Joe Tasker lies, struck down by illness, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the 'big' mountains. One of Britain's foremost mountaineers and a pioneer of lightweight climbing, he is about to attempt one of the first true 'alpine-style' climbs in the Greater Ranges. The Dunagiri attempt forms part of Tasker's striking tale of adventure in the savage arena of the mountains. A superb writer, he vividly describes the first British winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, the first ascent of the West Wall of Changabang - considered a 'preposterous' plan by the climbing world - and his two unsuccessful attempts on K2, the second highest mountain on Earth. Savage Arena is both moving and exciting, an inspirational tale of the adventuring spirit which follows its own path, endlessly seeking new challenges, climbs and difficulties to overcome. It is not reaching the summit which counts, it is the journey to it. It is also a story of the stresses and strains of living for long periods in constant anxiety, often with only one other person, and of the close and vital human relationships which spring from those circumstances.

Longlisted for the 2020 William Hill Sports Book of the Year 'A gripping history' THE ECONOMIST 'The World Beneath Their Feet contains plenty of rollicking stories' THE TIMES 'Gripping' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'So far as adventure stories go, this book is tops.' Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump '[Ellsworth] recasts the era as a great Himalayan race...[and] it works brilliantly...his account of the 1953 ascent of Everest...feels unusually fresh' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Like if Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air met Lauren Hillenbrand's Unbroken ... an inviting and engrossing read' SPORTS ILLUSTRATED One of the most compelling international dramas of the 20th century and an unforgettable saga of survival, technological innovation, and breathtaking human physical achievement-all set against the backdrop of a world headed toward war. While tension steadily rose between European powers in the 1930s, a different kind of battle was raging across the Himalayas. Contingents from Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the United States had set up rival camps at the base of the mountains, all hoping to become recognized as the fastest, strongest, and bravest climbers in the world. Carried on across nearly the entire sweep of the Himalayas, this contest involved not only the greatest mountain climbers of the era, but statesmen and millionaires, world-class athletes and bona fide eccentrics, scientists and generals, obscure villagers and national heroes. Centered in the 1930s, with one brief, shining postwar coda, the contest was a struggle between hidebound traditionalists and unknown innovators, one that featured new techniques and equipment, unbelievable courage and physical achievement, and unparalleled valor. And death. One Himalayan peak alone, Nanga Parbat in Kashmir, claimed twenty-five lives in less than three years. Climbing the Himalayas was the Greatest Generation's moonshot--one shrouded in the onset of war, interrupted by it, and then fully accomplished. A gritty, fascinating history that promises to enrapture fans of Hampton Side, Jon Krakauer, and Laura Hillenbrand, The World Beneath Their Feet brings this forgotten story back to life.

'Joyful, life-affirming, greedy. I loved it' - DIANA HENRY 'Whether you are an avid cyclist, a Francophile, a greedy gut, or simply an appreciator of impeccable writing - this book will get you hooked' - YOTAM OTTOLENGHI The nation's 'taster in chief' cycles 2,300 km across France in search of the definitive versions of classic French dishes. A green bike drunkenly weaves its way up a cratered hill in the late-morning sun, the gears grinding painfully, like a pepper mill running on empty. The rider crouched on top in a rictus of pain has slowed to a gravity-defying crawl when, from somewhere nearby, the whine of a nasal engine breaks through her ragged breathing. A battered van appears behind her, the customary cigarette dangling from its driver's-side window... as he passes, she casually reaches down for some water, smiling broadly in the manner of someone having almost too much fun. 'No sweat,' she says jauntily to his retreating exhaust pipe. 'Pas de probleme, monsieur.' A land of glorious landscapes, and even more glorious food, France is a place built for cycling and for eating, too - a country large enough to give any journey an epic quality, but with a bakery on every corner. Here, you can go from beach to mountain, Atlantic to Mediterranean, polder to Pyrenees, and taste the difference every time you stop for lunch. If you make it to lunch, that is... Part travelogue, part food memoir, all love letter to France, One More Croissant for the Road follows 'the nation's taster in chief' Felicity Cloake's very own Tour de France, cycling 2,300km across France in search of culinary perfection; from Tarte Tatin to Cassoulet via Poule au Pot, and Tartiflette. Each of the 21 'stages' concludes with Felicity putting this new found knowledge to good use in a fresh and definitive recipe for each dish - the culmination of her rigorous and thorough investigative work on behalf of all of our taste buds.

Shortlisted for the 2019 Edward Stanford Award '[A] rollicking Boys' Own adventure' - Spectator 'This heart-stopping personal account of historic Arabia today.' - Compass Magazine Following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, Arabia is an insight into Levison Wood's most complex and daring expedition yet: an epic and unprecedented 5000-mile journey through 13 countries, circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula. Honest, reflective and poignant, Arabia is a historical, religious and spiritual journey, through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on Earth. Exploring the Middle East through the lives, hearts and hopes of its people, Levison Wood challenges the perceptions of an often misunderstood part of the world, seeing how the region has changed and examining the stories we don't often hear about in the media.

Winner of the Prix Renaudot 2019 A New York Times Best Book of 2021 'Extraordinarily beautiful... a long last loving glance at the planet.' Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild The Art of Patience sees the renowned French adventurer and writer set off for the high plateaux of remotest Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard. There, in the company of leading wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and two companions, at 5,000 metres and in temperatures of -25C, the team set up their hides on exposed mountainsides, and occasionally in the luxury of an icy cave, to await a visitation from the almost mythical beast. This tightly focused and tautly written narrative is simultaneously a dazzling account of an exacting journey, an apprenticeship in the art of patience, an acceptance of the ruthlessness of the natural world and, finally, a plea for ecological sanity. A small masterpiece, it is one of those books that demands to be read again and again.

"An extraordinary tale of derring-do told in a mesmerising new book via fascinating archive pictures - and worthy of a Hollywood movie too." - Daily Mail In the late 19th century, the Norwegian Artic explorer Fridtjof Nansen undertook a pioneering expedition: he wanted to reach the North Pole with the specially designed ship Fram. The Nansen Photographs recounts this expedition, from the launch in 1890 through to the end of Nansen's international lecture tour in 1897, using original photographs alongside personal diary entries from Nansen and seven of his crew members. Together, they illustrate in a poignant and sometimes disconcerting way how the expedition members went about their daily lives and conducted their research, the conflicts they faced, and how they ultimately brought their daring undertaking to its successful conclusion. This book brings new life to previously known facts and introduces the reader to hundreds of previously unknown photographs from the expedition. The large format of the book brings the smaller details in the photographs to the forefront, providing new insight into the work and life on board, the equipment and the clothing. Opposing diary entries from Nansen and the men about the same situations show that life on board was not always easy and tell a gripping story of survival and the human condition. Nansen's lack of empathy and practical skills caused frustration among the men, and several of them resorted to fists to sort out their differences, but nonetheless they all pulled through and set a new standard for arctic expeditions to come. When Nansen leaves the ship for his legendary 18 month journey with Hjalmar Johansen towards the North Pole, we follow both Nansen and Johansen and the crew left on board through their photographs and diaries. The return to Norway and the spectacular celebration is told in detail through photographs, newspaper reports, speeches, menus and ephemera. This stunning 712-page book comes with an illustrated dustjacket and contains 850 photographs and illustrations, 35 ship drawings and 25 maps.

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO OBE, was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Scott s Discovery Expedition, 1901 04, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned to Antarctica in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909 he and three companions made a southern march which established a record Farthest South latitude at 88 23'S, 97 geographical miles (114 statute miles, 190 km) from the South Pole, by far the closest convergence in exploration history up to that time. For this achievement, Shackleton was knighted by King Edward VII on his return home. This edition covers Shackleton s final, and most dramatic Antarctic expedition.

'The idea of owning anything except the experience is hubris.' Unknown Pleasures is a collection of works by the climber and award-winning author Andy Kirkpatrick. Obsessed with climbing and addicted to writing, Kirkpatrick is a master storyteller. Covering subjects as diverse as climbing, relationships, fatherhood, mental health and the media, it is easy to read, sometimes difficult to digest, and impossible to forget. One moment he is attempting a rare solo ascent of Norway's Troll Wall, the next he is surrounded by the TV circus while climbing Moonlight Buttress with the BBC's The One Show presenter Alex Jones. Yosemite's El Capitan is ever-present; he climbs it alone - strung out for weeks, and he climbs it with his thirteen-year-old daughter Ella - her first big wall. His eye for observation and skilled wordcraft make for laugh-out-loud funny moments, while in more hard-hitting pieces he is unflinchingly honest about past and present love and relationships, and pulls no punches with an alternative perspective of our place in the world. Unknown Pleasures is Andy Kirkpatrick at his brilliant best.

In a salty, slashing style, Tristan Jones unfolds his extraordinary saga--a six year voyage during which he a covered a distance equal to twice the circumference of the world--revealing both a rich sense of history an insuppressible Welsh wit. With a singleness of purpose as ferocious as nay hazard he encountered, Tristan Jones would not give up--even after dodging snipers on the Red Sea, capsizing off the Cape of Good Hope, starving in the Amazon, struggling for 3,000 miles against the mightiest sea current in the world, and hauling his boat over the rugged Andes three miles above sea level to find at last the legendary Island of the Sun. And beyond lay te most awesome challenge of all--the tortuous trek through 6,000 miles of uncharted rivers to find his way back to the ocean.

This book traces the origin of the legend of El Dorado and the various expeditions that set out to locate that mysterious land of untold wealth in South America. Motivated by both fanciful rumors of a golden city ruled by a man who coated himself daily with gold dust, and the more practical allure of a region abundant in cinnamon trees (a spice that was worth its weight in gold to Europeans), many conquistadors convinced themselves that another native empire awaited their conquest. These quests for fortune and glory would lead to an encounter with fierce female warriors who were believed to be the Amazons of ancient Greek lore, and the discovery of the mighty river later named for the legendary Amazon tribe. The first half of this book details the lesser-known accounts of German interest in locating the wealth of a golden kingdom called Xerira and an elusive passage at Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo which supposedly led to the Pacific Ocean. The second section focuses on the various Spanish efforts to discover El Dorado, each of which was eventually doomed to despair, disappointment, and death.

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set forth to make history with the first-ever crossing of the Antarctic continent. He sailed into the Weddell Sea aboard the Endurance, while a ship called the Aurora sailed into the Ross Sea to create a lifeline of vital food and fuel depots to supply the epic crossing. Yet all went tragically wrong when the Aurora broke free of her moorings in an Antarctic gale and stranded ten men ashore. Left with little more than the clothing on their backs and scavenged equipment, the men vowed to carry on in the face of impossible odds. Meanwhile the rest of the Aurora crew, cast adrift at the mercy of the elements, battled for survival. The lost men struggled to save themselves and carry out their mission with little hope of rescue.

The riveting story of the history-making mission to reach the bottom of all five of the world's oceans - the ultimate frontier of our planet. A feat that is new addition to the Guinness Book of World Records Humankind has explored every continent on earth, climbed its tallest mountains, and gone into space. But the largest areas of our planet remain a mystery: the deep oceans. At over 36,000 feet deep, these areas closest to earth's core have remained nearly impossible to reach-until now. Technological innovations, engineering breakthroughs and the derring-do of a unique team of engineers and scientists, led by explorer Victor Vescovo, brought together an audacious global quest to dive to the deepest points of all five oceans for the first time in history. Expedition Deep Ocean tells the inside story of this exploration of one of the most unforgiving and mysterious places on our planet, including the site of the Titanic wreck and the little-understood Hadal Zone. The expedition pushed technology to the limits, mapped hidden landscapes, discovered previously unknown life forms and began to piece together how life in the deep oceans affects our planet-but it was far from easy. Vescovo and his team would design the most advanced deep-diving submersible ever built, able to withstand the deep ocean's pressure on the sub of 8 tons per square inch-the equivalent of having 292 fueled and fully loaded 747s stacked on top of it. The hurricane-laden ocean waters and the byzantine web of global oceanographic politics only heightened the challenges. Expedition Deep Ocean reveals the marvelous and other-worldly life found in the ocean's five deepest trenches, including several new species that have posed as of yet unanswered questions about survival and migration between oceans. Then there are the newly discovered sea mounts that cause tsunamis when they are broken by shifting tectonic plates and jammed back into the earth's crust, something that can now be studied to predict future disasters. Filled with high drama, adventure and the thrill of discovery, Expedition Deep Ocean celebrates courage and ingenuity and reveals the majesty and importance of the deep ocean.

This book covers the two most famous expeditions of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration: Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition of 1910-12 and Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition of 1914-16. It focuses not only on the two expeditions, but also on the ways in which the reputations of the men who led them have evolved over the course of the last century. For decades after Scott's tragic death on the return journey from the South Pole - to which he had been beaten by only five weeks - he was regarded as a saint-like figure with an unassailable reputation born from his heroic martyrdom in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic.In recent years, however, Scott has attracted some of the most intense criticism any explorer has ever received. Shackleton's reputation, meanwhile, has followed a reverse trajectory. Although his achievements were always appreciated, they were never celebrated with nearly the same degree of adulation that traditionally surrounded Scott. But in the final decades of the twentieth century Shackleton has come to be regarded as the beau ideal of the heroic explorer, a man capable of providing leadership lessons not only for other explorers but also for corporate executives and politicians.Today, Scott and Shackleton therefore occupy very different places in the polar pantheon than they once did. This change has come about with little new information about either man or the expeditions they led coming to light. Their actions and personalities, their virtues and flaws, have not changed. How, when and why attitudes towards Scott and Shackleton have altered over the course of the twentieth century forms the subject of this book. It explores how the evolution of their reputations has far more to do with broader cultural changes in Britain and the United States.

'I have given my whole life to the mountains. Born at the foot of the Alps, I have been a ski champion, a professional guide, an amateur of the greatest climbs in the Alps and a member of eight expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya. If the word has any meaning at all, I am a mountaineer.' So Lionel Terray begins Conquistadors of the Useless - not with arrogance, but with typical commitment. One of the most colourful characters of the mountaineering world, his writing is true to his uncompromising and jubilant love for the mountains. Terray was one of the greatest alpinists of his time, and his autobiography is one of the finest and most important mountaineering books ever written. Climbing with legends Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, Terray made first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, the Andes and the Himalaya. He was at the centre of global mountaineering at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and he came out a hero. Conquistadors of the Useless tells of his wartime escapades, of life as an Alpine mountain guide, and of his climbs - including the second ascent of the Eiger North Face and his involvement in the first ever ascent of an 8,000-metre peak, Annapurna. His tales capture the energy of French post-war optimism, a time when France needed to reassert herself and when climbing triumphs were more valued than at any other time in history. Terray's death, in the Vercors, robbed mountaineering of one of its most passionate and far-sighted figures. His energy, so obvious in Conquistadors of the Useless, will inspire for generations to come. A mountaineering classic.

'Deeply researched and well-written' - Financial Times In the mid-sixteenth century, England was a small and relatively insignificant kingdom on the periphery of Europe, and it had begun to face a daunting array of social, commercial and political problems. Struggling with a single export - woollen cloth - a group of merchants formed arguably the world's first joint-stock company and set out to seek new markets and trading partners. This start-up venture transformed England in to a global power and sowed the seeds of nascent modern America. New World, Inc. is the riveting story of pilgrims, profits and the venture capitalists behind Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. 'Brilliantly researched and vividly told' - Liaquat Ahamed, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Lords of Finance

Edmund Hillary - A Biography is the story of the New Zealand beekeeper who climbed Mount Everest. A man who against expedition orders drove his tractor to the South Pole; a man honoured around the world for his pioneering climbs yet who collapsed on more than one occasion on a mountain, and a man who gave so much to Nepal yet lost his family to its mountains. The author, Michael Gill, was a close friend of Hillary's for nearly 50 years, accompanying him on many expeditions and becoming heavily involved in Hillary's aid work building schools and hospitals in the Himalaya. During the writing of this book, Gill was granted access to a large archive of private papers and photos that were deposited in the Auckland museum after Hillary's death in 2008. Building on this unpublished material, as well as his extensive personal experience, Michael Gill profiles a man whose life was shaped by both triumph and tragedy. Gill describes the uncertainties of the first 33 years of Hillary's life, during which time he served in the New Zealand air force during the Second World War, as well as the background to the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, when Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit - a feat that brought the pair instant worldwide fame. He reveals the loving relationship Hillary had with his wife Louise, in part through their touching letters to each other. Her importance to him during their 22 years of marriage only underlines the horror of her death, along with that of their youngest daughter, Belinda, in a plane crash in 1975. Hillary eventually pulled out of his subsequent depression to continue his life's work in the Himalaya. Affectionate, but scrupulously fair, in Edmund Hillary - A Biography Michael Gill has gone further than anyone before to reveal the humanity of this remarkable man.

In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin set out on a voyage to find the North-West Passage - the sea route linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The expedition was expected to complete its mission within three years and return home in triumph but the two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and the 129 men aboard them disappeared in the Arctic. The last Europeans to see them alive were the crews of two whaling ships in Baffin Bay in July 1845, just before they entered the labyrinth of the Arctic Archipelago. The loss of this British hero and his crew, and the many rescue expeditions and searches that followed, captured the public imagination, but the mystery surrounding the expedition's fate only deepened as more clues were found. How did Franklin's final expedition end in tragedy? What happened to the crew? The thrilling discoveries in the Arctic of the wrecks of Erebus in 2014 and Terror in 2016 have brought the events of 170 years ago into sharp focus and excited new interest in the Franklin expedition. This richly illustrated book is an essential guide to this story of heroism, endurance, tragedy and dark desperation.

First published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"Treasure Hunt" is the story of a national obsession. Dreams of Spanish treasure, of unearned gold at the bottom of the sea, have been a part of the English psyche since long before effective diving equipment was invented. In 1687, Captain William Phips weighed anchor in English waters with an incredible cargo - nearly forty tons of silver and gold, the treasure of the Spanish galleon Concepcion, wrecked over forty years before on a coral reef in the middle of the ocean. This treasure in coins and bullion had been raised by naked divers, unaided by breathing equipment. The great British treasure-hunting boom had begun. Over the next two hundred years, many such adventures, most based on extremely dubious information, were begun, with many fortunes and lives lost in the process. The real boom for underwater treasure hunting took place in the 1690s, with the invention of crude, very dangerous diving equipment. And, with the advent of the stock market, gambling and treasure-hunting became closely connected to the birth of modern capitalism. In the 18th and 19th centuries, treasure-hunting became a professional occupation, with a new breed of diver emerging to salvage the wrecks of English and Dutch East-Indiamen carrying treasure to finance purchases in Asia. World-renowned naval historian Peter Earle returns with an extraordinary and little-known history of a peculiarly English phenomenon - of outstanding bravery, of exceptional recklessness, and above all, of dreams of treasure.

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.

In the feverish, money-making age of railroad barons, political machines, and gold rushes, corruption was the rule, not the exception. Yet the Republican mogul 'Big Alex' McKenzie's audacity was remarkable. Charismatic and shameless, he arrived in the recently purchased Alaskan territory with a federal district judge in his pocket, intent on claiming stewardship over any ambiguously claimed gold mines and promptly draining them of all of their ore. Working-class miners who had rushed to the frozen tundra to strike gold were appalled at his open greed and disregard for maintaining even the pretense of good faith. A Most Wicked Conspiracy tells the story of McKenzie's misdeeds, the resistance of the wronged miners, and the way the scandal captured the national spotlight -- with the press eager to show how America's political and economic life was in the grip of domineering, self-dealing, seemingly-untouchable party bosses in cahoots with robber barons, Senators and even Presidents. These events resonate well into the 21st century. At the core is an eternal question: should the law be a tool of the rich and the powerful for the accomplishment of their nefarious schemes, or an impartial force for justice from which no person can escape?

A journey - both historical and contemporary - among the fantastical landscapes, beguiling creatures and isolated tribes of the world's fourth island: Madagascar. An improbable world beckons. We think we know Madagascar but it's too big, too eccentric, and too impenetrable to be truly understood. If it was stretched out across Europe, the islands would reach from London to Algiers, and yet its road network is barely bigger than tiny Jamaica's. There is no evidence of any human life until about 10,000 years ago, and, when eventually people settled, it was migrants from Borneo - 3,700 miles away - who came out on top. As well as visiting every corner of Madagascar, John Gimlette journeys deep into its past in order to better understand how Madagascar became what it is today. Along the way, he meets politicians, sorcerors, gem prospectors, militiamen, rioters, lepers and the descendants of seventeenth-century pirates.

One woman, one bike and one richly entertaining, perception-altering journey of discovery. In 2015, as the Syrian War raged and the refugee crisis reached its peak, Rebecca Lowe set off on her bicycle across the Middle East. Driven by a desire to learn more about this troubled region and its relationship with the West, Lowe's 11,000-kilometre journey took her through Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran. It was an odyssey through landscapes and history that captured her heart, but also a deeply challenging cycle across mountains, deserts and repressive police states that nearly defeated her. Plagued by punctures and battling temperatures ranging from -6 to 48C, Lowe was rescued frequently by farmers and refugees, villagers and urbanites alike, and relied almost entirely on the kindness and hospitality of locals to complete this living portrait of the modern Middle East. This is her evocative, deeply researched and often very funny account of her travels - and the people, politics and culture she encountered. 'Terrifically compelling ... bursting with humour, adventure and insight into the rich landscapes and history of the Middle East. Lowe recounts the beauty, kindnesses and complexities of the lands she travels through with an illuminating insight. A wonderful new travel writer.' Sir Ranulph Fiennes

This is a book about expedition, adventure, our thirst for knowledge and pushing the limits of human endurance. From the navigational instruments that have led us through unknown lands, to the advanced engineering that carried us into the depths of the ocean, to the rocket science that propelled us into space, science and adventure have always been inextricably linked. Both are at the heart of everything we now know about the complex universe we find ourselves in. From the groundbreaking sea voyage in 1735 that settled the debate raging between Descartes and Newton about the shape of the earth to the balloon ride that led to the discovery of cosmic rays, we have pushed the limits of what's possible, both on our planet and beyond the clouds. The Little Book of Big Explorations is a collection of some of the most daring and eye-opening adventures in history that have changed the way we view the world, as well as a look at what's still to be discovered. Our insatiable curiosity has driven our survival as a species and can be charted through the centuries by these incredible voyages of discovery.