CLASSIC ADVENTURE BOOKS
On the Road
by Jack Kerouac
An autobiographical fictionalized account of Kerouac's and Neal Cassady real-life adventures as they travel across the US. An iconic representation of the rebellious counterculture later developed in the 1960's.
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Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
A classic tale about eight English schoolboys who are stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. At first, the boys cooperate to survive, but their tenuous hierarchy quickly falls apart.
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The Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann David Wyss
A family's struggle to create a new life after they blew off course and were shipwrecked on a tropical island.
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Last of the Breed
by Louis L'Amour
Classic Louis L’Amour tale of U.S. Air Force Major Joe Mack who must make it across the vast Siberian wilderness after escaping a Soviet prison camp.
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My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
Written for kids as well as adults, My Side of the Mountain tells the story of young Sam Gribley who leaves the city to live in the woods for a year. Great book to read to kids.
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My First Summer in the Sierra
by John Muir
The title says it all. A beautiful account of the Sierras by the venerable John Muir.
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Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe
Published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a castaway who was stranded on a remote island for 28 years before being rescued.
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Travels with Charley
In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
Fearing that he has lost touch with the heart and soul of America, author John Steinbeck traveled through almost 40 US states with his dog Charley by his side.
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Walden
Life in the Woods
by Henry David Thoreau
A classic reflection on simpler living from Thoreau who spent two years living in a cabin that he built near Walden Pond.
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Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne
Around the World in 8- days tells the fictional story of Phileas Fogg who bets his friends he can travel across the globe in just 80 days.
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
A timeless classic story of the adventures of the young Huck Finn, his friend Tom Sawyer and Jim, an escaping slave. Set in Missouri in the 1800s.
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The Lord of The Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
A classic tale of good versus evil set in the fictional Middle-Earth that pits the powerful, wizard Sauron against the endearing hobbit Frodo.
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Call of the Wild
by Jack London
After being stolen and sold as sled dog during the 1890s Gold Rush, Buck must learn to trust and love again when he is freed from abusiv owners and adopted by Thornton, a kind Alaskan outdoorsman.
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The Time Machine
by H.G. Wells
Journey to the future and back in this classic science-fiction adventure book from H.G. Wells.
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Out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass
by Isak Dinesen
Isak Dinesen's gripping memoir about her years on a coffee plantation in Africa detailing the beauty of the landscapes and the people of Africa that she loved.
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SURVIVAL ADVENTURE BOOKS
Into Thin Air
by Jon Krakauer
Krakauer journals his attempt to summit Everest during the deadliest season ever recorded in history.
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Into The Wild
by Jon Krakauer
Christopher Johnson McCandless left his comfortable life in the states and traveled to Alaska to experience the raw wilderness surrounding Mount McKinley. He never returned.
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Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
In this fictional survival story, Thirteen-year-old plane Brian Robeson is the only survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian mountains. Armed with only a hatchet and will to live, Brian learns how to keep himself alive.
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The Stand
by Stephen King
Stephen's King's tale of a post-apocalyptic world where good and evil face the ultimate battle.
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Bushcraft 101
A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival
by Dave Canterbury
Everything you need to know about backcountry survival in one book.
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Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Life of Pi tells the story of sixteen-year-old Pi, who survived the sinking of a cargo ship along with a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
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Skeletons on the Zahara
A True Story of Survival
by Dean King
A true story of twelve American sailors who captured and sold into slavery after their ship sunk off the coast of Africa in 1815.
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Touching the Void
The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
by Joe Simpson
Two young mountaineers heard into the Peruvian Andes to conquer an unclimbed route. Only one made it back. This is his story.
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Deep Survival
Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
by Laurence Gonzales
In this well-researched book, Gonzales attempts to explain why some people survive disasters while others perish.
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Alone on the Ice
The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration
by David Roberts
Roberts tells the gripping tale of Douglas Mawson, the leader of the 1912 Australasian Antarctic Expedition who struggles against all the odds to bring his team back after their expedition goes horribly awry.
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The Martian
by Andy Weir
Astronaut Mark Watney was one of the first people to walk on Mars, and now he may become the first one to die there after the failed expedition leaves him stranded on the red planet alone.
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In the Heart of the Sea
The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
In 1820, the whaleship Essex was sunk by a charging sperm whale forcing the crew to survive for a staggering 90 days in three small boats.
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One Second After
by William R. Forstchen
The US is plunged into chaos after a high-altitude nuclear bomb releases an electromagnetic pulse that instantly disables almost every electrical device.
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TRAVEL ADVENTURE BOOKS
Blood River
The Terrifying Journey Through The World's Most Dangerous Country
by Tim Butcher
Inspired by legendary explorer H. M. Stanley who mapped the Congo River in 1874, Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher has his own harrowing journey through the heart of Africa.
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World Walk
by Steven Newman
Steven Newman left his home in Ohio and spent the next four years walking the globe on a journey that would take him through 21 countries across five continents.
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The Wave
In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean
by Susan Casey
Mixing a lesson in science with extreme adventuring, Susan Casey explores the mystery of rogue waves with scientists and extreme surfers.
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Pass the Butterworms
Remote Journeys Oddly Rendered
by Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill regales us with tales of visits to far off locations. The collection of short stories will leave laughing, crying and wanting to embark on your own adventure.
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The Motorcycle Diaries
Notes on a Latin American Journey
by Ernesto Che Guevara
Argentine Ernesto "Che" Guevara may be known for role in the Cuban revolution, but before he was a revolutionary, Guevara spent eight months traveling across Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.
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In a Sunburned Country
by Bill Bryson
In a funny, fact-filled narrative, travel writer Bill Bryson reports on the time he spent wandering through Australia.
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Endurance
Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by Alfred Lansing
An adventure book classic. A shipwreck forced polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew to abandon their 1814 Antarctic expedition and nearly perish while walking 850-miles to nearest outpost.
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How to Travel the World on $50 a Day
Third Edition: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter
by Matt Kepnes
In this book, Matt Kepnes shares his tips and tricks on how you can travel the world on a shoestring budget.
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A Cook's Tour
by Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain combines his loves of cooking and traveling in this book that chronicles his quest to find the perfect meal.
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The Beach
by Alex Garland
Tired of the excesses of modern Western Culture, three travelers follow a hand-drawn map to an untouched utopia in the Gulf of Thailand that is populated by a few wandering souls. Made more famous by the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
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A Voyage for Madmen
by Peter Nichols
In 1968, Nine sailors competed to do the impossible --single-handedly circumnavigate the globe nonstop. Only one completed the journey.
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The Geography of Bliss
One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
by Eric Weiner
Author Eric Weiner travels the world to discover the happiest places on the earth.
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The Signature of All Things
A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert
Anna Whittaker family was born into a wealthy, but secluded family. After finding her soulmate, the debutante travels the world learning about life and love.
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Vagabonding
An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
by Rolf Potts
Learn how you can flex your independent spirit and achieve your dream of traveling the world.
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WAR ADVENTURE BOOKS
Empire Of The Sun
by J.G. Ballard
An enthralling look at China in WWII through the eyes of a young boy who lost his parents in the war and was imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp.
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The Hunt For Red October
by Tom Clancy
Tensions between Russia and the US rise when the commander of a top-secret Russian submarine plans to defect.
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Unbroken
A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
One of the best adventure tales put into writing in the last decade. Biography of Louis Zamperini who survives a plane crash over the Pacific ocean only to find himself adrift at sea for 47 days before being captured by the Japanese and spending more than two years as a POW.
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Elephant Company
The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II
by Vicki Constantine Croke
Elephant Company tells the little-known story of Billy Williams, an Englishman living in Burma who used elephants to thwart the invading Imperial Japanese forces in 1942.
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With the Old Breed
At Peleliu and Okinawa
by E. B. Sledge
A gripping first-person account of fighting at Peleliu and Okinawa during WWII.
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The Trigger
Hunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to War
Tim Butcher
Journalist Tim Butcher explores the complex political and societal conflicts that led nineteen-year-old Gavrilo Princip to fatally shoot Archduke Franz Ferdinand and start WWI.
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All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
One of the greatest war novels of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front immerses your in the trench warfare of WWI through the eyes of a young German soldier.
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A World Undone
by G. J. Meyer
If you want to understand WWI, why it happened and how it happened, then this is the research narrative for you.
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Gone With The Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
Considered the great American novel, Gone with the Wind tells the story of Southern socialite Scarlett O’Hara, who saw her life changed by the Civil War.
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The Naked And The Dead
by Norman Mailer
An Army platoon of Americans fight against themselves as much as their Japanese enemies as they try to secure the jungle island of Anopopei during WWII.
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1776
by David McCullough
A stirring account of the events in 1776 that led to the birth of a nation.
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HIKING ADVENTURE BOOKS
Grandma Gatewood's Walk
The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian
by Ben Montgomery
Grandma Gatewood is a legend on the AT. Not only was she the first woman to solo hike the trail, but she also was the first one to walk to walk it twice. This is her story.
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Becoming Odyssa
Adventures on the Appalachian Trail
by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Fall in love with the AT in this story of triumph and tragedy as we follow in the footsteps of Pharr-Davis who hit the trail straight out of college.
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Wild
From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl lost her mother, lost her marriage and had nothing left, so she hit in the trail in this epic tale that has inspired thousands to thru-hike the PCT.
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AWOL on the Appalachian Trail
by David Miller
Software engineer David Miller left his job to pursue his dream of hiking the AT. His tale captures the highs and the lows of a thru-hike.
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North
Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail
by Scott and Jenny Jurek
Follow Ultrarunner Scott Jurek and his wife Jenny as he pushes himself to his physical and mental limits when he sets the Fastest Known Time for the AT in 2015.
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Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart
An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
by Carrot Quinn
Walk with Carrot and her companions in this colorful and engaging story that describes the physical and emotional ups and downs of a thru-hike.
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A Walk in the Woods
Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
Noted travel author Bill Bryson attempts the AT with his sidekick Stephen in this entertaining tale.
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Thirst
2600 Miles to Home
by Heather "Anish" Anderson
Triple-Crowner Anish takes us on an inner journey of her 60-day thru-hike of the PCT. It's a book about grit and overcoming the physical and mental challenges that hikers so often battle on the trail.
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The Pursuit of Endurance
Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience
by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Jennifer deconstructs the habits and training that have allowed her to complete the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail in under 47 days.
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Any of your favorites not listed? Please share with the class in the comments below.
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