UKH

I'm looking for some book recommendations. 

Got to be non-fiction, favourite topic is extreme survival stories. Subject matter isn't important - mountains, under water, caving, war, deserts etc.
Shackleton's South is amongst my favourites. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, Darkness Beckons. All the short stories from Bonnington's Quest For Adventure, that type of thing.

Cheers,

E
 

Rene Desmaison’s Total Alpinism put the shits up me when I started climbing, it’s pretty one dimensional story telling though.

There's 'Touching the Void' of course.

Seconded on all counts.

Spoiler alert:

Not everyone survives.

Enty: Our Gordon Stainforth's Fiva is essential if you haven't already read it.

A bit more serious that some suggestions, but Primo Levi's "If This is a Man" really is a tale of life lived in the shadow of imminent death.

'Desperate Voyage ' by John Caldwell. A true story of an American soldier at the end of WW2 who knows nothing about sailing but buys a clapped out old yacht and sails to Australia to get to see his wife. He takes a cat with him. An amazing tale.

The worst journey in the world and The White Spider

In The Heart of the Sea, by Nathaniel Philbrick, could be worth a look. It’s the story of the sinking of the whaling ship Essex, by a sperm whale- it was the inspiration for Moby Dick. 
 

If you’re looking for extreme stories, it doesn’t get much more extreme than this. When they say “worse things happen at sea”, they’re not kidding…

We Die Alone by David Holworth. Chronicling the escape of Jan Baalsrud from occupying Nazi forces in Norway subsequent to his insertion as a resistance fighter being compromised, then shot, desperately swimming icy sea lochs before accidentally being abandoned immobile on high ground in winter for days.

or

Last Man Off by Matt Lewis (autobiography) of a graduate marine biologist on his first job aboard a unseaworthy fishing vessel, leading upto and then sinking in Antarctic waters during a storm and high seas hundreds of miles from the Falkland's.

Life and Limb, Jamie Andrew.

That plane that crashed in the Andes is a pretty extreme true story 

‘Polar Journeys’ and ‘Endurance and Adventure’, edited by Jon E Lewis

Worst Journey in the World - Apsley Cherry Garrard.
The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Sajer
Papillion - Henri Charriere
The Last Dive - Bernie Chowdhury
Empire of the Sun - JG Ballard
Goodbye to All That - Robert Graves
117 Days Adrift - Maurice and Mareen Bailey
Red Sky in Mourning - Tami Ashcraft

Exactly my groove - watching the thread with interest!

The Last Blue Mountain - Ralph Barker

Brilliant! Loads to go at.

E

The book of seven years in Tibet is a lot better than the movie! The kayaking book, many rivers to run by Dave manby has a lot of great short stories. 

Jeez. Presumably also his last job on an unseaworthy fishing vessel too.

'Impossible Journey' by Michael Asher. A man and his wife make the first crossing of the Sahara going west to east (cf N-S and vice versa which has been done by many over millennia). Features lots of camels and sand.

For something different 'Judy: a Dog in a Million' by Damien Lewis. A stray dog who gets adopted by a British gunboat in China, rescues prisoners when sunk on a transport and survives the horrors of the POW camps. It will make you wonder why dogs put up with us.

That's a brilliant book, got it, I highly recommend it 

This is remarkable story.  Thirteen year old girl is the only survivor of a plane crash in the Amazonian jungle and spends 11 days walking out.  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Fell-Sky-Miraculous-Survival-ebook/dp/B01HPVH...

“Youth” by Joseph Conrad. The critics say it’s not one of his best, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Fatal storm... About the Sydney to Hobart race sometime in the 90swhich went 'south' pretty quickly.

Perhaps "In some lost place" by Sandy Allan?

Part autobiography of Sandy, but mostly the first ascent of the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat.

Yes agreed a cracking read about an amazingly out there ascent!

There goes my resolution not to buy any new books until I've finished the ones on my bedside table!

Annapurna - Maurice Herzog. One of my personal favourite pieces of mountaineering literature and an epic tale.

You missed being avalanched crossing an arctic glacier in mid winter and almost getting shot again! I don't think he was accidentally abandoned - the IIRC Sami villagers who had hidden him there were told by the Germans anyone leaving the village would be executed! 

I was going to recommend this book as well, it really is quite a grueling read in the best sense of that word. Most of the action is in Lyngen which I know reasonably well - if you have climbed or skied there, his survival seems all the more ridiculous!

Loads and loads on this podcast series https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0g5r6m9

Some great, 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0g9l8d7

and, mind blown:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gq5zzh

The one about he guy diving in the everglades, however, was less a story of survival and more one of stupidity 

I enjoyed The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters edited by Hamish MacInnes.  Shorts but lots of classic stuff.

“The indifferent stars above” by Daniel James Brown.

 It’s a telling of the story of the Donner Party. Absolutely terrifying and riveting. I’m not much of a reader but I’ve struggled to put it down. 

Between a rock and a hard place

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_a_Rock_and_a_Hard_Place_(book)

Into the wild

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild_(book)

My memory must be poor, I thought there was a mix up in communication on which Col he was to be left at. So when the receiving party went up and found he wasn’t there they assumed he hadn’t been dropped off……if  I still have the book I’ll have to read again.

Yes have climbed in Lygen although years ago, before I read the book.

As an aside I had a Norwegian colleague whose grandfather had been in the Norwegian army trying to repel the Nazi invasion, hopelessly under equipped. Unbeknown to his family at the end of WWII he vowed he would never be unprepared in case of Russian invasion and hoarded as much armament as he could lay his hands on. When he died there was a note in his Will saying you might want to look under the hutte floor and invite the police. His cache was very large and by then very unstable, which left the army no choice but to blow it up insitu, which was the end of the hutte.

Not quite sure that fits the thread title!

Oooh, added to the list thanks.  Only read the Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales version - graphic novels aimed at kids, very educational and entertaining can recommend - "Donner Dinner Party".

Along the same lines but different hemisphere "Fastnet Force 10" about the 1979 Fastnet race.

The Dig Tree, true story of Burke and Will s by Sarah Murgatroyd. Brilliant true story of early attempt to cross Australian outback in 1860. Usual tail of have a go adventurers, when you really had to be self sufficient!

It must be 10 years since I read it too, so I might have it wrong also! But I remember the locals who were trying to get him out were in a pretty desperate situation themselves. I believe they made a film of the book a few years ago although I haven't seen it.

How about “The perfect storm” by Sebastian Junger? The film is good, but the book is an order of magnitude better.

The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz

Does this not fall down on the non-fiction bit? There doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that it happened.

Diving into Darkness (Bushman's hole S.Africa)

27hrs was a surprisingly good read (the film was terrible!)

Seconding The Worst Journey in the World. It is a fantastic book. 

And also “Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Tragic 1979 Fastnet Race.”

And another nautical one is “A voyage for madmen”

True enough, we all survive until we don't.

I thought the o.p. stipulated non-fiction!

Especially the chapter "The Winter Journey". Brilliant writing.

The long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz was interesting.

He very nearly survives.............

Particularly the bit where they met the Yetis...

I started to have some doubts when he described walking 30 miles a day in the snow for multiple days on minimal rations then when I got to the Yeti bit I did some googling!

The Bond. 

Almost certainly the best mountaineering book I’ve read.

The Loss of The Wager.

Grim 18th century Patagonian shipwreck/mutiny/survival business. 

Another recommendation for Gordon's 'Fiva'. It's absolutely gripping!

'The Pacific Alone' : the story of Ed Gillet kayaking from California to Hawaii … great book

If you like your biography, then that of Tom Crean: An unsung hero by Michael Smith is one of the best -  a survivor of both Scott and Shackleton's expeditions and must have been as tough as old boots!

Not a book but there’s a Noiser podcast called Real Survival Stories that you’d probably really enjoy

Reading that at the mo

"Oh Youth, pass the bottle". It is fiction but based on personal experience in Leopold II's personal empire of the Congo and its horrors. 

That’s “Heart of darkness”; “Youth” is the story of a catastrophic sea journey, also semi-autobiographical.

Liz Truss has written a book. Apparently she still roams the wilderness somewhere 

To adapt a well-known climbing autobiography, perhaps she could call it 'Space Between My Ears'?

I stand corrected. Purely from memory. But it is my favourite quote for my old age. 

I'm just on the last chapter of that. Grim indeed. Amazing that any of them survived really.

I also thought it an interesting book for the perspective of daily life on an 18th centaury man-of-war.

Walter Bonatti's Mountains of My Life is a terrific read. A Christmas storm on Mont Blanc, a bivvy on K2 near the summit, and descent of the Freney Pillar. All epic stuff. Incredible willpower to survive any of that!

True, but it's still a good yarn.

survive the savage sea 

I´ll second you on that!

Or, again borrowing from mountain literature: "Conservatives of the Most Useless Kind"

Definitely. Quite extraordinary. It was also published as 'The last voyage of the Lucette'

And as someone mentioned 'Miracle in the Andes ' by Nando Perez

Possibly even grimmer - 'Batavia's Graveyard' by Mike Dash. A true story of 17th Century shipwreck, massacre and murder on the Australian coast.

Try The Wager by David Grann; 18th century shipwreck survival true story. Absolutely gripping. 

I listen to these on BBC Sounds. For me they vary between utterly engrossing and massively irritating. Voiceover Guy is a bit OTT. There are a few mountaineering gems in there. 

May have already been mentioned - I thought Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado was excellent

I've had that on my bookshelf for years, never seem to get to reading it.

Reading Last Man Off now after your recommendation.  It's rivetting, thank you!  Reminds me very much of reading The Perfect Storm for the first time back in 1999 when living in a motel room working a summer in Delaware. 

Similar vein - The Wreck of the Grosvenor. 

I'm sure I'd read an account sometime about the famous Medusa but can't find any obvious candidates online, perhaps it was covered in one of the other 18th/19th century wreck stories?

The Wager
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wager:_A_Tale_of_Shipwreck,_Mutiny_and_Mu...

Yes, I thought that one was pretty gripping. Quick read.

You should enjoy 'Against the ice' by Ejnar Mikkelsen then (I can't see it up thread) as it's basically a survival story from beginning to end.

'Jungle' by Yossi Ghinsberg is a bit less extreme but with some twists too. Both stories have been made into films. 

Here's another good one, The Cloud Garden, which bills itself as "A True Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme Horticulture".  Long story short two adventure seeking kids try to cross the Darien Gap, one of whom is an orchid specialist, and are kidnapped by guerillas.  For added interest the author is the heir *I think* to Lullingstone Castle.

Absolutely brilliant response to this thread everyone. I've so much to go at now.

Thanks!

E

Fridtjof Nansen - Farthest North

The Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton 

Endurance by Alfred Lansing

(apologies if mentioned already)

If you ever get through the three lifetimes of reading above, a more recent survival story is To Live, by Elisabeth Revol, about a struggle for survival on Nanga Parbat after her partner suddenly becomes blind. A gripping tale throughout. I'd have liked to read more about the truly astounding efforts of the rescue team, but I suspect the paucity of their side of things is possibly due to their reticence rather than any grudging on the part of the author.

Alive. about a plane crash in the Andes

Dude - late night watching tv, I stumbled upon this show called "I Shouldn't Be Alive" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shouldn%27t_Be_Alive) 

The episode I saw was coincidentally Season 1, Episode 1 "Shark Survivor" and it had me fully gripped. Fully recommend this episode, it's gnarly! 

I did watch a handful of other episode but nothing ever eclipsed viewing this one in the dark. 

Can't vouch for the whole package (looks like they made six seasons eventually) and obviously you can't read a tv series but thought I'd chuck it out there  

It seems very dubious to me.  It was gripping but increasingly unconvincing to me as I read it.  A quick google found this:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6098218.stm  

While it was obviously fake in terms of a real journey, it was perhaps unique window of an individual on the edge of insanity without hope. (Assuming the author was in a gulag and not entirely fabricated).

A mental flight of fantasy to escape the fear, desperation and diabolical man’s inhumanity to fellow man,  that the individual was trapped in, with a high likelihood of perishing.

So in a sense it is a survival story of an individual inventing the impossible to mentally retreat into, to avoid the reality of their situation.

Escape From Lucania by David Roberts. 

Well, if you haven't already read it...Jack Olsen, 'The Climb up to Hell'. About Corti's failed attempt on the Eiger north face, and a great antidote to Harrer's rather dismissive account in his White Spider.

If you want something completely different, try Richard Henry Dana, 'Two Years Before the Mast' a 19c American classic account of a voyage under sail from Boston to Spanish California. And back...after two years. The hardships were enormous, but the account, typically understated.

Otherwise, I'd recommend Bill Tillman but I imagine you may have read his accounts 

For the JG Ballard fans (and Ballard generally would be worth making an exception to Enty's non-fiction only rule for):

Michel Siffre, Beyond Time (the account of a French speleologist who spent 63 days on his own camping on a subterranean glacier 375 feet down in the Alps.)

And, whilst we're at it, Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall, The Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, though it's more of a non-survival story; still, a truly extraordinary book.

The Siffre is a nightmare to find, but the Crowhurst book has recently been re-issued.

Great book that really brought the Shackleton epic back into the light. Their trip was largely forgotten as it was overshadowed by WWI.

Agreed - can't believe I didn't put this in my original list.

One I've just started "The Lost City of Z" having seen the film on a plane and I was bored, the book is so much more so far an enthralling look at the Amazon and the history of Royal Geographical Society era exploration.

Even more forgotten is the story of the 'Aurora' party who laid a trail of stores on the other side of the pole so that Shackleton's team could cross the continent. Three of them died but they succeeded even though they were completely unaware of the futility of what they were doing:

'Shackleton's Forgotten Men' by Lennard Bickel

Papillon is one of my favourite books of all time, have you read the follow on ‘Banco’ about what happens after Papillon. Another great read. 

Cool! My fav topic too. Gonna loot this thread for ideas.

Looks like you've already got years of reading ahead of you now, but I'll 2nd The Worst Journey in the World and Annapurna, both excellent stories.  The Worst Journey took me a while to get into the style and language, but well worth it.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby is hilarious and wonderful.  2 complete punters having a go in some wild places in Afghanistan in the 50s.  It's fantastic.

https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Survival-Who-Lives-Dies/dp/0393326152

If you're interested in the topic.

Also.

https://www.backpacker.com/survival/survival-stories/the-mystery-on-mount-w...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ice-Bird-Classic-Single-handed-Antarctica/dp/07136...

Avoid anything by Reinhold Messner. He can make his extreme exploits sans oxygen as exciting as a day trip to Matalan. 

A late entry for Sandy Allan's 'In Some Lost Place'. It's an account of his and Rick Allen's ascent of the Mazeno Ridge of Nanga Parbat. They finished the ridge, despite five of the party bailing out, but decided it wouldn't count unless they continued to the summit of Nanga Parbat, even thoughthey had effectively run out of food and fuel. The account of the final ascent and -more so - the descent - is harrowing and fascinating.
I was lucky enough to hear Sandy talking about this before the book came out, and he told the whole story just like it was two old pals out for a daunder. Even on the descent, when he spoke about Rick collapsing repeatedly, it didn't quite sound serious until he confessed "I realised Rick was starting to die at this time..." Enthralling.

What a great topic and thread that thankfully seems to have stayed on point.

‘The cruelest miles’ a book about dog sledding the dypyheria vaccine into the Arctic interior. After ‘white man’ had infected the native population with disastrous results.

something a little different.

Crikey lad, you better get reading!

Thanks everybody for all the suggestions .

E

Death and Deliverance : The Haunting True Story of the Hercules Crash at the North Pole by Robert Mason Lee.

The crash of a resupply C130 Hercules 16km south of Alert on Ellesmere Island in 1991 in winter. It took 32 hours before weather was good enough for Canadian forces SARTECHs to jump into the site and start the rescue of survivors....