Into The Wild

Are you saying that a book can only be written if he was a public figure or breaking the law? I'm not following.

 

Yes. I guess I am.

Without any permission, I could write a book about Babe Ruth, but I could not write a book about the guy who sold hot dogs at the consession stands.

 

If you don't slander or make libelous claims about the hot dog guy, why couldn't you write the book?

 

not really following either devil. if you want to write a book about me, it's fair game, my permission or not.

but regarding mccandless, he became a public figure when he went missing and turned up dead in alaska. happens all the time, a person who wasn't exactly public figures but did something that made them one.

 

What if the guy cheated on his wife, and it was true?

Cheating on your wife is not a crime, but it is something that you would not want everyone to know.

In this case, Supertramp's misgivings were showcased in print and on film.

 

I was just curious, because in 99.999999 percent of the cases you would never write a story about a boring person who does break the law, etc...

But he was a missing person. Good point. I had not considered that.

 

A book about Babe Ruth's life would sell more copies than the womanizing hot dog vendor, but both could be written. I'm thinking the Ruth book would sell more.

 

Having read the book (yet not seen the movie), I didn't get the McCandless -> Kaczynski vibe at all.

 

I don't either, IW, but I do think he was a disturbed young man who was either going to eventually hurt himself or someone else.

 

Never got that vibe either. He just never found his place in this world. If we were alive today, I think he'd be living on a small farm and selling organic veggies at the Farmer's Market.

 

Count me in that thought process as well.

 

I just saw this for the first time a couple weeks ago and thought Supertramp was really self-absorbed. I get the whole wanting to get away and find yourself thing, but he was super-talented and seems he excelled at everything he did. He could have moved to a foreign country, far away from his parents, and did his thing on his own and help mankind out at the same time. And for someone who was smart, he made some bad decisions....Kayaking into Mexico, not finding an alternate way back to town before the winter.