If you're like me, you enjoy adventure stories -- survival stories -- stories where an individual's life is on-the-line or hanging in the balance. True-life adventure stories make for incredible reading. They're frequently page-turners, nearly impossible to put down and that, I suppose, is how the name "cliff hangers" came about.
I first became addicted to adventure stories after hearing Jim Rome interview mountain climber, survivor, and author, Joe Simpson on his sports talk radio show, The Jim Rome Show. Listening to Simpson describe the extreme hardships he endured, the unbelievable measures he was forced to take to battle for his life, and what it was honestly like to be so close to death and facing your own mortality, was enthralling. The climbing-rope controversy surrounding the decision made by Simpson's climbing partner, Simon Yates, only increased my curiousity of "Touching the Void" and I rushed out the very same day and bought Simpson's wonderful book. It took me all of one day to finish the book, and I have re-read it three times since.
Simpson's journey led me on a survival story reading binge which continues to this day! I recently finished reading Anne Applebaum's 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning "Gulag: A History" which is a different kind of survival story, but none-the-less captivating. Ultimately, "Touching the Void" led me to all of Simpson's other books, as well as to Jon Krakauer's harrowing personal experiences on Mount Everest in 1996 which are detailed in his book "Into Thin Air." From there, I quickly found Krakauer's "Outside Magazine" articles and his vivid account of the life and struggles of Christopher McCandless in the tremendous biography "Into the Wild."
All of those books are fantastic, and TLH certainly recommends them to anyone interested in the adventure/survival genre. Which brings us to this week's list. Here's National Geographic's 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All-Time which is a fantastic reading list, and was compiled back in 2004.
Monday, February 16, 2009
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And hearing lies the question. Is a good book a good tale, or is it the mastery of the written language?
ReplyDeleteTouching the Void was an amazing tale, but hardly a literary masterpiece. Should a book entertain, or should it evoke emotions that lie deep in our soul? I sat in tears on an aircraft because some third rate Japanese movie didn’t end how I expected (Million Yen Girl…). I expected an ending and I didn’t get it.
Did Chaucer write to entertain or to educate? Was Shakespeare a social commentator, or a guy who made money selling stories.
Books, like movies, are the modern day legends and stories told around a tribal camp fire. Do they need to be grammatically correct? Do they need to be thought provoking and educating? Or is it sufficient that they make us wide eyed in wonder, as a small boy in a toy shop?
I am the small boy.
Ross Hilton