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BCJ wrote:All Elevations Unknown: An Adventure in the Heart of Borneo by Sam Lightner

+1

Also, Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole. An extensive history of expeditions to reach the North Pole "back in the day."

"Feeding the Rat", by A. Alvarez. Its the biography of Mo Antione, an fairly unknown British climber. Some hilarious stories, some dramatic stories, and some interesting observations of others (more famous folks) he climbed with. Still available on Amazon here in the USA.

"The Last Place on Earth" by British journalist Roland Huntford (also known as "Scott and Amundsen" in its original British printing). A detailed analysis of the Scott/Amundsen race to the South Pole. Highly detailed with planning and logistics info, so not for those looking for a good dramatic read. Very controversial when it came out in the 1980s since it tarnished the "heroic British explorer" image that Scott had at the time. A few used copies on Amazon.

I'm kinda partial to the old adventure books from the19th and 20th centuries - things like Whymper's books or Scott's diary or Clarence King's Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada.

I like to get my hands on the original book, I have quite a collection.

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:I'm kinda partial to the old adventure books from the19th and 20th centuries - things like Whymper's books or Scott's diary or Clarence King's Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada.

I like to get my hands on the original book, I have quite a collection.

I just finished reading (again) Scott's diary. I found most of it pretty boring. Not too many ways to make sitting around camp for a few months sound that interesting.

National Geo Adventure came out with a list a while back with their take on the 100 best outdoor novels. Probably pretty easy to track down. I've given their no. 1 choice, The Worst Journey in the World, by Cherry Aspell-Gerard (sp?) but haven't found the time to read it myself. Just too many good books out there.

rmick25 wrote:On a seperate note I would also recommend "Of Men and Mountains" by William O. Douglas. Especially for those who live in the Pacific N.W. It's one of my favorites.

I just started reading "Beyond the High Himalaya" by Douglas (another of the 60 year old first editions I've been "finding"). Interesting so far, but I'm only a couple chapters in.

"We Aspired: The Last Innocent Americans", by Pete Sinclair

This is one of my favorite climbing books, and it's incredibly well written. Pete Sinclair writes about his experiences as a climbing ranger at Grand Teton National Park in the 1960s and his climbing experiences that led up to his park job. A lot of Teton legends from that time period appear in the book.

Here's the link to National Geo Adventure's 100 best list: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adven ... books.html

I've read several of these and haven't been disappointed.

The Last Season - Eric Blehm Not quite adventure but an interesting story about a ranger in Yosemite and SEKI.

Two of some of my favorites from one of my heroes. Truly a bold and fearless adventurer...



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This one should be added to the list as well....




Simply and an incredible human being and possibly the boldest and most courageous solo adventurer of the 20th Century.

Gary Schenk wrote:Anything about the search for the Northwest Passage, especially about Sir John Franklin. I spent a summer reading everything I could about those guys. They planned on being trapped in pack ice. Franklin was gone something like four years before they thought they might need to go look for him.

You're in luck. Two more books about the search and Franklin are due out soon. The Man Who Ate His Boots by Anthony Brandt and Arctic Labyrinth by Glyn Williams--both of which are fine treatments of the subject that I've been reading for a review. Wish I could get as pscyhed out the NW Passage as you sound. I would have finished both months ago.

As far as my feet will carry me
by Josef Martin Bauer

This book tells the story of Clemens Forell, a German soldier sentenced to 25 years of forced labour in a Siberian lead mine after the Second World War. Made desperate by the brutality of conditions in the camp, Forell staged a daring escape, resulting in an 8,000 mile journey across the trackless wastes of Siberia. His only goal was to return home to his wife and his two children." "Based on a long series of interviews with Forell, Josef Bauer's account evokes Forell's desperation in the prison camp, his lonely flight across one of the most treacherous and inhospitable regions on earth, and the ever-present terror of recapture as he makes his way towards the Persian frontier and freedom.

Here's a list of mountaineering literature and "survival" literature. http://www.summitpost.org/list/257435/B ... ature.html

The Life of Pi - Yann Martel. Ok, it's a novel and it's about a kid stuck on a lifeboat with a lion, but it's really really good.

Bluewater Gold Rush - Tom Kendrick. Really like this one, real men.

Home of the Blizzard by Douglas Mawson: Antarctic exploration in 1912 or 13. Amazing weather experienced during two years of scientific study and exploration on the southern most continent. I dig Antarctic and Arctic exploration stuff.
Another good one is The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard.