Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time
The 100 greatest adventure books chosen by National Geographic.
- National Geographic Adventure Magazine-
1. The Worst Journey in the World by Robert Falcon Scott
The Worst Journey in the World is a memoir of the 1910-1913 British Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott. It was written and published in 1922 by a survivor of the expedition, Apsley Che... - Wikipedia
-
2. Journals by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
In 1803, when the United States purchased Louisiana from France, the great expanse of this new American territory was a blank -- not only on the map but in our knowledge. President Thomas Jefferson... - Amazon.com
-
3. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Wind, Sand and Stars (French title:Terre des hommes (Land of Men)) is a memoir by Antoine de Saint Exupéry published in 1939. It was translated from the French by Lewis Galantiere. The pilot and p... - WIkipedia
-
4. The Exploration of the Colorado River by John Wesley Powell
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell is a classic of American exploration literature. It is about the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 which was the first... - Wikipedia
-
5. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger
The southern Arabian desert, a quarter million square miles of sand (650,000 square kilometers), is now a place of oil wells and Land Rovers, but before the 1950s it was still known as the Empty Qu... - National Geographic
-
6. Annapurna by Maurice Herzog
Annapurna is a book by Maurice Herzog, expedition leader of the first recorded expedition to reach the summit of Annapurna in the Himalayas. The original text was written in French, first published... - Wikipedia
-
7. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness is a literary nonfiction work by Edward Abbey (1927–89), published originally in 1968. His fourth book and his first book length non-fiction work, it f... - Wikipedia
-
8. West With the Night by Beryl Markham
West With the Night is a 1942 memoir by Beryl Markham, chronicling her experiences growing up in Kenya (then British East Africa), in the early 1900s, leading to a career as a bush pilot there. It ... - Wikipedia
-
9. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
-
10. Travels by Marco Polo
-
11. Farthest North by Fridtjof Nansen
-
12. The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen
The Snow Leopard is a 1978 book by Peter Matthiessen, which is an account of his two month journey along with naturalist George Schaller in 1973 to Crystal Mountain, in the Dolpo region on the Tibe... - Wikipedia
-
13. Roughing It by Mark Twain
Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870–71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocent... - Wikipedia
-
14. Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834 and published in 1840. A film adaptation under the same name... - Wikipedia
-
15. South by Ernest Shackleton
-
16. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby
-
17. Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl
-
18. Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley
-
19. The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles Lindbergh
-
20. Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer
Seven Years in Tibet is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer based on his real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War... - Wikipedia
-
21. Journals (Cook) by James Cook
Captain James Cook FRS RN (7 November [O.S. 27 October] 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy. Cook... - Wikipedia
-
22. Home of the Blizzard by Douglas Mawson
-
23. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
The Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, which brought him considerable fame and respect. The title ref... - Wikipedia
-
24. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence CB, DSO (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935), known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British military officer renowned especially for his liaison role dur... - Wikipedia
-
25. Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa by Mungo Park
-
26. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the firs... - Wikipedia
-
27. Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
Sailing Alone Around the World (1899) is a sailing memoir by Joshua Slocum about his single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop Spray. Slocum was the first person to sail around the wor... - Wikipedia
-
28. The Mountain of My Fear by David Roberts
-
28. A Wilderness Narrative by David Roberts
-
29. First Footsteps in East Africa by Richard Burton
-
30. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
The Perfect Storm is a creative nonfiction book written by Sebastian Junger and published by W. W. Norton & Company in 1997. The paperback edition followed in 1999 from HarperCollins' Perennial imp... - Wikipedia
-
31. The Oregon Trail by Francis Parkman
-
32. Through the Dark Continent by Henry M. Stanley
-
33. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella L. Bird
-
34. In the Land of White Death by Valerian Albanov
-
35. Endurance by F.A. Worsley
-
36. Scrambles Amongst the Alps by Edward Whymper
-
37. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
Out of Africa is a memoir by Isak Dinesen, a nom de plume used by the Danish author Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when... - Wikipedia
-
38. Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals by Robert Falcon Scott
-
39. Everest: The West Ridge by Thomas Hornbein
-
40. Journey Without Maps by Graham Greene
Journey Without Maps (1936) is a travel account by Graham Greene, about a 350-mile, 4-week walk through the interior of Liberia in 1935. It was Greene's first trip outside of Europe. He hoped to le... - Wikipedia
-
41. Starlight and Storm by Gaston Rébuffat
-
42. My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir
-
43. My Life as an Explorer by Sven Hedin
Sven Anders Hedin was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, and travel writer, as well as an illustrator of his own works. During four expeditions to Central Asia he discovered... - Wikipedia
-
44. In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon
-
45. The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher
The Man Who Walked Through Time (1968) is Colin Fletcher's chronicle of his trek inside the rim of The Grand Canyon from one end to the other. He was the first person to do so in one continues trek... - Wikipedia
-
46. K2 The Savage Mountain by Charles Houston and Robert Bates
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth (after Mount Everest). With a peak elevation of 8,611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is part of the Karakoram range, and is located on the border between the Taxk... - Wikipedia
-
47. Gipsy Moth Circles the World by Francis Chichester
-
48. Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett
-
49. Alone by Richard Byrd
-
50. Stranger in the Forest by Eric Hansen
Stranger in the forest (subtitle: on foot across Borneo) is a 1988 book by Eric Hansen about a seven months and 4000 km long journey (of which 2300 km on foot) through the heartland of Borneo in 19... - Wikipedia
-
51. Travels in Arabia Deserta by Charles M. Doughty
-
52. The Royal Road to Romance by Richard Halliburton
-
53. The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz
-
54. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada by Clarence King
-
55. My Journey to Lhasa by Alexandra David-Neel
-
56. Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile by John Hanning Speke
-
57. Running the Amazon by Joe Kane
Joe Kane is an American author of two books and is also a journalist who writes for numerous publications such as The New Yorker, National Geographic, and Esquire. - Wikipedia
-
58. Alive by Piers Paul Read
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors is a 1974 book by the British writer Piers Paul Read documenting the events of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. - Wikipedia
-
59. The Principal Navigations by Richard Hakluyt
-
60. Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by John Lloyd
-
61. Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex by Owen Chase
Owen Chase (1798-March 8, 1869 (aged 70)) was First Mate of the whale ship Essex, that was struck and sunk by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820. Chase wrote about the incident in Narrative of the ... - Wikipedia
-
62. Life in the Far West by George Frederick Ruxton
-
63. My Life As an Explorer (Amundsen) by Roald Amundsen
-
64. News from Tartary by Peter Fleming
-
65. Annapurna: A Woman's Place by Arlene Blum
-
66. Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh
-
67. Adrift by Steven Callahan
Adrift (subtitle: Seventy-six days lost at sea) is a book by Steven Callahan about his survival in a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean, which lasted 76 days, a staggering record; he is the only man i... - Wikipedia
-
68. Castaways by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
The Narváez expedition was a Spanish attempt to install Pánfilo de Narváez as adelantado (governor) of Spanish Florida during the years 1527 – 1528. - Wikipedia
-
69. Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
-
70. Tracks by Robyn Davidson
-
71. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville by Washington Irving
-
72. Cooper's Creek by Alan Moorehead
-
73. The Fearful Void by Geoffrey Moorhouse
-
74. No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi
No Picnic on Mount Kenya: The Story of Three P.O.W.s' Escape to Adventure, by Felice Benuzzi is a mountaineering classic recounting the 1943 attempt of three escaped Italian prisoners of war to rea... - Wikipedia
-
75. Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt
-
76. The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron
-
77. Minus 148 by Art Davidson
-
78. Travels (Ibn Battúta) by Ibn Battúta
-
79. Jaguars Ripped My Flesh by Tim Cahill
-
80. Journal of a Trapper by Osborne Russell
-
81. Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy
-
82. Terra Incognita by Sara Wheeler
-
83. We Die Alone by David Howarth
-
84. Kabloona by Gontran de Poncins
Kabloona is a book by French adventurer Gontran de Poncins, written in collaboration with Lewis Galantiere, first published in English in 1941. It recounts Poncin's solo unsupported journey in the ... - Wikipedia
-
85. Conquistadors of the Useless by Lionel Terray
-
86. Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
-
87. Adventures in the Wilderness by William H. H. Murray
-
88. The Mountains of My Life by Walter Bonatti
-
89. Great Heart by James West Davidson and John Rugge
-
90. Journal of the Voyage to the Pacific by Alexander Mackenzie
-
91. The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark
-
92. The Silent World by Jacques Cousteau
-
93. Alaska Wilderness by Robert Marshall
-
94. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians by George Catlin
-
95. I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson
-
96. The Descent of Pierre Saint-Martin by Norbert Casteret
-
97. The Crystal Horizon by Reinhold Messner
-
98. Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River by John Kirk Townsend
-
99. Grizzly Years by Doug Peacock
Doug Peacock is an American naturalist, outdoorsman, and author. He is best known for his book Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness, a memoir of his experiences in the 1970s and 1980... - Wikipedia
-
100. One Man's Mountains by Tom Patey
How many have you read?
You can easily track which books on this list you've read if you create an account which is extremely simple. You can even use your twitter account.
The Other Lists
-
100 Most Influential Books of the Century
Boston Public Library's list of "The 100 Most Influential Books of the Century". A booklist for Adults. - Boston Public Library
-
110 Best Books: The Perfect Library
From classics and sci-fi to poetry, biographies and books that changed the world… we present the ultimate reading list. - The Telegraph
-
50 Greatest Books of All Time
A list of the 50 greatest books of all time as determined by a panel of secret judges for Globe and Mail. The books are not ranked. - Globe and Mail
-
50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember
A representative selection from over 1500 titles on annual lists of Books to Remember from 1956 to 2005. - The New York Public Library
-
Books of the Decade
The 50 books that defined the decade(2000) - The Guardian
-
Costa Book Award - Best Novel
The Costa Book Awards are a series of literary awards given to books by authors based in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2005, after which Costa C... - Costa Coffee
-
Donald Barthelme’s Reading List
81 books recommended by Author Donald Barthelme to his students at the University of Houston. -
-
Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time
The 100 greatest adventure books chosen by National Geographic. - National Geographic Adventure Magazine
-
Great Books of the Western World
Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952 by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. to present the western canon in a single package of 54 volume... - Great Books Foundation
-
Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books
A list of the Harvard Book Store staff's top 100 favorite books. - Harvard Book Store
-
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citiz... - Man Booker Prize
-
National Book Award - Fiction
The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the prio... - National Book Foundation
-
National Book Award - Nonfiction
The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the prio... - National Book Foundation
-
National Book Critics Circle Award - Fiction
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote the finest books and reviews published in English. - National Book Critics Circle
-
National Book Critics Circle Award - Nonfiction
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote the finest books and reviews published in English. - National Book Critics Circle
-
Paste Magazine's Best Books of the Decade(2000-2009)
The top 20 best books of the 2000s by Paste Magazine. It includes both fiction and nonfiction. - Paste Magazine
-
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the author of the best American work of fiction that year. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four... - PEN/Faulkner
-
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography
The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author. - Pulitzer Prize
-
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
All the books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction from 1948 to the present. - Pulitzer Prize
-
Pulitzer Prize for History
The Pulitzer Prize for History has been awarded since 1917 for a distinguished book upon the history of the United States. Many history books have also been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General N... - Pulitzer Prize
-
Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category. - Pulitzer Prize
-
Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels
-
St. John's College Academic Program Reading List
The reading list that serves as the core of the St. John's College curriculum had its beginnings at Columbia College, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Virginia. Since 1937, th... - St. John's College
-
The 100 Best Books of the Decade(2000)
The Time's list of the 100 Best Books of the 2000s. It's a mix of fiction and nonfiction. - Times
-
The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century
The 100 best non-fiction books of all time judged by a panel of historians, authors, publishers, and experts for the National Review Magazine. - National Review
-
The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List
The Observer's list of essential fiction from the past 300 years. - The Observer
-
The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written
The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Thought from Ancient Times to Today (1998) is a book of intellectual history written by Martin Seymour-Smith (1928–1998), a British poet,... - Martin Seymour-Smith
-
The 10 Best of the Decade(2000)
Entertainment Weekly's top 10 best books of the 2000s - Entertainment Weekly
-
The 50 Best Books of the Century
ISI defined "best" as "volumes of extraordinary reflection and creativity in a traditional form, which heartens us with the knowledge that fine writing and clear-mindedness are perennially possible... - Intercollegiate Studies Institute
-
The 75 Books Every Man Should Read
-
The Best Books of the 2000s
The Best Books of the 2000s according to the Onion AV club. Includes Fiction and Nonfiction. - The Onion AV Club
-
The Best Southern Nonfiction of All Time
The best southern United States nonfiction books of all time judged by 130 literary experts and authors. - Oxford American
-
The Best Southern Novels of All Time
A list of the best southern novels of all time by Oxford American Magazine judged by 130 experts as well as authors. - Oxford American
-
The Big Read
The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three quarters of a million votes were received to find the nations best-loved book of all time, ... - BBC
-
The Modern Library | 100 Best Nonfiction
-
The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels
-
The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008
Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 best reads from 1083 to 2008. There's no description of who the judges were. - Entertainment Weekly
-
The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time
The list below is from the book The Novel 100: A Ranking of Greatest Novels All Time (Checkmark Books/Facts On File, Inc.: New York, 2004), written by Daniel S. Burt. - The Novel 100
-
The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time
The Top 10 book chosen by 125 top writers from the book "The Top 10" edited by J. Peder Zane. - The Top 10 (Book)
-
TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels
Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. - TIME Magazine
-
Top 100 Works in World Literature
The editors of the Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, polled a panel of 100 authors from 54 countries on what they considered the “best and most central works in world litera... - Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute
-
Top 10 British, Irish or Commonwealth Novels from 1980 to 2005
The Observer asked 150 literary luminaries to vote for the best British, Irish or Commonwealth novel from 1980 to 2005. - The Observer
-
What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?
The New York Times Book Review's editor, Sam Tanenhaus, sent out a short letter to a couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages, asking them to please identify... - New York Times