Extraordinary situations call for exceptional measures. Read true stories of people in extreme situations, sometimes by misadventure, but often by personal choice. These nonfiction adventures are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
Hard Rivers: The Untold Saga of LaSalle: Expedition II by Craig P. Howard
A crew of sixteen teenage boys and eight adults reenacted the harrowing 3,300-mile voyage of seventeenth-century explorer La Salle from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico.
Dude Making a Difference: Bamboo Bikes, Dumpster Dives and Other Extreme Adventures Across America by Rob Greenfield
In an adventure of radical sustainability, the author pedaled coast to coast while creating only two pounds of trash, using just 160 gallons of water from only natural sources, and eating 284 pounds of food from grocery store dumpsters.
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
In 1986, a twenty-year-old man left his home, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the woods for twenty-seven years, never talking to another person and surviving by stealing supplies from nearby cabins.
A Wretched and Precarious Situation: In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier by David Welky
Several years after Commander Peary’s 1906 discovery of an unexplored region he called Crocker Land, two followers assembled a team to investigate, enduring blizzards, food shortages, isolation, disease, and a horrific crime.
Braving It: A Father, a Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild by James Campbell
Over the course of three trips to Alaska, a father observed his teenage daughter grow more confident while surviving in the wilderness as she helped build a cabin, backpacked, canoed, hunted and trapped.
Wild By Nature: From Siberia to Australia, Three Years Alone in the Wilderness by Sarah Marquis
Against nearly insurmountable odds and relying on hunting and her own wits, a National Geographic Explorer hiked ten-thousand miles alone.
Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition by Paul Watson
A group of scientists, researchers and divers discovered the wrecks of two English ships lost in the Arctic ice while on an 1845 expedition in search of the Northwest Passage.
On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite’s Most Iconic Climb by Hans Florine
The author has made 101 ascents of a 3,000-foot Yosemite granite cliff considered the Everest of the rock-climbing world.
Walking the Nile by Levison Wood
Traveling through rainforest, savannah, swamp, desert, and lush delta oasis, the author walked the length of the Nile, camping in the wild, foraging for food and fending for himself against many dangers.
Tears in the Wind: Triumph and Tragedy on America’s Highest Peak by Larry Semento
A childhood fascination with mountaineering led an average, middle-aged man to begin mountain climbing as a pastime and he eventually join an expedition to Denali.
Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds by Kara Richardson Whitely
Thwarted on her second attempt to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the author overcame self-doubt that led to food addiction and decided to reach the summit without waiting for her plus-size status to disappear.
The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
In 1940, a swashbuckling journalist returned from the Honduran rainforest with hundreds of artifacts and an electrifying story of having found the Lost City of the Monkey God, but he then committed suicide without revealing its location.
Gironimo!: Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy by Tim Moore
Of the eighty-one cyclists who rolled out of Milan, over the Alps and down to the Adriatic for the notorious 1914 Giro d’Italia, only eight made it back.
October 27, 2017