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Adventure stories have always been the most compelling reads for me.
Many a time I've stayed up late, or neglected chores, because of a
great adventure story. Here are my best picks. One of these books,
Annapurna, introduced me to climbing, which became the most
important part of my life for years. That book changed my life.
Annapurna. The story of the first ascent of Annapurna. In fact, this was the first ascent of any of the dozen or so 8000-meter peaks, the highest in the world. Maurice Herzog led the team, and paid a terrible price for his success. Moving and gripping. If you enjoy adventure stories, this is one of the greatest of all time. Annapurna, by Maurice Herzog. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1558215492. Adrift. Sailing solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Steven Callahan had only minutes to save himself when his boat started to sink one night. He ended up spending seventy-six days alone in a tiny open raft, setting a world record for this kind of survival in the process. You suffer alongside him. The book filled me with admiration for his courage and resourcefulness, skill and determination. Adrift, by Steven Callahan. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345410157. Endurance. An unbelievable story of 2 years marooned in Antarctica, and a voyage in a small open boat across thousands of miles of open water, navigating by dead reckoning. Shackleton was a leader; he kept his men together, and he saved them. The book I reference here is probably the same one I read, but re-published, with additional material. For descriptions of parts of the adventure, click here. For more reviews of the book, click here. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing. Carroll and Graf. ISBN 0881841781. K2, the Savage Mountain. This is the story of an American attempt on K2, the second highest mountain in the world, and a considerably tougher climb than Everest. The team probably would have made it to the top, except for the thrombophlebitis that struck one member of the expedition. All risked their lives to get him down. I won't say more. Read the book and find out for yourself. K2, the Savage Mountain, by Charles Houston and Robert Bates. This book, though a classic, is out of print. You may be able to find a copy through a book search, or by joining the Adventure Library (click here). I stumbled across them on the Net, and found that several of their selections are the same as mine (click here). Kon-Tiki. I'd forgotten this one, until I ran across it in the Adventure Library. It was a favorite of my childhood; I'd sit for hours and look at the photographs, and browse the text. (I wish I still had my hardcover copy; somewhere along the way, it's been lost.) A great story of a man who refused to give up. Incidentally, I once met a friend of Heyerdahl's who'd made the second voyage across the Pacific on a raft. This guy picked me up when I was hitchhiking in Nevada. Old, but he had a handshake like a vise grip. A fascinating guy. He also composed classical music (including the score to the film he'd made of his adventure). Kon-Tiki, by Thor Heyerdahl. Seven Years in Tibet. I read this twenty years or more ago, and loved it enough that I've refused to see the movie, which can't possibly be as good. Brad Pitt isn't fit to stand in the shadow of Harrer, who made the first ascent of the Eiger's North Face, and walked barefoot across Tibet after escaping from the British. Strictly speaking, only part of the book is an adventure story; but that part alone is worth the price, and the rest of the book is worth reading, too. Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer. Undaunted Courage. The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. This was a best-seller not long ago, and deservedly so. They found their way from the Mississippi to the Pacific and back, and only one member of the expedition died (from appendicitis). Their journey was an unbelievable accomplishment. For all the evil that followed - our destruction of a paradise, I mean - the book is heartening in its depiction of the course of the expedition, from Jefferson's first idea, to the final return of the expedition. These men were heroes and visionaries, in a way we can probably never be again. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, by Steven Ambrose. Simon and Shuster. ISBN 0684811073. Various other books, some of which aren't strictly adventure stories: An African in Greenland. By Tete-Michel Kpomassie, a West African who was determined to live in Greenland, and managed to get there by determination and charm. Assault on Norway. By Thomas Gallagher. The attack on the German heavy-water plant in Norway in WWII. Probably out of print. Book of the Eskimos. by Peter Freuchen. The genuine article. No picnic on Mount Kenya. By Felice Benuzzi. Italians escaping from a British prisoner-of-war camp in WWII to climb Mount Kenya. Given their physical state and poor equipment, a serious adventure. When they'd climbed the mountain, they had to break back into the camp. Anything by Redmond O'Hanlon: In Trouble Again; Into the Heart of Borneo; No Mercy. Hilarious adventures in the jungles of this planet. Roughing It. By Mark Twain. Need I say more? The Fearful Void. By Geoffrey Moorhouse. A more human adventure than the others reviewed here- Moorhouse makes a lot of mistakes, and nearly dies. He's a man who lives on a normal scale. Arabian Sands. By Wilfred Thesiger. This is an absolute classic. And while you're at it, read Thesiger's autobiography, The Life of My Choice. The man must have been made of iron. Journey Without Maps. By Graham Greene. I didn't care for this one, actually: Greene would not be my pick for a travelling companion. He seems to look for unpleasantness on every page. I include this because so many writers I respect have praised this book. Touching the Void. By Joe Simpson. The ultimate climbing epic. "Extreme" is an understatement. The Mountain of My Fear. By David Roberts. Honest and well-written. I wish I knew more about his partner, Jensen. I used to own one of his Bombshelters, until my wife talked me into getting rid of it. I still miss that tent. Last, but far from least, read any of the Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian. I read rave reviews of these for years, but wouldn't touch the books because I don't care for period fiction or nautical novels. Finally picked one up, and I was hooked. Not for everyone, but if you find you enjoy it, be prepared to spend a lot of time reading all 18 of them. One word of advice: start at the first book, and read them in order. |