Staff Book and Media Recommendations

Cory Castoe

Library Specialist

The Stranger in the Woods

By Michael L. Finkel

This is the story of Christopher Knight, who had lived alone in the Maine wilderness for 27 years, until he was arrested in 2013 for breaking and entering.  The book begins with Knight's arrest, and what follow is an attempt by the books author, Michael Finkel, to ge an accurate account of how Knight was able to survive on his own for nearly three decades.  When Finkel first hears of the story, he feels a kinship with Knight, and searches him out to find out more.  He finds Knight unwilling (and maybe unable) to trust him, but slowly, Knight's mind starts to open, and tells Finkel an incredible story.  At times humorous, and at other times heartbreaking.  The Strange in the Woods is a tale just bizarre enough to be true.  It speaks to anyone who has ever dreamed of being a hermit (a term Knight takes great offense to), or even just to be in communion with nature.  Get a tent and a sleeping bag, go out in the middle of nowhere, and read this book right now.