My bookshelves and Kindle are filled with tales of against-the-odds Antarctic survival, deathly mountaineering endeavours and Hemingway-esque journeys that change lives and shift perceptions. I know what I like and adventure travel books unfailingly engross me from cover to cover.
With Christmas fast approaching, we take a look at Amazon’s best-selling adventure travel books of 2015 – perfect gifts for would-be adventurers like me.
1. | Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed In the wake of her mother’s death, with her family scattered, and in the ashes of a failed marriage, Cheryl Strayed made the impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. |
2. | Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world. |
3. | Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer The true story of a 24-hour period on Everest which started with a storm and ended with the worst single-season death toll in the peak’s history. |
4. | Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1,700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson Robyn Davidson’s memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company. |
5. | Becoming Frozen: Memoir of a First Year in Alaska by Jill Homer Jill Homer was just another naive young woman who followed a man to the Last Frontier — but it was Alaska that won her heart. |
6. | Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan Surfing only looks like a sport. To devotees, it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a mental and physical study, a passionate way of life. |
7. | Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. This is their story. |
8. | The Kindness Diaries: One Man’s Quest to Ignite Goodwill and Transform Lives Around the World by Leon Logothetis Part adventure story, part inspirational memoir, The Kindness Diaries will introduce you to a wide world of adventure and open your eyes to the possibilities of human connection. |
9. | AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller In 2003, software engineer David Miller left his job, family, and friends to fulfil a dream and hike the Appalachian Trail. |
10. | In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS by Hampton Sides In 1879 the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds and a frenzy of publicity. The ship and its crew were destined for the uncharted waters of the Arctic. |
11. | Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace by Andra Watkins Andra Watkins needed a wingman to help her become one of the only living people to walk the historic 444-mile Natchez Trace as the pioneers did. |
12. | Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant Adventure writer Richard Grant takes on “the most American place on Earth”: the enigmatic, beautiful, often derided Mississippi Delta. |
13. | Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travel: Our List of the 500 Best Places to See… Ranked by Lonely Planet This definitive wishlist of the best places to visit on Earth is packed with insightful write-ups and inspiring photography to get you ticking off your travel list. |
14. | Be Expert with Map and Compass by Bjorn Kjellstrom GPS devices are great but they can break, get lost, or be hampered by weather conditions, making basic map and compass skills essential for anyone who spends time outdoors. |
15. | Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail by Carrot Quinn In the desert of Southern California, Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion and loneliness. |
16. | Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery 67-year-old great-grandmother Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk. The next anybody heard from her, she had walked 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail. |
17. | On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads by Tim Cope The relationship between man and horse on the Eurasian steppe gave rise to a succession of rich nomadic cultures. Among them were the Mongols of the 13th Century. |
18. | Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson A classic tale of mountaineering survival. 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. |
19. | Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read In 1972, a Fairchild plane crashed in the Andes mountains. The survivors were hopelessly lost in one of the most remote places on earth. |
20. | The Anti-Pirate Potato Cannon: And 101 Other Things for Young Mariners to Build, Try, and Do on the Water by David Seidman Ever since humankind began seafaring, boats and shoreline adventures have produced sturdy, independent, creative, self-reliant sailors. Now, this wisdom can be passed onto your kids. |
21. | Wayfinding Part 1: Rats and Rafts by Hugh Howey Wayfinding is the ancient seafaring art of navigating. As a self-help philosophy, Wayfinding means being aware of our environment and our responses to outside stimuli. |
22. | Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft by Thor Heyerdahl The adventure of Thor Heyerdahl and his companions on their raft across the Pacific has gone down in legend as a feat of endurance and courage. This is that story in Heyerdahl’s own words. |
23. | Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales This gripping narrative, the first book to describe the art and science of survival, will change the way you see your world. |
24. | Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot by Mark Vanhoenacker Airline pilot Mark Vanhoenacker shares his irrepressible love of flying on a journey from day to night, new ways of mapmaking and the poetry of physics to the names of winds and the nature of clouds. |
25. | Poop, Booze, and Bikinis by Ed Robinson A hilarious look at the nautical lifestyle. From Poop to Booze to Bikinis, the author covers the funnier side of the issues encountered by boaters all of types. |