Up the Mountain and Over the Sea : Books on Adventure and Exploration

A voyage into history, a tour of the world emerging from the Middle Ages, a chronicle of a desperate grab for commercial and political power, and more, this captivating tale rivals the most exciting thriller fiction.

On May 9, 1996, 30 climbers began their ascent of Mount Everest. Twenty-five came back alive--barely. Anatoli Boukreev is the one man who knows the whole story. Here he presents an exhilarating account of mountaineering and a sobering, cautionary tale of hubris in the face of unforgiving nature.

In a gripping, absorbing narrative that highlights one mans outstanding fortitude and sense of duty, acclaimed bestselling author Delaney tells the full story of the S.S. "Flying Enterprise" and its captains unmatched bravery in the face of a violent storm.

As NPR's senior foreign correspondent, Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. In "Naked in Baghdad," she explores the sights, sounds, and smells of the recent war in Iraq with unparalleled vividness and immediacy.

Renowned Alpine climber, journalist, and author Harlin crafts a thrilling account of his epic and emotionally wrought endeavor to crest one of the world's most dangerous peaks--the same mountain that took his father's life. The film of Harlin's climb hits IMAX theaters in March 2007.

"Nail-biting true adventure."--"Kirkus Reviews"
In 1909, two men laid rival claims to this crown jewel of exploration. A century later, the battle rages still. This book is about one of the most enduring and vitriolic feuds in the history of exploration. "What a consummate cur he is," said Robert Peary of Frederick Cook in 1911. Cook responded, "Peary has stooped to every crime from rape to murder."
They had started out as friends and shipmates, with Cook, a doctor, accompanying Peary, a civil engineer, on an expedition to northern Greenland in 1891. Peary's leg was shattered in an accident, and without Cook's care he might never have walked again. But by the summer of 1909, all the goodwill was gone. Peary said he had reached the Pole in September 1909; Cook scooped him, presenting evidence that he had gotten there in 1908.
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Readable, entertaining mini-histories of extraordinary shipwrecks, some famous (Titanic, Kursk) some little known.

An exhilarating story of victory and disaster, success and heartbreak, "Savage Summit" is a moving tribute to the five brave women who achieved the near-impossible by climbing the world's most feared mountain.

At sixteen, Kenn Kaufman dropped out of high school and hit the road, hitching back and forth across America, from Alaska to Florida, Maine to Mexico. Maybe not all that unusual a thing to do in the seventies, but what Kenn was searching for was a little different: not sex, drugs, God, or even self, but birds. The chance to see a rare bird would send him hitching nonstop from Pacific to Atlantic and back again. When he was broke he would pick fruit or do odd jobs to earn what little money he needed - in a year, traveling eighty thousand miles, he spent less than a thousand dollars. Kingbird Highway is a unique coming-of-age story, combining a lyrical celebration of nature with wild and sometimes dangerous adventures, starring a colorful cast of characters.

The #1 New York Times bestseller about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that "ranks among the great adventure books of all time".

The compelling account of recklessness, tragedy, courage, and rescue, this book's sobering depiction of Nature's danger is tempered by unforgettable portraits of the triumphant human spirit.

Based on 15 years of in-depth research, "1421" traces the voyages of an extraordinary fleet of Chinese ships who actually charted America 70 years before Columbus. Illustrations.

Now available in paperback, this true-life bestseller tells the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship "Essex"--an event that served as the inspiration for Melville's "Moby Dick". of illustrations.

To live in a pristine land . . . roam the wilderness . . . build a home. . . . Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. Here is a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.

Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.

The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reachi

After the death of her son and the end of her 30-year marriage, Nan Watkins decides on her 60th birthday to travel the globe alone. What begins as a trip to renew connections with friends across Asia and Europe becomes a powerful journey of body, mind, and spirit.