Adventure Writing

Early one May, Sam Neumann arrived in the breathtaking wilderness of Denali, Alaska with a smile on his face and adventure in his heart. But less than 24 hours later, both had evaporated as he stood behind the counter of a filthy gas station - his new place of employment - and tried to piece together what exactly had gone wrong.

The Red Bull X-Alps is the world's most extreme race. With only a paraglider and a pair of hiking boots athletes attempt to cross the Alps from Salzburg in Austria to Monaco. In this book, British athlete Jon Chambers brings you even closer to the action and reveals his personal story of his 2011 race. In doing so he reveals the harsh reality of what it takes to compete in this uniquely demanding challenge: the physical and mental hardship, equipment, extreme conditions, strategic thinking and lucky escapes.

Leaving from Brooklyn, New York, in August 1911, John Muir, at the age of seventy-three and traveling alone, embarked on an eight-month, 40,000-mile voyage to South America and Africa. The 1911-12 journals and correspondence reproduced in this volume allow us to travel with him up the great Amazon, into the jungles of southern Brazil, to snowline in the Andes, through southern and central Africa to the headwaters of the Nile, and across six oceans and seas in order to reach the rare forests he had so long wished to study.

During his 29th year, spending just $19,420.68, less than it would have cost him to stay at home, Adam Shepard visited seventeen countries on four continents and lived some amazing adventures. "It's interesting to me," he says, "that in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe, it's normal for people to pack a bag, buy a plane ticket, and get 'Out There'."

No Baggage is a memoir that will resonate with adventurers and homebodies alike - it's at once a romance, a travelogue, and a bright, modern take on the age-old questions: How do you find the courage to explore beyond your comfort zone? Can you love someone without the need for commitment or any expectations for the future?

Sue Williams has delivered us Women of the Outback and Outback Spirit, stories she gathered from the people of the bush. Ever curious, this time Sue puts herself in the firing line, seeking to find the essence of the outback experience - perfect for all us armchair travellers. She travelled the width and length of Australia by bus, train, car, campervan, Troopy, horse, goat, foot, and plane. She helped pregnancy-test cattle at a remote property in the far north of South Australia, swallowed countless flies, and ran through muddy dams carrying a pretend-sheep on her shoulders.

For most visitors interested in the outdoors, Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island is the top destination. It has more than 50 miles of groomed gravel carriage roads, where motorized traffic is banned. Nearly 120 miles of hiking trails traverse seven major barren mountaintops. There is much to see and do here, and plenty of places to explore. The island’s many lakes invite paddlers and swimmers of all skill levels. Pocket cobblestone beaches in hidden coves await discovery by those who wish to avoid the crowds at Sand Beach....

In 2009, Loreen Niewenhuis walked completely around Lake Michigan. This audiobook chronicles that journey, a 1,000-mile walk around the world's fifth-largest lake. The audiobook explores both the geology of the lake and the measure of a person - a woman, married, mother of two sons (who joined her for portions of the walk). But most of the walk was done solo, an adventure in discovery of self and place. Niewenhuis conveys a sense of the magnitude of the lake she loves, a place so elemental to the four Midwestern states that form its shores.

John Scott hiked the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail to celebrate his life. As a teenage boy in 1970s Scotland, he was fascinated by US politics and culture. John explores this fascination as he hikes through 14 states, from Georgia to Maine. Over miles and months, he realises it is the land and people which now captivate him. To the Woods is a walk through a man's life.

Geordie Stewart left his home and his job in the army to cycle across Europe and Asia. Alone on a bike, he experienced freedom and isolation travelling across open deserts and through a vicious Siberian winter. His journey took him 13,000 miles, but this isn’t a story of the number of miles ridden. It's about choosing an unfamiliar path which led him to discover and confront previously unknown truths.

This true story tells of one family’s hilarious journey through Australia’s rugged Outback countryside. The intrepid adventurers work their way through numerous mishaps, including an ill-advised river-crossing and an inappropriately packed roof rack. They also engage in some truly horrible singing.

In Dance Life: Movin' & Groovin' Around the Globe, Lisa Alpine combines her three all-encompassing passions - writing, travel, and dance - into a bouquet of 27 stories that span her lifetime and the globe. From twerking with a nun in an Albanian orphanage to salsa dancing with a hottie under the burning sun in Cuba, to braving an attempt at flamenco on a Parisian tabletop, these toe-tapping tales will inspire you to follow the call of a wild life, leaving home with your passport in hand and your dance shoes stuffed into the suitcase.

The mere thought of traversing any part of the African continent in a Land Rover with only two other companions is a daunting proposition...that is until the Indiana Jones element within Penny Lees kicked in one day and announced that she was to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Notwithstanding the various irritations whilst travelling through rural France, the Pyrenees, and Southern Europe, these paled into insignificance when faced with the climatic and cultural hurdles encountered in Africa.

Award-winning travel writer Cash Peters organizes a group of 10 friends and family to go on a cruise through French wine country, along the River Rhône in Provence, starting out from the Roman town of Arles in the south, where Van Gogh lived and painted, and sailing all the way up to historic Lyon. The sharply observed narrative chronicles life on board a river cruise ship with all its glories and pitfalls.

Reisen auf den legendären Hippie-Trails der 60er und 70er Jahre Zweite erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage! Waren die Globetrotter der 1960er und 1970er Jahre, unterwegs auf dem Landweg von Mitteleuropa nach Marokko, Kreta, via Istanbul und Kabul nach Indien und Thailand wirklich, wie oft behauptet, die Pioniere des modernen Massentourismus? Welchen Legenden folgten diese Rucksack-Reisenden, die mit ihren Touren selbst die Legende vom Hippie-Trail begründeten?

For Jim Currie, a weekend getaway, extended vacation, or business trip can be more than diversion or duty. In The Mindful Traveler, he helps the listener structure journal writing - and the journey - around eight Buddhist archetypes that offer specific skills for problem solving and spiritual progress. Topics include everything from organizing the journal to choosing the appropriate "spiritual touchstones" for the trip.

An entertaining listen about 'life', written by a well-traveled man who simply prefers to be 'Outside' his clothes rather than 'In' them. This is an audiobook for anyone who loves the sun and the joys of 'skinny dipping', or who wants to. Travel with Richard on a global journey, sharing his nude experiences in the Mediterranian, Japan, Hawaii, South Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States.

Mike McIntyre and his longtime girlfriend, Andrea, are in their early 40s and itching for a break. So they rent out their San Diego home - dog, cat, and furniture included - and embark on a yearlong journey around the world. "We're not out to find ourselves, or even to lose ourselves," McIntyre writes. "We're merely seeking a pause in our routines." But the couple is soon swept up in the adventure of a lifetime.

The unforgettable true story of larger-than-life whitewater raft guides Clancy Reece and Jon Barker, two men who share a love of wild rivers and an unbending will to live life on their terms, no matter the cost. Clancy's motto, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing," leads them into a decade of beautiful - and beautifully strange - river adventures.

Der Teenager-Drecksack-Antiheld (TDA) will nach Asien, weil dort das Grass vermeintlich grüner sein soll...