Adventure & Travel Literature -reading suggestions

There are many reasons you might be interested in reading non-fiction that deals with travels and adventure in general. For one, you can genuinely like it. But a second reason can be that you do your research for your own writing, especially in fields where you might lack the first-hand experience.

I have been reading for years this kind of non-fiction literature, and I’d do it anyway. In some cases, however, it might prove essential to write about things and make them plausible. Example: I can instantly tell when I read fiction dealing with underwater adventures whether the writer is somebody that has 1) his/her own diving experience and/or 2) he/she has done his/her research on the topic. As a technical diver of many years and several hundred dives, I can sniff the BS factor quick &easy, and it’s something that doesn’t endear me to the novel.

So I’d decided to provide, in this and following posts, some reading suggestions in different fields/areas. Some of them I have direct experience, in others, I am only an avid reader. Sometimes, I’ve come across interesting cases.

This week, I start with mountaineering -simply because it’s what I have been reading for the past two months. Essential if one or more of your characters take a climb somewhere, and enjoyable even if they don’t.

These are the books I would certainly recommend if you decide reading about the subject:

Graham Bowley, No Way Down: Life and Death on K2

Reinhold Messner, Everest: Expedition to the Ultimate

Pat Falvey, Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, The Summit: How Triumph Turned To Tragedy On K2’s Deadliest Days

Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Everest Disaster

Anatoli Boukreev, The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest

Simone Moro, Cometa sull’Annapurna (in Italian)

Conrad Anker, The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mount Everest

Heinrich Harrer, The White Spider (PS. he’s the same of Seven Years in Tibet)

Mick Conefrey, Everest 1953: The Epic Story of the First Ascent Kindle Edition

Donnie Eichar, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

3 Comments

  1. sjhigbee

    Thank you for your suggestions, Steph:). I hope you have a great weekend.

    Reply
    1. Steph P. Bianchini (Post author)

      Now much better -I’ll be finishing your book 🙂

      Reply
      1. sjhigbee

        Thank you, Steph:)

        Reply

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