Ms. Adventure

My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life

By: Jess Phoenix

Narrated by: Jess Phoenix

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"Jess Phoenix's work encompasses science and representation in such a delightful melding that it could only come from as spry and playful a soul as hers! Open this book and jump into the volcano!" —Patton Oswalt

As a volcanologist, natural hazards expert, and founder of Blueprint Earth, Jess Phoenix has dedicated her life to scientific exploration. Her career path—hard earned in the male-dominated world of science—has led her into still-flowing Hawaiian lava fields, congressional races, glittering cocktail parties at Manhattan’s elite Explorers Club, and numerous pairs of Caterpillar work boots. It has also inspired her to devote her life to making science more inclusive and accessible.

Ms. Adventure skillfully blends personal memoir, daring adventure, and scientific exploration, following Phoenix’s journey from reality television sites deep in Ecuadorian jungles to Andean glaciers, university classrooms to Death Valley in summer. She has even chased down members of a Mexican cartel to retrieve a stolen favorite rock hammer. Listeners will delight in her unbelievable adventures, all embarked on for the love of science.

©2021 Jess Phoenix (P)2022 Timber Press

Critic reviews

“The sheer grit and tenacity displayed in Jess Phoenix’s stories ensure their grip on the reader’s attention. Geology and adventure enthusiasts will have a blast.” —Publishers Weekly

“Jess Phoenix’s journey has been tempered by volcanic fire, colored by international adventure, molded by a cast of champions and antagonists, and catalyzed by the revelatory nature of science itself. Her fantastical origin story—from a student of history to a polymathic, science-proselytizing rebel—is the very definition of atypical; a polemic against a life of comforting, forgettable ordinariness and a paean to the extraordinary combination of persistence and curiosity.” —Dr. Robin George Andrews, Volcanologist and Science Journalist

“Geography itself is the unlikely hero of this exuberant memoir. Whether she is peeking into the top of an active volcano or trying to outwit the heat of the desert, Jess Phoenix brings her best game: the cunning of a detective, the soul of a poet and the open mind of a true explorer. It is pure joy to see the world through her endlessly curious eyes and to read about it in her crystal-clear prose.” —Madeleine H. Blais, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing and author of In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

A worthy listen

I don’t think this story does anything new or unexpected but it’s nevertheless always interesting. The narration is continually enjoyable and you’ll learn quite a bit about the life of a geologist. The second half where much of the research occurs is fascinating but the film crew and opening are good but not as noteworthy.

Superb

Great reading. Nice fun adventures into the world of the volcanoes of our world.

Disappointing Ending

This story was headed toward a 5-star rating (and a recommendation to friends and family) until the very end - when the author went from scientist to political activist. Rather than allowing the readers to draw their own conclusions based on her fantastic descriptions of the places she traveled, readers are clubbed over the head with her political views. Unnecessary and quite disappointing.

Interesting story - not long enough!

I really enjoyed this book. If you like adventure books, you’ll definitely enjoy it. Jess’s stories are funny and the book is really well written. The descriptions of the landscapes are really detailed and you can picture them vividly in your mind while listening. The book went by too fast and I found myself wanting more of each story and more of the book itself! The narration could be sharper, evening listening at 1.6x it wasn’t fluid, with strange pauses between words that made it less enjoyable to listen to at time. Overall, a great/fun/interesting book!

YA Science

Very little science and the adventures are entirely non-scientific. Completely misses the opportunity to talk about the excitement of scientific discovery.

I’m an adventurer in my own mind

I love Jess’s book because she describes a life of almost accidental adventuring. She follows her interests and finds herself a successful scientist and explorer. It could happen for you!

Why can’t authors leave their political misconceptions out of their books

I was enjoying this book very much until chapter nine. I stopped listening about half say through the chapter. The liberal rant was something that tainted my previous enjoyment.

From my armchair--!

There's a lot that I really enjoyed about this book and other things I found cringe-worthy. She provides some great accounts of surviving dangerous environments and injuries (she's definitely a bit of an adrenaline junkie) but, for me, it just didn't settle into a coherent whole. Definitely a glimpse into a life I will _never_ lead!

Memoir of a volcano scientist

This is a nice little memoir of a young and vibrant volcano scientist. She leads you through her adventures starting with her science education through her work studying volcanoes all over the world. Jess helps us learn what it is like to do fieldwork as a scientist today. Sometimes I when I tell people that I am a biologist they imagine me crawling around in the woods somewhere before I laugh and tell them that 99.99% of biology happens in laboratories these days, so it was nice for me to learn something about what field work is all about. Jess is passionate about science, science education, equal rights, and using science for good. It's always nice to listen to a book read by the author when the author has a good voice. In this case it's a real treat because you get to feel the energy that Jess Phoenix brings to her life and her work bubbling up through the excited narration of her own story. It's an ironic quirk that she seems to spend half her life injured from one clumsy mishap or another - none of which are caused by any of the actually dangerous work she performs like sleeping inside of volcanic lava tubes!

Love the adventure telling!

Hubby chose this book for me because the description reminded him of me. While my career did not take the scientific route, my hobbies have and I’ve had some similar experiences, so it was really cool to read/listen to this book. Keep up with your adventuring!