Showing titles in Adventurers, Explorers & Survival

Sir Ranulph Fiennes can trace his lineage back to Charlemagne and he's related to Jane Austen. Eustache Fiennes fought for William the Conqueror - but other Fiennes' were on Harold's side. One of his relatives, Geoffrey de Saye, was at the signing of the Magna Carta. Thomas Fiennes sat on the...

At 83 years old, Valerie Taylor has lived a big, bold, adventurous life. Born in Australia, Valerie spent a great deal of her childhood in New Zealand. A talented artist, she dropped out of school when she contracted polio and was saved by Sister Elizabeth Kenny's treatment plan; it was two years before she could walk unaided. When Valerie was 15, she found work as an animator and moved back to Australia with her family. All the while she thrived on being close to the ocean, and was a keen spearfisher.

Why do we travel, what are we looking for, and will we recognize it if we find it? With the author’s 50th birthday looming, there seemed a need for something significant to happen. Not seeing an expiry date on his birth certificate made it hard to gauge when to have a mid-life crisis, but he’d almost definitely left it too late.

The spectacular, true story of a scrappy teenager from New York’s Lower East Side who stowed away on the most remarkable feat of science and daring of the Jazz Age, The Stowaway is “a thrilling adventure that captures not only the making of a man but of a nation” (David Grann, bestselling...

From award-winning ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman, and written using exclusive interviews and information comes the definitive account of the dramatic story that gripped the world: the miracle rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave miles...

Paris. The beauty. The grime. The colors and thoughts and songs and sounds and children and dogs. The taste of strawberries, the sky, first métro, last métro, the bells, the dreams. The city of light, it seems, has its own plans for Jayne. Drawn there in an entirely unforeseen way, she finds herself in a vibrant and dizzying neighborhood, living in a former monastery, studying at a famous theatre school, falling in love with a Frenchman too beautiful to be real. She will forget her past and disappear into the culture if it kills her. And one strange night, it nearly does.

“Breathtaking....Crazy for the Storm will keep you up late into the night.” —Washington Post Book World Norman Olstead’s New York Times bestselling memoir Crazy for the Storm is the story of the harrowing plane crash the author miraculously survived at age eleven, framed by the moving...

Faith Jones was raised to be part of an elite army preparing for the End Times. Isolated on a farm in Macau, she practised devotions and read letters of prophecy written by her grandfather, the leader of the now infamous cult The Children of God. A direct decedent of the founding family, Faith featured in international media coverage - she was celebrated as extraordinary and then published doubly as a sharp reminder that she was not. With indomitable grit, Faith created a world of her own, pilfering books and educating herself in secret. 

A classic of travel writing, ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’ is Eric Newby’s iconic account of his journey through one of the most remote and beautiful wildernesses on earth. It was 1956, and Eric Newby was earning an improbable living in the chaotic family business of London haute...

When Romi Grossberg decided, at thirty-five, to give up her job as a social worker in Australia for a two-year contract in the slums of Cambodia, she could never have imagined that the experience would change her life forever. Hip Hop & Hope is part memoir, part history, part travelogue, and completely engaging. Its portrait of Phnom Penh is complicated and indelible. Its story of work in an NGO is inspirational. At this hip hop youth centre, Romi evolves from a frightened burrung to a respected manager who knows the words, the tunes, and the moves.

In a male-driven world, Bell managed to become one of the greatest policymakers the world has ever known; without her, the Middle East might very well be a much different place, and her influence in the territory gave her the nickname "Queen of the Desert". This biography tells the extraordinary story of one of the most adventurous and fascinating women you will ever encounter.

Travel YouTuber Drew Binsky, who has visited every country in the world, shares everything you need to know to go anywhere you want. In 2021, Drew Binsky completed his 10-year journey to travel to every country in the world—all 197 of them. Now, for the first time, Drew reveals his wildest stories and best moments, even from places the United Nations deems the most “dangerous.” As you’ll discover with him as your guide, the world is more accessible than you think, and no matter where you’re from, people have more in common than they do differences.

Growing up in Australia’s suburbs, Paul never really felt like he fit in. But something in Paul always told him that there was a world out there that he needed to explore—he just didn’t know how to access it. The Australian military was the answer, but that service almost came to a brutal end when Paul was attacked by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. Paul lost a hand and a leg, but he refused to accept limitations. In fact, the attack opened the door to a whole new life. One that would see Paul dedicate himself to the very animals that had tried to kill him….

Brought to you by Penguin. The year is 1735. Twelve unruly men board ships bound for South America. Their mission? To discover the true shape of the earth. They will be exposed to a wilderness of dangers none can imagine. The survivors won't return for ten years. An almost forgotten moment in...

The first full-length biography of George Ingle Finch - maverick Australian mountaineer, scientist, concert pianist and father of actor Peter Finch. George Ingle Finch, mountaineer, soldier, scientist, rebellious spirit, boy from the bush, was in his day one of the most famous men in the world. In 1922 he stood at the highest point on Everest, a feat not bettered for 30 years. He invented the predecessor to the puffer jacket and pioneered the use of oxygen in climbing.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2024 NATIONAL OUTBOOK AWARD FOR JOURNEYS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 SPEAKER'S BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR THE BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK COMPETITION FOR ADVENTURE TRAVEL From Canada’s most accomplished adventurer and storyteller comes a gripping journey into the...

An eclectic mix of exciting stories every surfer will love. This eclectic mix has something for everyone, from classic tales of monster waves and epic battles to stories of when life among the breakers goes wrong. There are accounts of death and disaster, as well as bravery and triumph. The bizarre and the extreme rub shoulders with perfect breaks and beautiful beaches. Be thrilled by legendary surfers like Laird Hamilton and Shane Dorian as well as learning about local heroes who never made the headlines.

This important and timely book from a Pulitzer Prize finalist follows the brutal journey a group of men take to cross the Mexican border. "The single most compelling, lucid, and lyrical contemporary account of the absurdity of U.S. border policy" —The Atlantic ​ In May 2001, a group of men...

‘Haunting.’ Jonathan Freedland ‘Powerful.’ Daniel Finkelstein The profoundly moving and deeply intimate story of one Jewish family’s fate in the Holocaust, following the thread from Germany to Latvia and to Britain. In November 1941, Peter Bradley's grandparents, Sally and Bertha...

In 1935, Fred A. Birchmore left the small American town of Athens, Georgia, to continue his college studies in Europe. In his spare time, Birchmore toured the continent on a one-speed bike he called Bucephalus (after the name of Alexander the Great's horse). A born wanderer, Birchmore broadened his travels to include the British Isles and even the Mediterranean. After a lengthy, unplanned detour in Egypt, Birchmore put his studies on hold, pointed Bucephalus eastward, and just kept going.