Adventurers, Explorers & Survival

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were...

Ultrarunner Andy Glaze has spent years moving through landscapes that test the limits of the human body—hundred-mile races, multi-day marathons, mountains and deserts that demanded everything.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A major revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition: For the first time in a generation, This Vast Enterprise offers a fresh and more accurate account of one of the most important episodes in American history, humanizing forgotten figures and shattering...

This is a new reading of the thrilling account of one of the most astonishing feats of exploration and human courage ever recorded. In August of 1914, the British ship Endurance set sail for the South Atlantic. In October, 1915, still half a continent away from its intended base, the ship was...

THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025 A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2025 ALSO NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY NPR, VOGUE, TIME MAGAZINE, THE NEW YORKER, AND MORE “This is nonfiction that reads like fiction – the best kind. Elmhirst’s...

Acclaimed actor Jeremy Renner narrates his gripping and inspiring story of a near-fatal accident and what he learned about inner strength, endurance and hope as he overcame insurmountable odds to recover, one breath at a time. This program includes a note written and read by his daughter, Ava...

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Band of Brothers and D-Day, the definitive book on Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson...

Many people dream of escaping modern life, but most will never act on it. This is the remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own. A New York...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. One of...

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling audio series Campfire Stories and MeatEater's American History comes a new audiobook original that immerses listeners into the brutal and unforgiving world of the professional buffalo hunters who drove America's most iconic wildlife species to...

A transformational journey through Italy, India, and Bali searching for pleasure and devotion—the massive bestseller from the author of The Signature of All Things This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made...

In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan’s National Book Award–winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows. The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since...

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling audio series Campfire Stories and MeatEater’s American History comes a new audiobook original that plunges listeners into the untamed world of a celebrated and misunderstood group of nineteenth-century outdoorsmen: the Mountain Men. Steven...

“This beautifully braided story...reveals the best and worst of humanity. A magnificent work of narrative nonfiction, true to the past and essential for the present.”—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Lost in Shangri-La and 13 Hours An epic true story of the triumph of...

LT Dick Thompson, codename Dynamite, describes in detail that takes your breath away, brutal firefights and hand-to-hand combat against overwhelming odds. Follow Dynamite as he transitions from a Airborne Ranger Special Forces warrior into one of the most elite, tier-one special operators.

From the creators of the New York Times bestselling series Campfire Stories: Close Calls comes a new original audiobook that brings to life the bold, hair-raising, and often tragic adventures of a generation of eighteenth-century frontiersmen: the Long Hunters. Steven Rinella (The MeatEater...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Most people assume that the world has been explored and true adventure is dead: This book is one man’s rebuttal. Explorer and conservationist Paul Rosolie shares his incredible life in the Amazon rainforest—and what we can learn from the people fighting to...

Seth Gehle's story is a testament to the courage and strength within each of us to overcome adversity and our personal traumas. For nearly sixteen years, Seth suffered unspeakable crimes and endured tragedy that no human should have to face.

A Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, Angela’s Ashes is Frank McCourt’s masterful memoir of his childhood in Ireland—now with a new introduction by Patrick Radden Keefe. “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a...

By the bestselling author of Astoria, a thrilling and masterfully crafted narrative of the Conquistador Francisco Coronado’s expedition across 2,500 miles of the vast uncharted North American interior—“El Norte Misterioso” —where he was turned back by fierce indigenous resistance that...

Even among iconic frontiersmen like John C. Fremont, Kit Carson, and Jedediah Smith, Jim Bridger stands out. A mountain man of the American West, straddling the fur trade era and the age of exploration, he lived the life legends are made of. Here, in a biography that finally gives this outsize...

Joe Simpson, with just his partner Simon Yates, tackled the unclimbed West Face of the remote 21,000 foot Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in June 1995. But before they reached the summit, disaster struck. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frostbitten, to tell...

As thrilling as any novel, as taut and exciting as any adventure story, Peter Hathaway Capstick’s Death in the Long Grass takes us deep into the heart of darkness to view Africa through the eyes of one of the most renowned professional hunters.

A hilarious travel memoir about a man who moved with his wife, three kids, and two pets onto a forty-six-foot sailboat for a year. He expected it to be a yearlong version of Margaritaville, but what he got was shipwrecks, bad directions, hygiene calamities, and pirate attacks (sort of). Perfect...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A major revisionist history of the Lewis and Clark expedition: For the first time in a generation, This Vast Enterprise offers a fresh and more accurate account of one of the most important episodes in American history, humanizing forgotten figures and shattering...

The devastating true story of one woman's search for her husband and son aboard the lost Titan sub. Written and read by Christine Dawood, widow and mother of two Titan submersible victims, Ninety-Six Hours is a deeply personal memoir chronicling the harrowing search and rescue operation following the Oceangate disaster in June 2023.

New York City native Derick Lugo's life changed in 2012 when he spontaneously decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. In the years that followed, he became an advocate for the outdoors and eventually set out on his second thru-hike—this time on the Continental Divide Trail, one of the most challenging long trails in the world. A Fabulous Thru-Hike: 3,100 Miles on the Continental Divide Trail is the relatable, laugh-out-loud story of Derick Lugo's six-month adventure. From the deserts of New Mexico to the rugged mountains of Montana, Derick confronts heat sickness, vertigo, and self-doubt.

Brought to you by Penguin. Guy’s been pushing himself to the outer limits, as usual. There's no medals, no big ceremony at the end of it all. He's just driven by putting himself through the misery. And coming out smiling. In search of suffering, Guy went to Colombia for the TV job, where he...

In 2012, Jason Millsaps, a worship pastor and father of two, could barely swim 37 yards without gasping for air. Thirteen years later, he stood on the starting line of the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, one of the most demanding endurance events on earth. From 37 Yards to Kona is the raw, honest story of transformation from energy drink addiction and rock-bottom fitness to becoming a 16-time IRONMAN finisher, including the World Championship.

When the world was shutting down, Angela escaped on a grand adventure. What began as a sailing passage across the Pacific to film a documentary became an unexpected reckoning with love, loss, and the God of the wind and waves. Quarantined at sea with near strangers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Angela’s romantic relationship turns tumultuous and her life as she knows it begins to unravel. With nowhere to run and nothing to distract her, she is forced to face challenges, uncertainty, and courageously find a way through her fear.

The extraordinary true story of a young Jewish art student who not just survived but resisted and saved hundred of lives—all while retaining his infectious zeal for life.

They had no rescue coming. No second chances. No margin for error. Poon Lim watched his ship go down in the South Atlantic with 54 men aboard. He was alone on a wooden raft for 133 days. Juliane Koepcke fell 10,000 feet from a disintegrating aircraft into the Amazon jungle — the sole survivor of 93 people aboard. José Salvador Alvarenga drifted 6,700 miles across the Pacific in an open fishing boat for 438 days. Beck Weathers was left for dead twice on the slopes of Everest and walked himself back to camp anyway. These are not stories of luck. They are stories of specific decisions, ...

Lucie Azema livre un témoignage rare et précieux sur le quotidien en Iran, ses luttes, espoirs et traditions – loin des clichés et des regards occidentaux. Grâce à son expérience de vie à Téhéran, elle éclaire la richesse, la complexité et les paradoxes d’un pays souvent...

In seinem neuen Abenteuer erklimmt er die Säulen des Meeres, von der Felsnadel im französischen Étretat bis zum Totem Pole in Tasmanien, von den Färöer-Inseln bis zum Kap Hoorn begibt er sich auf eine Reise um die Welt, um jene Felspfeiler zu besteigen, die wie steinerne Mahnmale vor den Küsten in den Himmel ragen. An den Schnittpunkten von Meer, Wind, Sonne und Stille sucht Tesson nicht nur die Herausforderung des Aufstiegs zu entlegenen, vom Menschen unberührten Orten.

Im August 1897 bricht der belgische Kommandant Adrien de Gerlache auf, um die Antarktis zu erobern. Bereits auf dem Weg gen Süden gibt es zahlreiche Rückschläge: Stürme, Beinahe-Meutereien, Strandungen. Als der nach Ruhm strebende de Gerlache schließlich vor der Wahl steht, geschlagen nach Hause zurückzukehren oder kurz vor Wintereinbruch tiefer ins Eis zu fahren, entscheidet er sich für Letzteres – mit fatalen Folgen. Die Belgica bleibt im Packeis stecken.

As a UH-1C gunship platoon leader and pilot in Vietnam, I can highly recommend Roger’s book. Primarily because while dozens of books have been written by pilots who flew in Vietnam, few have been written by crew chiefs who were as critical to mission success as the pilots and whose duties were not only varied but arguably more interesting.

A raw and gripping memoir of survival, betrayal, and transformation. From the streets of Stockton to the prison yards of California, Ro-Derick Dunn’s life was shaped by violence, loyalty, and hard choices. Caught in a cycle of retaliation, broken trust, and institutional failure, he faced the realities of street life head-on—until the pain of the past and the weight of regret forced him to confront who he had become.

In the late 1960s, thirteen-year-old Rhonda Findling’s world shatters when her charismatic father confesses that he’s in love with another woman—and soon abandons the family altogether. Forced from a comfortable suburban life into poverty and instability, she grows up navigating heartbreak, bullying, her mother’s struggles and depression while searching for her own romantic love. Set against the backdrop of Brooklyn, Long Island, and the turbulent cultural shifts of the late 60s and early 1970s, After Everything Changed is a deeply intimate memoir about loss, survival, longing, and ...

After escaping a forced marriage and enduring brutal punishment for converting from Islam to Christianity, Sabatina James shares her extraordinary journey from a devout Muslim upbringing to a life marked by persecution, exile, and unwavering faith. The Price of Love offers an unflinching look at the high cost of apostasy, the rise of radical Islam, and the silence that often surrounds both.

Brought to you by Penguin. Lucy Shepherd’s story of her journey to become an explorer, her world-first expedition across the Amazon’s Kanuku Mountains and her mission to share the wild places of our world. What does it really take to become an explorer? To travel beyond maps and certainty...

Free High is a raw and unfiltered memoir that takes readers deep into the highs and lows of addiction. I share my journey through drug use, the streets, and the endless pursuit of the next escape—only to realize that the ultimate high wasn't found in substances but self-discovery and resilience. From the first high to the down spiral, I expose the painful truths of addiction, the chaos it creates, and the struggle to break free. This gripping and honest account isn't just about survival—it's about transformation, redemption, and finding a life worth living beyond the haze.

Ben Koether was born into a boating community on the edge of Long Island Sound, learning to maneuver a small penguin class sailboat on his own through the fog by the time he was eight years old. The water became his playground. He would go on to spend an entire summer on the Atlantic when he was fourteen, helping to sail the famous VEMA, captained by none other than the renowned Lou Kenedy. But the beginning of his greatest adventures took place in 1959, when he set sail for the uncharted waters of the Antarctic and became the youngest navigator of the then largest Icebreaker in US History.

He didn't just leave the relationship. He left the children, the mortgage, the school fees, the sleepless nights - and the child who still asks where daddy is. And yet, you are still here. Still standing. Still showing up. He left me with the kids! is for every woman walking the exhausting, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant read of single parenthood after abandonment. From the red flags no one warned you about, to the financial storms, the silent depression, and the restoration waiting on the other side, this book walks with you through every stage with honesty, warmth, practical ...

In From Shack to White House, Theo Braddy takes listeners on an unforgettable journey through four extraordinary lives. Each one marked by loss, resilience, and faith. From the dusty backroads of Georgia to the corridors of power in Washington, Theo's story is a powerful testament to what it means to rise again, again, and again.

For years living was a fate worse than death for Dan Biddle. In a moment of someone else’s madness, he lost all meaning to his existence along with both his legs, his left eye, his spleen and all hearing in his left ear. His body and mind were devastated on 7 July 2005, during the worst single terrorist atrocity on British soil. It took ten seconds to disassemble him. It’s taken twenty years for him to find the inner peace and brutal honesty reveal his daily battle to go on surviving.

In After the Storms: From Red Dirt to Redemption, S.E. Cunningham provides a powerful memoir of resilience, tracing his journey from a childhood of poverty and family struggle in Oklahoma to his experiences as a 19D Cavalry Scout and law enforcement officer. As the youngest of eight children, Cunningham describes himself as the "caboose" of a family shaped by his mother’s unshakable faith and his father’s battle with alcoholism. A central, formative event in the book is the 1979 Lawton tornado, which leveled his family home and taught him the "weight of loss".

On September 11, 1984, five young American sailors were seized at gunpoint by the Soviet Union in the north Bering Sea and taken captive to Siberia. This is the story of what happened. The audiobook is two stories in one: Alaskan high seas adventure combined with the Christian testimony of five young American sailors who take a stand for their faith amidst intense interrogation by high-ranking officers in the Soviet military.

What happens when the heart stops beating? What is death? In this gripping, true story Kevin Mohatt describes his death—and how returning to life forever changed the meaning of fear, faith, and purpose. Written with raw honesty and vivid detail, it explores the moment of leaving the body and his encounter with divine presence. What was seen there challenges everything we think we know about death. Filled with indescribable peace, brilliant light, and a love beyond human language, this near-death experience offers profound insight into the soul’s survival and the purpose of life on Earth.

Four years after Therese Greenwood and her husband moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta, their new community was shattered by one of the worst wildfires in Canadian history. As the flames approached, they had only minutes to pack, narrowly escaping a fire that would rage for weeks, burn more than 85,000 hectares and force 80,000 people to flee. In this book, she tells her dramatic story, and contemplates mourning, memory, and rebuilding.