In 1909, while dreaming of the Himalaya, Norwegian mountaineer Alf Bonnevie Bryn and a fellow young climber, the Australian George Ingle Finch, set their sights on Corsica to build their experience. The events of this memorable trip form the basis of Bryn's acclaimed book Tinder og banditter - 'Peaks and Bandits', with their boisterous exploits delighting Norwegian readers for generations. Newly translated by Bibbi Lee, this classic of Norwegian literature is available for the first time in English. Although Bryn would go on to become a respected mountaineer and author, and Finch would become regarded as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time - a legend of the 1922 Everest expedition - Peaks and Bandits captures them on the cusp of these achievements: simply two students taking advantage of their Easter holidays, their escapades driven by their passion for climbing. As they find themselves in unexpected and often strange places, Bryn's sharp and jubilant narrative epitomises travel writing at its best. Balancing its wit with fascinating insight into life in early twentieth-century Corsica, the infectious enthusiasm of Bryn's narrative has cemented it as one of Norway's most treasured adventure books. Peaks and Bandits embodies the timeless joy of adventure.

Simon Donlevy was nearly 50 and had worked for a high street bank for 30 years when he embarked on an incredible personal journey. There's something going on! takes us through his candid thoughts and emotions in the periods leading to the decision to take a sabbatical and live the life of a pilgrim as he walks nearly 500 miles along the Camino de Santiago. The magic of the Camino soon reveals itself. He learns that he's never really alone and that he needs nothing else in life other than those he can throw his arms around. What starts as a book about a walk, soon becomes a beautiful story told in an engaging and humorous way about people, love, adventure, escapism, charity and friendships. Join him on his intriquing quest to explore whether there's something going on!

"Portugal is not all that far away, or exotic, or dangerous, but it felt like a huge stretch for me to leave my partner, family, job and home and just go off. An overland solo trip lasting months in an ancient little campervan was not the kind of thing I did. But it was something I was about to do."In her debut memoir A Van of One's Own, Biddy Wells tells the story of how, propelled by a thirst for peace and quiet, for a modest adventure and, perhaps, for freedom, she left for Portugal on her own, with only her old campervan, Myfawny, and her GPS, Tanya, for company. Having left just about everything behind, her solo trip forces her to face her fears, her past, and herself. The road provides the perfect canvas to connect the dots between a past breakdown and her present need for freedom, as she reflects on her own life, her relationship, her family and the world around her - to see whether her life still has room for her in it. As she meets wise and not-so- wise people, members of the campervan community and friendly locals, her outlook on life begins to shift, and a chance meeting in a bar leads to the person who will put her on the right track.But will she go back home, to Wales?And what is the meaning of 'home? 'A Van of One's Own is a journey through the breath-taking scenery of France, Spain, and finally Portugal, populated by colourful characters and the roar of the ocean, the taste of fresh fish and the grind of the asphalt; but more importantly, it is a journey through past memories and present conflicts to inner peace.

These are the Journals of Francis Davies Leading Shipwright RN when on board Captain Scott's "Terra Nova" British Antarctic Expedition 1910 - 1913, Never seen before photos and historical artefacts, kept safe by his decadences, for over 100 years. Unique below decks prospective on Captains Scotts last Antarctic Expedition, Unabridged and never before Published. The geographic and scientific accomplishments of Captain Scott's two Antarctic expeditions changed the face of the Twentieth Century in ways that are still not widely appreciated over a hundred years later. The fact of accomplishment has tended to be lost in speculative argument as to how Scott should have done this instead of that, supposedly to achieve the extra few yards per day to save the lives of the South Pole Party in 1912. Also lost to a generation overwhelmed with information, however, is the sublime sense of adventure into the unknown, which Scott's expeditions represented to his generation. We have forgotten what it is to take the awesome life-gambling risk of sailing beyond the edge of the map into nothingness and rendering it known. We send robot explorers instead. As a result, after two millennia of maritime and exploration history, we have become detached from the sea which surrounds our island and the tradition of exploration which it represents. With Scott: Before the Mast is a unique account that serves as an antidote to this disconectedness. It is no fictional 'Hornblower', although it may seem so at times. This is a true story. It presents one man's account of his part in a great act of derring-do, the assault on the South Pole in 1912. Most records of Captain Scott's British Antarctic Expedition aboard Terra Nova (1910-1913) are the accounts of officers. With Scott: Before the Mast is the story of Francis Davies, Shipwright, R.N., and Carpenter. The title says it all but may be lost on landlubbers. Before the mast means 'to serve as an ordinary seaman in a sailing ship'. This makes it a rare and hugely important account, presenting a viewpoint from the lower ranks. Such insight is rarely available and the long overdue publication of this account is greatly to be welcomed.

The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest man-made structure to orbit Earth and has been conducting research for close to a decade and a half. Yet it is only the latest in a long line of space stations and laboratories that have flown in orbit since the early 1970s. The histories of these earlier programs have been all but forgotten as the public focused on other, higher-profile adventures such as the Apollo moon landings. A vast trove of stories filled with excitement, danger, humor, sadness, failure, and success, Outposts on the Frontier reveals how the Soviets and the Americans combined strengths to build space stations over the past fifty years. At the heart of these scientific advances are people of both greatness and modesty. Jay Chladek documents the historical tapestry of the people, the early attempts at space station programs, and how astronauts and engineers have contributed to and shaped the ISS in surprising ways. Outposts on the Frontier delves into the intriguing stories behind the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory, the Almaz and Salyut programs, Skylab, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Spacelab, Mir station, Spacehab, and the ISS and gives past-due attention to Vladimir Chelomei, the Russian designer whose influence in space station development is as significant as Sergei Korolev's in rocketry. Outposts on the Frontier is an informative and dynamic history of humankind's first outposts on the frontier of space. Purchase the audio edition.

In 1924 Mount Everest remained unclimbed. Two British expeditions had already tackled what was known to be the highest mountain on Earth. The first, in 1921, found a route to the base. The second, in 1922, attempted the summit, reaching a record height of 27,300 feet before retreating. Two years later, a team that included Colonel E.F. Norton, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine returned to the Himalaya. Armed with greater knowledge and experience, confidence was high. But they were still climbing into the unknown. How high could they climb without supplementary oxygen? Would the cumbersome oxygen equipment help them climb higher? Could they succeed where others had failed, and make the first ascent of the highest mountain on earth? Before they could find out, tragedy struck - George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, climbing high on the mountain, vanished into the clouds. First published in 1925, The Fight for Everest 1924 is the official record of this third expedition to Everest. The compelling narrative by Norton and other expedition members, and Mallory's vivid letters home, present a gripping picture of life in the Himalaya. Notes and observations from the entire team show how far knowledge of the mountain and of high-altitude climbing had advanced by 1924, and make recommendations for future Everest attempts. As well as the full original text and illustrations, this edition reproduces some of Norton's superb pencil sketches and watercolours along with previously unpublished materials from his private archive. These include original planning documents from the expedition, Mallory's last note to Norton, and a moving letter to Norton from Mallory's widow. Together, they add up to one of the most fascinating mountaineering books ever written.

If there's an adventure to be had, it's likely that David Hempleman-Adams has been there first. Ranking alongside Ranulph Fiennes and Chris Bonnington in the pantheon of British explorers, he is the first person in history to achieve what is termed the Adventurers' Grand Slam, by reaching the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Poles as well as climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents. The question Hempleman-Adams is most often asked is, simply: what drives him on? Why risk frostbite pulling a sledge to the North Pole? Why experience the Death Zone on Everest? Why fly in the tiny basket of a precarious balloon across the Atlantic? Is it simply the case that he likes to push himself to the limits, or is there something more to it? No Such Thing as Failure answers these questions and more, uncovering what drives arguably the world's greatest adventurer.

The first earnest attempt to explore the valley of the upper Yellowstone was made in 1859, by Colonel Raynolds, of the Corps of Engineers. His expedition passed entirely around the Yellowstone basin, but could not penetrate it. Ten years after Colonel Raynoldss unsuccessful attempt to solve the problem of the Yellowstone, a small party under Messrs. Cook and Folsom ascended the river to the lake, and crossed over the divide into the Geyser Basin of the Madison. The general public were indebted for their first knowledge of the marvels of this region to an expedition organized in the summer of 1870 by some of the officials and leading citizens of Montana. In the meantime, a large and thoroughly-organized scientific party, under Dr. F. V. Hayden, U. S. geologist, were making a systematic survey of the region traversed by Colonel Barlow. It is safe to say that no exploring expedition ever had a more interesting field of investigation, or ever studied so many grand, curious and wonderful aspects of nature in so short a time.

The book describes a 21st century journey following the direction taken by anatomically modern humans who left the African nursery around 80000 years ago and reached Australia 20000 years later. Along the way, they laid the genetic foundations for humanity's oldest civilizations - and ultimately inhabited every corner of the globe. The result of these travels is not a scientific treatise. Although the science is not ignored, the centre lies elsewhere. The author undertakes this west-to-east endeavor in the imagined company of his autistic grandson, who serves both as confidant and as a human archetype. This allows the book to verge upon a unique blend of factual travel writing and an almost magical internalised interpretation. What the two travellers find together is a tangle of new experiences and responses, from which the linkages between primeval past and complex present gradually emerge. Here is a work of literary travel writing that describes an enchanted journey through some of the ancient places of the world and into the currently deeply troubled heart of the human adventure. The evidence encountered on the journey suggests that a fundamental universality of humanity's place in the cosmos lies beneath all regional differences and is characterised as much by humility and co-operation as it is by the imperative to survive and/or the will to power. The book does not set out to prove a point, however, but to celebrate the complexity of human responses. It is more a creative work than it is a dissertation with an unambiguous conclusion. Nevertheless, the bibliography gives an indication of some of the sources used, which includes the work of historians, archaeologists, political scientists, biographers and psychologists, as well as authors writing on the various religions of the world.

In May 1804, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their Corps of Discovery set out on a journey of a lifetime to explore and interpret the American West. The Lewis and Clark Expedition Day by Day follows this exploration with a daily narrative of their journey, from its starting point in Illinois in 1804 to its successful return to St. Louis in September 1806. This accessible chronicle, presented by Lewis and Clark historian Gary E. Moulton, depicts each riveting day of the Corps of Discovery's journey. Drawn from the journals of the two captains and four enlisted men, this volume recounts personal stories, scientific pursuits, and geographic challenges, along with vivid descriptions of encounters with Native peoples and unknown lands and discoveries of new species of flora and fauna. This modern reference brings the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition to life in a new way, from the first hoisting of the sail to the final celebratory dinner.