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Books > Fiction > True stories > Endurance & survival
In the tradition of Jack London, Gary Paulsen presents an unforgettable account of his participation in the 1,100-mile-long dogsled race called the "Iditarod". For 17 days, Paulsen and his team of dogs endured blinding wind, snowstorms, moose attacks, and more--yet relentlessly pushed on to the end. "The best author of man-against-nature adventures writing today".--Publishers Weekly.
The incredible Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller from the million-copy bestselling author of the phenomenon and 80-week Sunday Times bestselling The Salt Path 'Beautiful, a thrill to read . . . you feel the world is a better place because Raynor and Moth are in it' The Times 'Winn's writing transforms her surroundings and her spirits, her joy coming across clearly in her shimmering prose' i 'A beautiful, luminous and magical piece of writing' Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry _______ 'It was the land, the earth, the deep humming background to my very being' In 2016, days before they were unjustly evicted from their home, Raynor Winn was told her husband Moth was dying. Instead of giving up they embarked on a life-changing journey: walking the 630-mile South West Coast Path, living by their wits, determination and love of nature. But all journeys must end and when the couple return to civilisation they find that four walls feel like a prison, cutting them off from the sea and sky that sustained them - that had saved Moth's life. So when the chance to rewild an old Cornish farm comes their way, they grasp it, hoping they'll not only reconnect with the natural world but also find themselves once again on its healing path . . . _______ 'Confirms Raynor as a natural and extremely talented writer with an incredible way with words. This book gives us all what we wanted to know at the end of The Salt Path which is what happened next. So moving, it made me cry . . . repeatedly' Sophie Raworth, BBC 'Brilliant, powerful and touching . . . will connect with anyone who has triumphed over adversity' Stephen Moss, author and naturalist 'Unflinching . . . There is a luminous conviction to the prose' Observer 'Notions of home are poignantly explored . . . wonderful' Guardian LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2021 **Nominated for the Holyer an Gof Memoir Award** Praise for The Salt Path 'An astonishing narrative of two people dragging themselves from the depths of despair along some of the most dramatic landscapes in the country, looking for a solution to their problems and ultimately finding themselves' Independent 'This is what you need right now to muster hope and resilience . . . a beautiful story and a reminder that humans can endure adversity' Stylist 'The landscape is magical: shapeshifting seas and smugglers' coves; myriads of sea birds and mauve skies. Raynor writes exquisitely . . . it's a tale of triumph; of hope over despair, of love over everything' The Sunday Times 'The Salt Path is a life-affirming tale of enduring love that smells of the sea and tastes of a rich life. With beautiful, immersive writing, it is a story heart-achingly and beautifully told' Jackie Morris, illustrator of The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane
'Light is in us even if we have no eyes.' It is a rare man who can maintain a love of life through the infirmity of blindness, the terrors of war, and the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. Such a man was Jacques Lusseyran, a French underground resistance leader during the Second World War. This book is his compelling and moving autobiography. Jacques Lusseyran lost his sight in an accident when he was eight years old. At the age of sixteen, he formed a resistance group with his schoolfriends in Nazi-occupied France. Gradually the small resistance circle of boys widened, cell by cell. In a fascinating scene, the author tells of interviewing prospective underground recruits, 'seeing' them by means of their voices, and in this way weeding out early the weak and the traitorous. Eventually Jacques and his comrades were betrayed to the Germans and interrogated by the Gestapo. After a fifteen month incarceration in Buchenwald, the author was one of thirty to survive from an initial shipment of two thousand.
`It is often from our setbacks, even our weaknesses, that we derive some of our greatest blessings.' That Untravelled World is the autobiography of one of the greatest adventurers of the twentieth century. Eric Shipton was a pioneering explorer, journeying to places that did not feature on maps and to unexplored mountains, such as the High Dauphine. Shipton describes early childhood days filled with adventures; his first encounter with the high mountains on a visit to the Pyrenees, and the onset of his climbing career inspired by travels in Norway with a friend. He reminisces on first meeting infamous explorer H.W. `Bill' Tilman, and their first expedition together to Mount Kenya. Tilman and Shipton were later to become one of the most famous climbing partnerships of all time. Filled with anecdotes from different periods of his life, Shipton takes us on his journey from Kilimanjaro and Mount Stanley alongside Tilman, his discovery of the route to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, summiting Mount Kamet with mountaineering icon Frank Smythe, and multiple expeditions to Everest. First published in 1969, That Untravelled World is the story of an adventurer who, inspired by Edward Whymper, travelled to feral landscapes across the globe, and has in turn inspired generations of climbers and mountaineers.
Discover the exhilarating true story of Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition Told through the words of the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes - one of the only men to understand his experience first-hand . . . 'For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read' NEW YORK TIMES 'THE definitive book on Shackleton and no one could have done it better . . . an authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica' LORRAINE KELLY _________ In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to be the first to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. He and his crew should have died. Instead, through a long, dark winter, Shackleton fought back: enduring sub-zero temperatures, a perilous lifeboat journey across icy seas, and a murderous march over glaciers to seek help. Shackleton's epic trek is one of history's most enthralling adventures. But who was he? How did previous Antarctic expeditions and his rivalry with Captain Scott forge him? And what happened afterwards to the man many believed was invincible? In this astonishing account, Fiennes brings the story vividly to life in a book that is part celebration, part vindication and all adventure. _________ 'Fiennes makes a fine guide on voyage into Shackleton's world . . . What makes this book so engaging is the author's own storytelling skills' Irish Independent 'Fiennes relates these tales of exploration and survival, adding insight to Shackleton's journeys unlike any other biographer' Radio Times Praise for Sir Ranulph Fiennes: 'The World's Greatest Living Explorer' Guinness Book of Records 'Full of awe-inspiring details of hardship, resolve and weather that defies belief, told by someone of unique authority. No one is more tailor-made to tell [this] story than Sir Ranulph Fiennes' Newsday 'Fiennes' own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through' Sunday Times 'Fiennes brings the promised perspective of one who has been there, illuminating Shackleton's actions by comparing them with his own. Beginners to the Heroic Age will enjoy this volume, as will serious polar adventurers seeking advice. For all readers, it's a tremendous story' Sara Wheeler, The Wall Street Journal
A shocking true story that reveals how one woman was tormented to the very depths of despair by her husband through coercive control and continual physical and sexual abuse. When Hannah Morgan first met Matt, she was completely swept off her feet. He offered her the love and security she'd always craved, but once they'd married, Matt's behaviour suddenly changed. His aggression escalated and before long Hannah was living under his complete control. Cut off from her friends and family, she was subjected to a torrent of mental, physical and sexual abuse from which there was no escape. When Hannah was forced to sell her body, she clung to the final fragment of strength she had left until a chance of escape presented itself... but was it worth the risk? Nowhere to Hide is the shocking true story of how one woman lost everything but defied the odds to survive.
The True American tells the story of Raisuddin Bhuiyan, a Bangladesh Air Force officer who dreams of immigrating to America and working in technology. But days after 9/11, an avowed "American terrorist" named Mark Stroman, seeking revenge, walks into the Dallas minimart where Bhuiyan has found temporary work and shoots him, maiming and nearly killing him. Two other victims, at other gas stations, aren t so lucky, dying at once. The True American traces the making of these two men, Stroman and Bhuiyan, and of their fateful encounter. It follows them as they rebuild shattered lives one striving on Death Row to become a better man, the other to heal and pull himself up from the lowest rung on the ladder of an unfamiliar country. Ten years after the shooting, an Islamic pilgrimage seeds in Bhuiyan a strange idea: if he is ever to be whole, he must reenter Stroman's life. He longs to confront Stroman and speak to him face to face about the attack that changed their lives. Bhuiyan publicly forgives Stroman, in the name of his religion and its notion of mercy. Then he wages a legal and public-relations campaign, against the State of Texas and Governor Rick Perry, to have his attacker spared from the death penalty. Ranging from Texas's juvenile justice system to the swirling crowd of pilgrims at the Hajj in Mecca; from a biker bar to an immigrant mosque in Dallas; from young military cadets in Bangladesh to elite paratroopers in Israel; from a wealthy household of chicken importers in Karachi, Pakistan, to the sober residences of Brownwood, Texas, The True American is a rich, colorful, profoundly moving exploration of the American dream in its many dimensions. Ultimately it tells a story about our love-hate relationship with immigrants, about the encounter of Islam and the West, about how or whether we choose what we become."
During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. In March of 2012 she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic. Travelling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft and canoe, they explored northern landscapes so remote there were no maps or guidebooks to mark them. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace - migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure and personal narrative, the book explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of creatures whose daily survival is nothing short of miraculous. It is a journey through the heart, the mind and some of the wildest places left in North America. In the end, The Sun Is a Compass is a love letter to nature, an inspiring story of endurance and a beautifully written testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
After taking a few weeks off work, Casey is presented with a new foster child: 14-year-old Elise, whose Mum left her at just five years old. At first, she's no trouble at all, that is until she falsely accuses another carer, Jan, of acting inappropriately towards her. It turns out this isn't the first lie Elise has told - her previous carer was constantly following up allegations Elise had made of people bullying her, trying to have sex with her, or hurting her physically. With some reservations, Casey agrees to take Elise on long-term, but when she makes some dark claims about her mum, Casey doesn't know whether to believe her. In any case, she is determined to find out the truth...
'There's water in the engine,' he said. 'The engine has stopped.' This changed everything... Surviving the Storms brings together incredible first-hand accounts of rescues carried out by the remarkable RNLI lifesavers. In this collection of heart-wrenching and life-affirming missions, we hear blow-by-blow descriptions of some of the most dramatic rescues from the last twenty years. We experience these through the eyes of the lifesavers as they must make life-or-death decisions, face fierce conditions and tackle difficult and dangerous situations. But we also see the optimism, passion and courage that is crucial to a successful rescue, and experience the genuine joy felt by the volunteer crews and lifeguards in being a part of something so important. Each remarkable story is one of bravery, jeopardy and an unrelenting commitment to battling the forces of nature and saving every life. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the RNLI - men, women, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers, all forming one big crew determined to protect perfect strangers. They are ordinary people doing the truly extraordinary.
Punished is the inspiring true story of an unusual little girl, Vanessa, whose childhood was devastated by torture and abuse at the hands of her sadistic mother. Vanessa was nearly destroyed until she discovered a secret that ultimately saved her life. From the age of 3, Vanessa lived in daily terror of her mother's unpredictable rage. If she was 'naughty', her mother would lash out at her with beatings, torture, starvation and making Vanessa sleep in their garden's pigsty, tied up like an animal. Her mother said her punishments were God's revenge on her for being the devil's child. Her father lived in denial of her suffering. When she was 6 years old, Vanessa's grandfather began to sexually abuse her to her despair, aided and abetted by both her mother and grandmother. At eight years old, she then discovered that the 'mother' who hated her so much had adopted her as a baby and would never love her as her own. At the most horrific times of Vanessa's abuse, she nearly lost all hope that she would escape her prison, until mysterious things started to happen to her that allowed her to fight back. This is the story of how Vanessa survived a childhood that nearly destroyed her and how her secret led her out of the horrors of her past."
The Girl Who Just Wanted To Be Loved is a heart wrenching true story from foster mum and Sunday Times bestseller Angela Hart. Eight-year-old Keeley looks like the sweetest little girl you could wish to meet, but demons from the past make her behaviour far from angelic. She takes foster carer Angela on a rocky and very demanding emotional ride as she fights daily battles against her deep-rooted psychological problems. Can the love and specialist care Angela and husband Jonathan provide help Keeley triumph against the odds? This is a true story that shares the tale of one of the many children Angela has fostered over the years. Angela's stories show the difference that quiet care, a watchful eye and sympathetic ear can make to children who have had more difficult upbringings than most.
In May 1996 a number of expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route. Each group contained world class climbers and relative novices, some of whom had paid tens of thousands of pounds for the climb. As they neared the summit twenty-three men and women, including the expedition leaders, were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disorientated, out of oxygen and depleted of supplied, the climbers struggled to find their way to safety. Experienced high-altitude guide Anatoli Boukreev led an exhausted and terrified group of climbers back to safety before going back out into the blizzard to help others stranded on the mountain. Rescuing a number of people from certain death, he emerged a hero. The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev is an honest and gripping account of true endurance and contains interviews with most of the surviving climbers, medical personnel, Sherpa guides, and families of the dead who experienced the tragedy. This edition also includes the transcript of the Mountain Madness debriefing, recorded five days after the tragedy, as well as G. Weston de Walt's response to Jon Krakauer.
'Here in the desert, the truth began to take hold of Susan, teaching her that her strength, her confidence and her mind were her own and no one else's.' A Lullaby in the Desert tells the story of one woman's unrelenting journey to find freedom. Born in Iran, Susan is forced to flee in order to escape an arranged marriage, leaving her mother and everything she has known behind. Years later, Susan has settled in Erbil where she must continue to navigate the daily threat of racial prejudice and a violent patriarchal society. Yet even as she struggles to survive, life is further disturbed by the approach of ISIS in 2014. Like many others, Susan is forced to make a life changing decision. Stay in Erbil and let ISIS decide her fate? Or risk everything in search of a freedom she had never known? The subjection and danger that Susan must overcome during her gruelling journey shows an instinct for survival and human resilience that is truly eye opening. A Lullaby in the Desert may share one woman's fight for survival, but it shows the reality that many have, and still, face.
An uplifting true story from Sunday Times bestselling author, Angela Hart. Why has no one given Jasmine the safety and care she desperately needs? Foster carer Angela is determined to find a solution. Jasmine is a little girl with a difficult upbringing whose current foster carers have refused to keep her on as they can no longer handle her 'off the wall' behaviour. Social Services place her with specialist foster carer Angela Hart. Angela does her best to provide a secure environment for Jasmine in the hope that she can begin to move on, but it proves challenging as Jasmine often breaks out in bursts of anger and sometimes physical violence. Can Angela show Jasmine what safety looks like? And can she help Jasmine's beloved grandparents – who have been campaigning to become her full-time guardians – persuade social services that they are best placed to look after this troubled little girl? The Girl with the Saddest Secret is the eighth book from well-loved foster carer and Sunday Times bestselling author Angela Hart. A true story that shares the tale of one of the many children she has fostered over the years. Angela's stories show the difference that quiet care, a watchful eye and sympathetic ear can make to those children whose upbringing has been less fortunate than others.
The gripping true story of how Detective Superintendent Julie Mackay brought Melanie Road's murderer to justice. BATH, 1984 Jean Road, a 49-year-old mother of three, awakens to news that her daughter Melanie has been murdered in a nearby street as she walked home from a club in the early hours. Britain's biggest manhunt begins. A trail of blood is found leading away from the scene. It's a rare blood type. But despite a year-long inquiry and 94 arrests, the case is wound down. No one is charged with Melanie's murder. AVON & SOMERSET POLICE HQ, 2009 Detective Sergeant Julie Mackay, a 41-year-old single mother of three who has been overlooked for promotion for years, transfers to the Cold Case Unit. She unearths a file from the original inquiry and becomes hooked by the details: the rare blood type, Bath on a summer's night, the investigative wrong turns ... She takes on the case, and with the help of Melanie's inspirational mother works tirelessly to rebuild it. This is the true story of how she did it.
There were over 700 survivors of the Titanic disaster and their horrific experience has captivated readers and moviegoers for over 100 years. But what was it actually like for a woman to say goodbye to her husband? For a mother to leave her teenage sons? For the unlucky many who found themselves in the freezing Atlantic waters? Titanic Voices is the most comprehensive collection of Titanic survivors' accounts ever published and includes many unpublished and long-forgotten accounts, unabridged, together with an authoritative editorial commentary. It is also the first book to include substantial accounts from female survivors and those travelling third class.
Al Venter has been free-diving (without cages) with sharks for 40 years and has had three of his friends killed by them. The international author known for his war writing now turns his efforts on highlighting their importance to the world s ocean ecosytems.He regards the shark as one our greatest oceanic assets: remove the shark from the maritime environment and an ecological disaster will follow. For decades, the waters around South Africa have had more sharks and a greater variety of these predators than any other coastline in the world. There are several reasons, one being the annual sardine run up the east coast. The sharks draw many South Africans and others from around the world, among them Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and King Abdullah of Jordan. Working with specialist divers and friends, as well as world-class photographers, Venter has created a book on sharks that is not only instructive but also breathtakingly beautiful and fascinating. Photographers who submitted work for publication include Fiona Ayerst, Morne Hardenberg and the diminutive shark warrior Lesley Rochat."
At Warburg, Germany, in 1941, four British PoWs find an unexpected means of escape from the horrors of internment when they form a birdwatching society, and embark on an obsessive quest behind barbed wire. Through their shared love of birds, they overcome hunger, hardship, fear and stultifying boredom. Their quest draws in not only their fellow prisoners, but also some of the German guards, at great risk to them all... Derek Niemann draws on original diaries, letters and drawings, to tell of how Conder, Barrett, Waterston and Buxton were forged by their experiences as POWs into the giants of post war wildlife conservation. Their legacy lives on, in institutions such as the RSPB and the British Wildlife Trust. |
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