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Tales for adventurous Devonshire architects
South: The Endurance Expedition: The "Endurance" ExpeditionSouth: The Endurance Expedition: The "Endurance" Expedition by Sir Ernest Shackleton
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.79
No one can say how he will fare in extremis, but: as A-CG said "...if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out of it, give me Shackleton every time."
The Worst Journey in the WorldThe Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £3.72
The Daddy. A masterpiece from another world. Wrap up and get the fire going before you start reading. "If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward" (A-C.G.)
Congo JourneyCongo Journey by Redmond O'Hanlon
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.01
Next best thing to having leeches on yer legs. O'Hanlon has a talent for getting into trouble, and an even better one for writing about it.
Trawler: A Journey Through the North AtlanticTrawler: A Journey Through the North Atlantic by Redmond O'Hanlon
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.01
. O'Hanlon again. Mostly about fish, but the nearest you want to get to Trawling in a force 12. Read him, meet him if you can by all means, but don't go on trips with this man!
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (Picador Books)A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush (Picador Books) by Eric Newby
Buy new: £2.87 / Used from: £0.01
Englishmen abroad again - charmingly well and wryly told, with a meeting with Wilfred Thesiger at the end. Time in Newby's company is well spent.
Long John Silver (Panther)Long John Silver (Panther) by Bjorn Larsson
Buy used from: £0.01
Treasure Island the hard way - how Long John got his name (Barbeque), and more. Blistering good stuff, me hearties, great for Holidays and Airports.
The Requiem SharkThe Requiem Shark by Nicholas Griffin
Buy new: £0.75 / Used from: £0.01
More pirating with Welshman and Parrots. Written with a druid's ear. Aharr.
The Southseaman (Mariners library; no.33)The Southseaman (Mariners library; no.33) by Weston Martyr
Bored at work? Build ship, sail ship, burn ship. Authentic tale of shipbuilding in Nova Scotia: a real gem. Sadly now out of print, but copies around.
The Book Of The New Sun: Volume 1: Shadow and Claw: Shadow and Claw Vol 1 (Fantasy Masterworks)The Book Of The New Sun: Volume 1: Shadow and Claw: Shadow and Claw Vol 1 (Fantasy Masterworks) by Gene Wolfe
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.18
OK, so it's not quite plain vanilla adventure - but so good, included in list. Intelligent adventure in the far (and intelligently imagined) future. With a few nods to Borges.
Life Of PiLife Of Pi by Yann Martel
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Magical tale of a shipwreck, with tiger, Japanese investigators, and an orang-utan. What more could you want? By someone who knows the sea, or sounds convincing!
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & LivingstoneInto Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone by Martin Dugard
Buy used from: £7.09
Blundering around Africa in pith helmets.
PapillonPapillon by Henri Charriere
Buy used from: £0.37
True story of escape from Devil's Island
Touching the VoidTouching the Void by Joe Simpson
Buy new: £5.54 / Used from: £0.01
What happens when adventures like Newby's go wrong. Ice cold all the way through: amongst the very best on climbing.
Into Thin Air: Personal Account of the Everest DisasterInto Thin Air: Personal Account of the Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
Buy new: £5.19 / Used from: £0.01
When things go wrong, again: strong writing convinces you that's what it must have felt like. I don't ever want to find out!
The White SpiderThe White Spider by Heinrich Harrer
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £3.79
A plain, unvarnished tale - Herr Harrer is separated from us by time and nationality - but what a great tale. They were iron men in those days!