From Library Journal
Here's something to stop and think about: the opportunity to be the first to accomplish an 'adventure' on land, sea, and air may be gone. In 1999, the attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon which presented one of the last challenges for intrepid explorers was successful.
Virtually every major mountain has been climbed, the depths of the oceans have been charted, and the most inhospitable deserts have been crossed. We live in a world where people compete on television programs like Survivor to do things that were unthinkable just a century ago. Bonington, an accomplished mountain climber, presents 17 stories of the most remarkable expeditions of the past 100 years, giving factual accounts of what it was like to be 'the first' to cross the polar wastes, fly solo around the world, brave uncharted waters, and reach the peaks of treacherous mountains.
Familiar names like Thor Heyerdahl and Francis Chichester are mingled with lesser-known explorers such as Maurice Herzog and Wally Herbert to present a breathtaking account of the people who had the courage to face these challenges. Dynamic and inspiring, this book will attract readers of all ages, including young adults. Highly recommended.
Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc P.L., CACopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
There is a special breed of person who thrives on risk, for whom an unconquered mountain or an unexplored ocean represents an irresistible challenge. Some are world-famous -- Hillary, Heyerdahl, Chichester -- while others are known only to a tightknit group of their peers, but all share certain hallmark qualities: a fierce desire to be first and best; a deep commitment to their goals; and most important of all, a kind of determination and endurance that is even more spiritual than physical.
Chris Bonington understands the powerful allure of adventure, and in this enthralling book he chronicles a generous selection of the most remarkable and daring exploits of the past half-century. A record-setting mountaineer, he's the perfect guide to some, of the world's most remote, forbidding, and dangerous places, from the blazing sands of the Sahara to the frigid Antarctic ice cap, from the blinding white of a Himalayan blizzard to the pitch-black depths of an underground river. Along with the first-person story of his own pioneering ascent of Annupurna's treacherous South Face, Bonington presents vivid accounts of 16 other epics -- on land, on water, and in the air.
We voyage across the Pacific with Thor Heyerdahl's crew on the primitive balsa raft called Kon-Tiki and ride the jet stream around the world in the gondola of the uItra-modern Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon. We free-climb the vertiginous face of El Capitan and follow the footsteps of solo climbers into the Death Zone of Karakoram peaks. We cling alone and desperate to a tiny, dismasted sailboat in an Antarctic ocean gale, fight gun battles with murderous bandits during the first boat descent of the rapid-strewn Blue Nile, cave-dive hundreds of feet beneath the English hills, and much more.
This book isn't just a lively narrative of 17 great adventures; its also an expert overview of the history, lore, and techniques of aeronautics, ocean sailing, mountaineering, and polar trekking, to name just four, as well as a wonderful portrait gallery of scores of colorful figures, familiar names, and unsung heroes alike. Finally, it's a fascinating analysis of the wide variety of styles and personalities drawn to adventuring, observed with the keen eye of an experienced insider.
Highlighted by more than 125 photographs, illustrations, and maps, these truly suspenseful tales of triumph -- and often tragedy -- offer a wonderful panorama of adventuring and its all-or-nothing champions, the extraordinary men and women who feel most alive when they are on the very edge of a perilous unknown.
