Adventure books!

Heineken HelenHeineken Helen Posts: 18,095
edited November 2007 in All Encompassing Trip
Books about road trips or discovering the meaning of life are no longer enough for me it would seem :rolleyes:

Can anyone recommend some books about survival against the odds? About people in extreme conditions. I'm currently reading 'call of the wild' by Guy Grieves... while it really is a brilliant book, I'm really enjoying it, his experience was probably still a little on the 'safe' side. He had help from locals, tools to build his cabin, a DOG for Christ sake :D

Anyway, I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for... but I'm hoping some of you will :) . And nothing too hard... I've a very short concentration span :o :rolleyes:
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • soulsingingsoulsinging Posts: 13,208
    into the wild
    into thin air
    alive

    so i've heard. im not big on that genre. those movies always freak me out cos i know id be first one dead ;)

    thought this was going to be about fiction... ive been on such a huge hard-boiled detective kick lately...
  • into the wild
    into thin air
    alive

    so i've heard. im not big on that genre. those movies always freak me out cos i know id be first one dead ;)

    thought this was going to be about fiction... ive been on such a huge hard-boiled detective kick lately...
    :D hard boiled detective kick? Examples? Maybe I can help ya out with THAT one.

    Into the wild cannot be found at ANY bookstore in Dublin right now :( cos I found these other ones when I was searching for it. I've ordered it though and they SHOULD have it next week. I think I'd like to buy something this afternoon though.

    I like reading them so I WON'T be the first one dead :D . I now know how to build a log cabin... how spruce sap is a great healer... how a dog is ESSENTIAL in the wild... that bacon and beans is one of the best meals you could have... and several other stuff.

    See... I'm almost ready :)
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • CollinCollin Posts: 4,932
    It's not really an adventure book, but it is about survival against the odds and a person in an extreme condition.

    Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. You've probably heard of him, he's the rock climber that had to amputate his own arm in order to survive and free himself.

    I haven't read the book completely yet, but I've read huge parts. It is a remarkable story and he tells it in his own words, some parts were hard to read... (I don't have the book, but read quite a few extracts and some chapters when I was staying with rock climbers in NY).
    THANK YOU, LOSTDAWG!


    naděje umírá poslední
  • Collin wrote:
    It's not really an adventure book, but it is about survival against the odds and a person in an extreme condition.

    Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. You've probably heard of him, he's the rock climber that had to amputate his own arm in order to survive and free himself.

    I haven't read the book completely yet, but I've read huge parts. It is a remarkable story and he tells it in his own words, some parts were hard to read... (I don't have the book, but read quite a few extracts and some chapters when I was staying with rock climbers in NY).
    ooohh yes, I saw that one in the book shop the other day and I know the story alright.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    Hels, I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I cannot recommend highly enough the book Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

    Here's the blurb from the inside cover:

    Shantaram is a novel based on the life of the author, Gregory David Roberts.
    In 1978 Roberts committed a series of robberies while addicted to heroin, and was sentenced to nineteen years' imprisonment. In July 1980 he escaped over the front wall of Victoria's maximum-security prison, in broad daylight, thereby becoming one of Australia's most wanted men for what turned out to be the next ten years.

    His journey took him to New Zealand, Asia, Africa and Europe, but his home for most of those years was Bombay - where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for one of the most charismatic branches of the Bombay mafia.

    Shantaram deals with all this and more. It is an epic, mesmerising tale of crowded slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison torture, mafia gang wars and Bollywood films, and spiritual gurus and brutal battlefields. It weaves a seamless web of unforgettable characters, amazing adventures, and superb evocations of Indian life.

    This remarkable book can be read as a vast extended thriller, as well as a superbly written meditation on the nature of good and evil. It is a compelling tale of a hunted man who had lost everything - his home, his family, and his soul - and came to find his humanity while living at the wildest edge of experience. Nothing like this has been written before, and nobody but Greg Roberts could have written it now.

    Gregory David Roberts was born in Melbourne, and has lived in India, New Zealand, Germany, and Switzerland. He speaks four languages and has travelled widely in Asia, Africa and Europe. He is now a full time writer and lives in Melbourne.

    Not sure if it's for you Hels, but I found it one of the best books I've read in a while. I was completely drawn in by it and laughed and cried and imersed myself in it for days until I'd finished it. Anyway, thought it might be what you're looking for. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Collin wrote:
    It's not really an adventure book, but it is about survival against the odds and a person in an extreme condition.

    Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. You've probably heard of him, he's the rock climber that had to amputate his own arm in order to survive and free himself.

    I haven't read the book completely yet, but I've read huge parts. It is a remarkable story and he tells it in his own words, some parts were hard to read... (I don't have the book, but read quite a few extracts and some chapters when I was staying with rock climbers in NY).

    I enjoyed the book. What about Papillion(did I spell that right? ) ?
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    I enjoyed the book. What about Papillion(did I spell that right? ) ?

    Papillion by Henri Charriere is an excellent book! :)

    I can also recommend Icing on The Damper by Marie Mahood, a different kind of adventure but still an excellent and exciting read. :) All about a family in the outback.

    Oh and Tracks by Robyn Davidson. An amazing true story about this woman who rode her camels through the Australian outback.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robyn_Davidson
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Jeanie wrote:
    Not sure if it's for you Hels, but I found it one of the best books I've read in a while. I was completely drawn in by it and laughed and cried and imersed myself in it for days until I'd finished it. Anyway, thought it might be what you're looking for. :)
    :) thanks Jeanie, that actually DOES sound like something I may be looking for... I'll have a look for it :)
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • chimechime Posts: 7,838
    The first one I thought of was Touching the Void ... though you may have seen the film.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_The_Void

    ... and may be not quite the thing you're looking for but surviving drug/alcohol addiction which is part autobiographical and part fiction ... I really enjoyed (may be not the right word ... but I couldn't put the book down) A Million Little Pieces
    So are we strangers now? Like rock and roll and the radio?
  • polarispolaris Posts: 3,527
    the endless knot
  • Chime wrote:
    The first one I thought of was Touching the Void ... though you may have seen the film.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_The_Void

    ... and may be not quite the thing you're looking for but surviving drug/alcohol addiction which is part autobiographical and part fiction ... I really enjoyed (may be not the right word ... but I couldn't put the book down) A Million Little Pieces
    I saw touching the void in the book shop also... but I've never seen the film so that may be another one.

    A million little pieces sounds familiar.

    what's the endless knot polaris?
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • polarispolaris Posts: 3,527
    I saw touching the void in the book shop also... but I've never seen the film so that may be another one.

    A million little pieces sounds familiar.

    what's the endless knot polaris?

    it's a recount of a really bad season on K2 (second highest peak - some, say the tougher climb) ... i think 7 died that season or something and its the story told by one of the survivors ... it also intertwines his passion and motivation for the mountain that gives a great insight into how mountaineers operate ...

    http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Diemberger-Omnibus-Summits-Secrets/dp/0898866065

    crikey - i didn't know there were so many books with that title ... :)
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    Another vote for "Into Thin Air"......damn fine reading.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • dunkmandunkman Posts: 19,646
    Chime wrote:
    The first one I thought of was Touching the Void ... though you may have seen the film.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touching_The_Void


    i was just coming on to say this one... amazing moral dilemma story... really amazing :)
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • polaris wrote:
    it's a recount of a really bad season on K2 (second highest peak - some, say the tougher climb) ... i think 7 died that season or something and its the story told by one of the survivors ... it also intertwines his passion and motivation for the mountain that gives a great insight into how mountaineers operate ...

    http://www.amazon.com/Kurt-Diemberger-Omnibus-Summits-Secrets/dp/0898866065

    crikey - i didn't know there were so many books with that title ... :)
    :) ah yes, that sounds good. I saw another book yesterday when i was looking through amazon that sounded pretty similar, think it's simply called 'climb'. into thin air looks good too but I want into the wild to be my first krakeur book in case I don't like his style... but I think I will.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    :) ah yes, that sounds good. I saw another book yesterday when i was looking through amazon that sounded pretty similar, think it's simply called 'climb'. into thin air looks good too but I want into the wild to be my first krakeur book in case I don't like his style... but I think I will.
    If I am remembering correctly....The Climb was written by one of the guides from one of the expeditions spotlighted by "Into Thin Air." The fellow was either Russian or from one of the former Soviet republics. It wasn't too bad....just not as well written as "Into Thin Air."
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    :) thanks Jeanie, that actually DOES sound like something I may be looking for... I'll have a look for it :)

    Cool! I reckon you'll like it Hels. Actually getting it out to type out the cover sleave blurb for you has me all keen to read it again! :D

    There was talk a couple of years ago that Johnny Depp had bought the movie rights! :D
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • tybird wrote:
    If I am remembering correctly....The Climb was written by one of the guides from one of the expeditions spotlighted by "Into Thin Air." The fellow was either Russian or from one of the former Soviet republics. It wasn't too bad....just not as well written as "Into Thin Air."
    yep, that's what I read about it... I'll wait til I get into the wild next week hopefully... and then I'll get into thin air if I like it.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • So last night I bought into thin air AND the climb... to get both sides of the story... started into thin air last night (cos it came first, right?) and it's fooking BRILLIANT. I'll probably be finished it before I even get home tonight... I didn't wanna get off this bus this morning cos it's getting to THE part now.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    So last night I bought into thin air AND the climb... to get both sides of the story... started into thin air last night (cos it came first, right?) and it's fooking BRILLIANT. I'll probably be finished it before I even get home tonight... I didn't wanna get off this bus this morning cos it's getting to THE part now.

    Awesome! Let me know what you think Hels. :) I love a good read!
    Especially if I know that somebody else enjoyed something! I'll wait for your review! :D
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    So last night I bought into thin air AND the climb... to get both sides of the story... started into thin air last night (cos it came first, right?) and it's fooking BRILLIANT. I'll probably be finished it before I even get home tonight... I didn't wanna get off this bus this morning cos it's getting to THE part now.
    Glad to hear that......two sides of the story is an accurate description.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • Jeanie wrote:
    Awesome! Let me know what you think Hels. :) I love a good read!
    Especially if I know that somebody else enjoyed something! I'll wait for your review! :D
    I'd definitely recommend it. Although I don't recommend reading it in public. I was reading it on the bus home Friday evening and it was soooo hard to stop the tears at a couple of points :o

    Excellent read.

    tybird, that's what I was thinking... I'll be starting the climb this evening.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    I'd definitely recommend it. Although I don't recommend reading it in public. I was reading it on the bus home Friday evening and it was soooo hard to stop the tears at a couple of points :o

    Excellent read.

    tybird, that's what I was thinking... I'll be starting the climb this evening.


    :) I guess I'd better shoot off to the bookstore then. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Jeanie wrote:
    :) I guess I'd better shoot off to the bookstore then. :)
    :) Yep, I started another thread about the two books... if you can I'd seriously recommend buying into think air AND the climb... read into thin air first. They're both different points of view of the same story and both absolutely fascinating reads.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    :) Yep, I started another thread about the two books... if you can I'd seriously recommend buying into think air AND the climb... read into thin air first. They're both different points of view of the same story and both absolutely fascinating reads.

    I'm so not up to speed lately Hels, must have missed them. But yeah, I'll definitely hunt them out. I'm hanging out for a good read. I've got 4 books on the go at the moment and I can't seem to get into any of them. :o
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Jeanie wrote:
    I'm so not up to speed lately Hels, must have missed them. But yeah, I'll definitely hunt them out. I'm hanging out for a good read. I've got 4 books on the go at the moment and I can't seem to get into any of them. :o
    :o I go through phases like that too... actually before the past couple of weeks I don't think I'd finished a book in months :eek:

    The climb is written by Anatoli Boukreev, he was one of the guides on a different team on the same expedition that Krakeur writes about. He felt Krakeur was blaming him in his book for what happened so The Climb is basically a response firstly to Into Thin Air... it's also much more than that.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    :o I go through phases like that too... actually before the past couple of weeks I don't think I'd finished a book in months :eek:

    The climb is written by Anatoli Boukreev, he was one of the guides on a different team on the same expedition that Krakeur writes about. He felt Krakeur was blaming him in his book for what happened so The Climb is basically a response firstly to Into Thin Air... it's also much more than that.

    Well I managed to concentrate on the final Harry Potter but that was weeks ago and now I'm just adding to the pile beside the bed.

    I take it they climbed Everest? Anyway, sounds interesting, might be just what I need. :) Thanks. :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Jeanie wrote:
    Well I managed to concentrate on the final Harry Potter but that was weeks ago and now I'm just adding to the pile beside the bed.

    I take it they climbed Everest? Anyway, sounds interesting, might be just what I need. :) Thanks. :)
    No probs... well, this isn't a spoiler, it's on the back of both books. Yep they climbed everest and it was one of the worst days in the mountains history... 9 people died. Krakeur was actually IN the team where the most people died and Boukreev was in another team.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
  • JeanieJeanie Posts: 9,446
    No probs... well, this isn't a spoiler, it's on the back of both books. Yep they climbed everest and it was one of the worst days in the mountains history... 9 people died. Krakeur was actually IN the team where the most people died and Boukreev was in another team.

    Aaah. I think I remember something about this now. How excellent that they've both written about it! :)
    NOPE!!!

    *~You're IT Bert!~*

    Hold on to the thread
    The currents will shift
  • Jeanie wrote:
    Aaah. I think I remember something about this now. How excellent that they've both written about it! :)
    Yep :) I wonder if more of the survivors did... cos I'm determined to get to the bottom of it now :D

    It's tough reading though when you know what's coming for some of them... and that they're real people, not just characters in a book.
    The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
    Verona??? it's all surmountable
    Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
    Wembley? We all believe!
    Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
    Chicago 07? And love
    What a different life
    Had I not found this love with you
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