The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
When Christopher Knight was 20 years old, he abandoned his car by the side of the road and walked into the woods. For the next 27 years, he didn't speak to another human being. The Stranger in the Woods is the fascinating portrait of a man determined to live in complete solitude. Knight's survival tactics were by turns ingenious and criminal; he devised incredible means of camouflage for his forest home and scrounged supplies by breaking into vacant summer homes.
Compiled through research and interviews, Michael Finkel's narration is a heartbreaking, engrossing examination of the desire to live outside the boundaries of modern society.
Quote:
“It’s possible that Knight believed he was one of the few sane people left. He was confounded by the idea that passing the prime of your life in a cubicle, spending hours a day at a computer, in exchange for money, was considered acceptable, but relaxing in a tent in the woods was disturbed. Observing the trees was indolent; cutting them down was enterprising. What did Knight do for a living? He lived for a living.”
Author:
Michael Finkel is an American author and journalist. His books include The Stranger in the Woods and True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa.
Published: 2017
Length: 203 pages
Set in: Maine, United States