Quest for Adventure: Ultimate Feats of Modern Exploration (Hardcover)

by Chris Bonington (Author) "THE WORLD WAS STILL RECOVERING FROM WAR; the rubble of ruined European cities had not yet been cleared, there were food shortages, and everywhere people..." (more)
Key Phrases: summit hid, polar pack ice, top camp, New Zealand, South Col, John Hunt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Here's something to stop and think about: the opportunity to be the first to accomplish an "adventure" on land, sea, and air may be gone. In 1999, the attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon which presented one of the last challenges for intrepid explorers was successful. Virtually every major mountain has been climbed, the depths of the oceans have been charted, and the most inhospitable deserts have been crossed. We live in a world where people compete on television programs like Survivor to do things that were unthinkable just a century ago. Bonington, an accomplished mountain climber, presents 17 stories of the most remarkable expeditions of the past 100 years, giving factual accounts of what it was like to be "the first" to cross the polar wastes, fly solo around the world, brave uncharted waters, and reach the peaks of treacherous mountains. Familiar names like Thor Heyerdahl and Francis Chichester are mingled with lesser-known explorers such as Maurice Herzog and Wally Herbert to present a breathtaking account of the people who had the courage to face these challenges. Dynamic and inspiring, this book will attract readers of all ages, including young adults. Highly recommended. Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc P.L., CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

There is a special breed of person who thrives on risk, for whom an unconquered mountain or an unexplored ocean represents an irresistible challenge. Some are world-famous -- Hillary, Heyerdahl, Chichester -- while others are known only to a tightknit group of their peers, but all share certain hallmark qualities: a fierce desire to be first and best; a deep commitment to their goals; and most important of all, a kind of determination and endurance that is even more spiritual than physical.

Chris Bonington understands the powerful allure of adventure, and in this enthralling book he chronicles a generous selection of the most remarkable and daring exploits of the past half-century. A record-setting mountaineer, he's the perfect guide to some, of the world's most remote, forbidding, and dangerous places, from the blazing sands of the Sahara to the frigid Antarctic ice cap, from the blinding white of a Himalayan blizzard to the pitch-black depths of an underground river. Along with the first-person story of his own pioneering ascent of Annupurna's treacherous South Face, Bonington presents vivid accounts of 16 other epics -- on land, on water, and in the air.

We voyage across the Pacific with Thor Heyerdahl's crew on the primitive balsa raft called Kon-Tiki and ride the jet stream around the world in the gondola of the uItra-modern Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon. We free-climb the vertiginous face of El Capitan and follow the footsteps of solo climbers into the Death Zone of Karakoram peaks. We cling alone and desperate to a tiny, dismasted sailboat in an Antarctic ocean gale, fight gun battles with murderous bandits during the first boat descent of the rapid-strewn Blue Nile, cave-dive hundreds of feet beneath the English hills, and much more.

This book isn't just a lively narrative of 17 great adventures; its also an expert overview of the history, lore, and techniques of aeronautics, ocean sailing, mountaineering, and polar trekking, to name just four, as well as a wonderful portrait gallery of scores of colorful figures, familiar names, and unsung heroes alike. Finally, it's a fascinating analysis of the wide variety of styles and personalities drawn to adventuring, observed with the keen eye of an experienced insider.

Highlighted by more than 125 photographs, illustrations, and maps, these truly suspenseful tales of triumph -- and often tragedy -- offer a wonderful panorama of adventuring and its all-or-nothing champions, the extraordinary men and women who feel most alive when they are on the very edge of a perilous unknown.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792279530
• ISBN-13: 978-0792279532
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,304,984 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Written by one who knows all about Adventure, February 15, 2005

By	Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Chris Bonington is one of the world's most accomplished climbers. At first sight, therefore, one might be forgiven for thinking that this was a book about his own exploits. I did and I was also wrong. Instead this is a book about the adventurous exploits of others and, for once, those expeditions to the far corners of the globe - and even beyond!, are written by someone who understands what it is all about.

Divided into areas which cover; Oceans, Deserts, Rivers, Mountains, the Poles, Air, Space and Beneath the Earth, Bonington has selected the most outstanding feats of human endeavour of the 20th Century. From Thor Heyerdahl's epic voyage across the Pacific on a raft made of reeds (Kon Tiki) and other great sea-going voyages to John Blashford Snell's search for the source of the Blue Nile, to the many challenges set by the world's greatest peaks and on even further to man on the moon. These are but some of the many stories which this author has put together in a carefully planned book which soon becomes very hard to put down.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be impressed by the achievements described.

NM

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not for couch potatos, May 31, 2001

By A Customer

I first read a softcover edition published in the early nineties. A great read for those with a healthy adventurous streak. The book covers a multitude of adventurer: people who rowed or sailed across large bodies of water; mountain climbers: desert crossers; hot-air balloonists; cave divers (perhaps the most riveting). Bonington himself has done plenty of mountain climbing and has good insight into what unites these people and why they are different-in some cases these people are never happy in daily life after returning from their adventure.