Showing titles in Adventurers, Explorers & Survival

Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.

At the onset of World War II, Williams formed Elephant Company and was instrumental in defeating the Japanese in Burma and saving refugees, including on his own "Hannibal Trek." Billy Williams became a media sensation during the war, telling reporters that the elephants did more for him than he was ever able to do for them, but his story has since been forgotten.

Raging ambition. Towering egos. Competition under a veneer of courtesy. Heroic effort combined with plagiarism, theft, exaggeration, and fraud. This was the state of bird study in eastern North America during the early 1800s, as a handful of intrepid men raced to find the last few birds that were still unknown to science. The most famous name in the bird world was John James Audubon, who painted spectacular portraits of birds. But although his images were beautiful, creating art was not his main goal. Instead, he aimed to illustrate (and write about) as many different species as possible.

In Shadows of Sobriety, Keith Burton pulls back the curtain on his journey through a childhood marked by alcoholism, family dysfunction, and emotional scars that lasted a lifetime. Raised in a household where love was often confused with pain, Keith reflects on his relationships with an alcoholic father and a controlling mother, and how their struggles set the stage for his own battles with identity, faith, and a fractured family legacy.

438 Days is the miraculous account of the man who survived alone and adrift at sea longer than anyone in recorded history - as told to journalist Jonathan Franklin in dozens of exclusive interviews.

With unflinching honesty, A Life of Opposing Forces highlights the complicated but enduring relationship Michael Millin has with his parents as he navigates the interplay of light and dark in his own life. Michael shares his path from addiction to sobriety, challenging his own assumptions of recovery and confronting generational trauma. In the process, Michael exposes the reader to the incredible world of surfing and traveling. Throughout his journey, surfing has always provided a safe space for Michael. The ocean was more than an escape; it was medicine—and the key to his survival.

For 46 years, Carol Minto has quietly gone about her life, carrying with her the most extraordinary and heartbreaking secrets. In The Asylum, Carol tells the full story of how she overcame unimaginable suffering, to find the happiness and solace she has today as a mother and grandmother.

Oceanographer Dawn Wright made history in 2022 when she became the first Black person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest and most unexplored place on Earth—a trip that took her over 10,000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface. We know less about the ocean floor than we do about the surface of the moon. To date, barely one-fifth of the seabed has been mapped in high resolution. As an ocean scientist and explorer, Dawn has made it her mission to change that.

In the snow country of Japan during World War II, we meet Morie Sawataishi, a fierce individualist who has chosen to break the law by keeping an Akita dog hidden in a shed on his property. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, there are only sixteen Akitas left in the country. The survival of the breed becomes Morie's passion and life. Devoted to the dogs, Morie is forever changed.

In beautiful prose that is a joy to read, Sherrill opens up the world of the Dog Man and his wife, providing a profound look at what it is to be an individualist in a culture that reveres conformity, and what it means to live.

Heidi's story is extraordinary. Imagine being 540 miles from land, with nothing but water in sight, and then experiencing every pilot's worst nightmare - a complete engine failure. Heidi's fixed-gear Cessna bounced off the ocean's surface, flipped onto its back, and began to sink. What followed was a nine-hour ordeal, battling 10-foot seas in a tiny life raft, with the shadow of the Cold War looming as she was finally rescued by a Soviet vessel.

Join the captivating world of Unraveled Chaos, a memoir that takes you on an exhilarating ride through Kersten's tumultuous life. In this audio experience, Kersten shares her story with raw honesty and infectious energy, recounting her adventurous childhood filled with fast cars, reckless escapades, and the complexities of family dynamics.

On August 8, 2020, 40-year-old Stephanie Lincoln seemingly had the perfect life. She just had the wedding of her dreams, owned a successful business, and was traveling the country in an RV with her husband and 3 dogs. An innocent choice to go on a short hike in the Olympic National Forest became the catalyst for disaster. On that day, Stephanie officially became a missing person and the battle for her life ensued.

Forget everything you think you know about psychedelics. They’re not punchlines. They’re not party favors for aging hippies. Instead, as Alex Abraham discovered, they are an innovative approach that can help heal trauma and chronic pain.

In August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But de Gerlache’s plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters.

She was 17 years old on a Christmas Eve flight 40 years ago to join her father for Christmas when the unimaginable happened. The Lockheed L-188A Electra, on the way from Lima to Pucallpa, flew directly into a thunderstorm. A strike of lightning left the plane incinerated and Juliane Diller (Koepcke) still strapped to her plane seat falling through the night air two miles above the Earth. Her survival is unexplainable and considered a modern-day miracle. Her mother was among the 91 dead and Juliane the sole survivor.

For 27 hours, Genelle remained below the surface of Tower One’s rubble. During this time, she couldn’t help but reflect on the life she’d lived and how she’d drifted from the faith she once knew. One of her most painful regrets was that she’d left her daughter behind in Trinidad while she pursued her dream of singing and dancing in America. She begged God to forgive her - accepting that she may soon die, but praying for the miracle of life and a chance to live that life with a new purpose and direction.

In 1996, Beck Weathers and a climbing team pushed toward the summit of Mount Everest. Then a storm exploded on the mountain, ripping the team to shreds, forcing brave men to scratch and crawl for their lives. In this powerful memoir, Weathers describes not only his escape from hypothermia and the murderous storm that killed eight climbers but the journey of his life. This is the story of a man's route to a dangerous sport and a fateful expedition, as well as the road of recovery he has traveled since.

Now with a new introduction by Jenny Odell, this masterpiece of nature writing by Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into “the high and holy places” of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world of spectacular cliffs, deep silences, and lakes so clear that they cannot be imagined. As she walks through clouds, endures blizzards, and watches the great spirals of eagles in flight, Shepherd comes to know something about the hidden life of this remarkable landscape—and also herself.

This collection of letters from Henry M. Stanley published in 1898, present Henry's view of the then-current state of South Africa. It incorporates his views on the opportunities for the growing nation, highlights the bad management of its politicians, and the tension between the Dutch and English settlers.

They were part of the Baby Boomer vanguard, three boys thrown together in a 1950s Southern California subdivision looking like most other boys of that era. Under coonskin hats they ran free all summer long inventing their own games and endless challenges, fought imaginary Indians and pirates in a nearby orange grove, and on occasion battled a neighborhood bully or two. Their greatest enemy, however, was an infectious disease called polio – a paralyzing scourge that maimed and too-often killed little kids.