True Travel Adventure

Lidie is hard to scare. She is almost shockingly alive - a tall, plain girl who rides and shoots and speaks her mind, and whose straightforward ways paradoxically amount to a kind of glamour. We see her at 20, making a good marriage - to Thomas Newton, a steady, sweet-tempered Yankee who passes through her hometown on a dangerous mission. He belongs to a group of rashly brave New England abolitionists who dedicate themselves to settling the Kansas Territory with like-minded folk to ensure its entering the Union as a Free State.

Seventy-foot waves batter a torn life raft 250 miles out tosea in one of the world's most dangerous places, the Gulf Stream. Hanging on to the raft are three men, a Canadian, a Brit, and their captain, Jean Pierre de Lutz, a dual citizen of America and France. Their capsized forty-seven-foot sailboat has filled with water and disappeared below the tempestuous sea. The giant waves repeatedly toss the men out of their tiny vessel, and JP, with ninebroken ribs, is hypothermic and on the verge of death.

The “mountain men” were the hunters and trappers who fiercely strode the Rocky Mountains in the early to mid-1800s. They braved the elements in search of the skins of beavers and other wild animals, to sell or barter for goods. The lifestyle of the mountain men could be harsh, existing as they did among animals, and spending most of their days and nights living and camping out in the great unexplored wilds of the Rockies.

In 1973, Norma Cobb, her husband Lester, and their five children pulled up stakes in the lower 48 and headed north to Alaska to follow a pioneer dream of claiming land under the Homestead Act. The only land available lay north of Fairbanks near the Arctic Circle where grizzlies outnumbered humans 20 to one. In addition to fierce winters and predatory animals, the Alaskan frontier drew the more unsavory elements of society's fringes. From the beginning, the Cobbs found themselves pitted in a life or death feud with unscrupulous neighbors who would rob from new settlers.

Because rivers and lakes are commonly turbid and murky, many creatures that live there are invisible to traditional wildlife film-makers. So although many people are familiar with the inhabitants of tropical reefs, and even the deep oceanic trenches, it is the water right under our noses that we know least about. And yet these creatures at the top of the freshwater food chain are every bit as spectacular—and dangerous—as those that prowl the oceans.

‘Quest in the Caribbean’ is the final book in the Quest Series. Wendy and I have learned to become sailors. We thank our lucky stars every day that the sea has been merciful to us. The sea is our home, but it can also be a strict master and unforgiving teacher. We learn our lessons one day and one problem at a time. But more importantly, Wendy and I learn a great deal about each other and what it takes to be good companions on a tiny boat. Compatibility on a cruising boat is the irreplaceable ingredient that keeps the cruise alive. The first chapter of ‘Quest in the Caribbean’ ...

How many times have you had that overpowering urge to leave it all behind and sail off to a tropical island? The desire of the ordinary landlubber to go to sea is as old as mankind itself. Here is the true story of how my wife and I became captured by the powerful allure of the sea. This is book one of a four book series. 'Quest and Crew' begins hours before a hurricane of unimaginable destructive force obliterates the south shore of Grenada. Luckily, Quest survives without a scratch. It’s a story about how life's many twists and turns, fortune and disaster, can change your path but make ...

Will Chaffey is 18 when he boards a plane in New York bound for Australia. Taking time off to work and travel, Will meets an enigmatic wanderer and herpetologist. Together they cross the inland desert to the tropical northwest coast, home to the saltwater crocodile, a known man-eater and a predator who has been hunting since the age of the dinosaurs. They devise a plan to explore the remote Prince Regent River, a trek so dangerous it had never been attempted by outsiders.

How and why to live in a car, van or RV, and learn to love it! There are two main reasons you might buy a book on living in a vehicle: 1) You're being forced into it by a bad economy, divorce, or unemployment, or 2) The "American Dream" has become a nightmare for you and you are dropping out of the rat race. Whatever your reason, this book will tell you everything you need to make it the best possible experience it can be. We'll cover details like: which vehicle to live in and how to find it, where to park, staying clean, going to the bathroom, how to cook in a van, get out of debt, survive...

What would a sailing challenge be without green water over the bow and a hard beat to windward? ‘Quest on the Thorny Path’ is the second book of the Quest series. You are now on the feared and fabled Thorny Path. Leave the laid back cruiser hangout of Georgetown, Bahamas behind and hit the big ocean waves for the first time. From Georgetown we take the path less traveled through the deserted and desolate out islands of the southern Bahamas. After a short stay in the Turks and Caicos, our course takes us to the north coast of Hispaniola. Christopher Columbus appropriately named this ...

After her plane crashes, a 17-year-old girl spends 11 days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?

A big trip as a catalyst for personal growth is a familiar story. But what happens when travel becomes a way of life rather than a one-time escape? Tim Mathis, author of the independent hit The Dirtbag’s Guide to Life, has spent decades exploring this question. A seasoned interpreter of adventure, culture, and life’s absurdities, he shares 15 true tales from a lifetime of travel, disruption, and transformation in What Happens If You Keep Going? Among these stories, you’ll find: A teenage clown evangelist in Peru facing a reality check. A pilgrimage in Spain achieving the opposite of ...

Fly fishermen everywhere will enjoy these varied, witty, and engaging adventures by one of America’s finest outdoor writers. There is a long section on trout fishing called "Brookies, Browns, and Bows", and another on the challenges and excitement of saltwater fly fishing, and an exciting group of memoirs about fishing near home and in far-flung and often exotic places - like the Minipi, Bighorn, and Norfolk rivers, where the trout can beggar the imagination, and where frustration can be the occupational hazard.

In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall's death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter.

We are anchored in a windswept bay in the Dominican Republic on our way to Puerto Rico. There is no turning back now. The gear is stowed, hatches battened and the sails reefed. We are about to venture into the dreaded Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. Once we are in PR, we will have a leisurely sail along the beautiful south coast. But we have to survive the Mona Passage first. Will she be kind to us? It is my pleasure to have you come along for the third book in the Quest series. Included in our itinerary is Vieques, St. Croix, St. John and a little fling with Virgin Gorda. ...

The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament’s most infamous cities. Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Steven Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history - a crisis of faith that inspired him to put both his education and the Bible to the test by embarking on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.

Whatever You Do, Don't Run is a hilarious collection of true tales from top ­safari guide Peter Allison. In a place where the wrong behavior could get you eaten, Allison has survived face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry ­elephants, and the world's most unpredictable animals: herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides whose outrageous antics sometimes make them even more dangerous than a pride of hungry lions!

A Russian Drama best seller now in its second edition! In February, 1959 nine young hikers on a cross country ski trip mysteriously died under horrific circumstances. It is one of the great mysteries of our times. They would be found with missing eyes, even a missing tongue, crushed bones, and stripped of their clothes (later found radioactive) in minus 50 degree temperatures. Theories range from their being murdered by the CIA to space aliens, to even "Abominable Snowmen". This book explores this famous incident using a technique known as "Higher criticism" to explain their terrifying ...

On the morning of July 3, 1994, a misreported forest fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado became one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of firefighting. In this dramatic reconstruction of the disaster and its aftermath, John N. MacLean tells the heroic and cautionary story of nature at its most unforgiving.

There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. But perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world's oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation.