is] only real when shared
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness, Inspirational
Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Neither Emma's tears nor her rage were enough to make Joseph monogamous, however; nor were the prevailing mores of the day. He kept falling rapturously in love with women not his wife. And because that rapture was so wholly consuming, and felt so good, it struck him as impossible that God might possibly frown on such a thing.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and wilful and wildhearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Life
I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun. Deliberate living. Conscious attention to your immediate environment and its concerns. examples include: a job, a task, a book, anything requiring efficient concentration. (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon….what it means to you).
The Great Holiness of FOOD, the Vital Heat.
Positivism, the Insurpassable Joy of the Life Aesthetic.
Absolute Truth and Honesty.
Reality.
Independence.
Finality-Stability-Consistency.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness
The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That’s why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that’s why they write symphonies..
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Death
I understood what he was doing, that he had spent four years fulfilling the absurd and tedious duty of graduating from college and now he was emancipated from that world of abstraction, false security, parents, and material excess.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
According to the moral absolutism that characterizes McCandless's beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Success
I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Although the far territory of the extreme can exert an intoxicating pull on susceptible individuals of all bents, extremism seems to be especially prevalent among those inclined by temperament or upbringing toward religious pursuits. Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants ratiocination, all bets are suddenly off.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
…such criticism and mockery are largely beside the point. All religious belief is a function of nonrational faith. And faith, by its very definition, tends to be impervious to to intellectual argument or academic criticism. Polls routinely indicate, moreover, that nine out of ten Americans believe in God—most of us subscribe to one brand of religion or another. Those who would assail The Book of Mormon should bear in mind that its veracity is no more dubious than the veracity of the Bible, say, or the Qur'an, or the sacred texts of most other religions. The latter texts simply enjoy the considerable advantage of having made their public debut in the shadowy recesses of the ancient past, and are thus much harder to refute.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Common sense is no match for the voice of God.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Happiness [is] only real when shared
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness, Inspirational
Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Neither Emma's tears nor her rage were enough to make Joseph monogamous, however; nor were the prevailing mores of the day. He kept falling rapturously in love with women not his wife. And because that rapture was so wholly consuming, and felt so good, it struck him as impossible that God might possibly frown on such a thing.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and wilful and wildhearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Life
I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun. Deliberate living. Conscious attention to your immediate environment and its concerns. examples include: a job, a task, a book, anything requiring efficient concentration. (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon….what it means to you).
The Great Holiness of FOOD, the Vital Heat.
Positivism, the Insurpassable Joy of the Life Aesthetic.
Absolute Truth and Honesty.
Reality.
Independence.
Finality-Stability-Consistency.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness
The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That’s why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that’s why they write symphonies..
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Death
I understood what he was doing, that he had spent four years fulfilling the absurd and tedious duty of graduating from college and now he was emancipated from that world of abstraction, false security, parents, and material excess.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
According to the moral absolutism that characterizes McCandless's beliefs, a challenge in which a successful outcome is assured isn't a challenge at all.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Success
I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Although the far territory of the extreme can exert an intoxicating pull on susceptible individuals of all bents, extremism seems to be especially prevalent among those inclined by temperament or upbringing toward religious pursuits. Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants ratiocination, all bets are suddenly off.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
…such criticism and mockery are largely beside the point. All religious belief is a function of nonrational faith. And faith, by its very definition, tends to be impervious to to intellectual argument or academic criticism. Polls routinely indicate, moreover, that nine out of ten Americans believe in God—most of us subscribe to one brand of religion or another. Those who would assail The Book of Mormon should bear in mind that its veracity is no more dubious than the veracity of the Bible, say, or the Qur'an, or the sacred texts of most other religions. The latter texts simply enjoy the considerable advantage of having made their public debut in the shadowy recesses of the ancient past, and are thus much harder to refute.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Common sense is no match for the voice of God.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
Happiness [is] only real when shared
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness, Inspirational
Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Neither Emma's tears nor her rage were enough to make Joseph monogamous, however; nor were the prevailing mores of the day. He kept falling rapturously in love with women not his wife. And because that rapture was so wholly consuming, and felt so good, it struck him as impossible that God might possibly frown on such a thing.
From Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Religion
He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life. He was alone and young and wilful and wildhearted, alone amid a waste of wild air and brackish waters and the seaharvest of shells and tangle and veiled grey sunlight.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Life
I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun. Deliberate living. Conscious attention to your immediate environment and its concerns. examples include: a job, a task, a book, anything requiring efficient concentration. (Circumstance has no value. It is how one relates to a situation that has value. All true meaning resides in the personal relationship to a phenomenon….what it means to you).
The Great Holiness of FOOD, the Vital Heat.
Positivism, the Insurpassable Joy of the Life Aesthetic.
Absolute Truth and Honesty.
Reality.
Independence.
Finality-Stability-Consistency.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Happiness
The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Inspirational
Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That’s why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that’s why they write symphonies..
From Into the Wild
NOT YET RATING ▼
Topic: Death