Top 14 Best Non Fiction Adventure Books Updated 04 /2024

Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt tells an amazing story about how he survived and had a lot of fun on the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition, which took place in 1913 and 1914, a year after he lost the election. Find the source of the River of Doubt, and then paddle down the river to get there. Zoogeographic reconnaissance quickly turned into a story of survival, with whitewater and danger lurking around every bend of the river, so much so that the "Bull Moose," as he was known, almost died from it.

South: The Endurance Expeditionby Ernest Shackleton

Legendary Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton talks about how he tried to cross the Antarctic on a sled. When Shackleton's ship, Endurance, got stuck in the ice, the adventure turned into a survival story. The men had to walk for ten months to get to a whaling station that was a long way away.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Olaf Rieck took this picture.

One of John Krakauer's best-known books is called "Into the Wild," and he was there when a group of people died on Mount Everest in 1996. At the same time as many teams are trying to reach the top of Everest, a powerful storm starts. People on the mountain are pushed to the limit of their endurance in order to make it out alive.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The story of Christopher McCandless, a young college graduate who gave up a promising future in order to live on the road for a long time. In the end, McCandless makes it to his final destination, Alaska, where he plans to live on his own in the wilderness. It's been a long time since Krakauer read McCandless's philosophical journey. He goes from a rebellious twenty-something who wants to leave society to a man who is fighting for his life and realizes that a life without other people is not complete.

His journey lasts two years. There is no phone, no pool, no pets, and no cigarette. The ultimate freedom. One who is very far-right. It is a person who travels for art, but their home is on the road, not in a city. I got away from Atlanta. "The West is the best." After two years of wandering, here comes the last and best adventure. The final battle to kill the false person inside and end the spiritual journey with victory. He spends ten days and nights on freight trains and hitchhiking to get to the Great White North. A man who isn't afraid of civilization anymore flees. He walks alone on the land to get lost in nature.

Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, a French pilot best known for his book The Little Prince, was both an adventurer and a great writer. He was both. His poetic thoughts on a good life, along with his stories about flying mail over the Sahara and the Andes Mountains, make this one adventure book that no man should be without.

People didn't reach for you by the shoulder while there was still time. Isn't it now that the clay from which you were made has hardened? You won't be able to wake up the musicians and poets who may have been in you at the beginning.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

This is the report of the first expedition to go west to the Pacific and come back safely, as written by the famous expedition leaders who led it. In this well-known account, new species, new people, and new worlds are found.

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose

Author Stephen Ambrose talks about Meriwether Lewis, the co-leader of the Corps of Discovery, which is also known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He gives a fascinating look at his life and adventures.

Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook by Martin Dugard

Captain Cook is best known for his many trips through the South Pacific in the late 1800s, when he made the first European contact with many island cultures, including the discovery of Hawaii. In this thrilling retelling of his life and adventures, Dugard looks at how Cook rose from a peasant to a sea captain, then turned tyrannical and died.

Death in the Long Grass by Peter Hathaway Capstick

When Capstick wrote his first book, we learn why big game hunting has made him a legend in the world of big game hunting. He makes a field of 10 foot tall grass (and the angry animals that live there) both terrifying and exciting, and that's what makes it so great.

A screaming, screeching, infuriated elephant that weighs 12,000 pounds could rattle your nerves so much that you don't notice a 6-by-4 inch spot on his forehead. You can just forget about it and move on." Even the best mortuary make-up artist couldn't make you look like you were face up or face down so your own mother could figure it out.

The Man Eaters of Tsavo by Colonel Henry Patterson

Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, who worked for the British East Africa Company in Kenya, told this story in 1907, when he was sent there by the company to build a bridge over the Tsavo River. A pair of man-eating lions killed many construction workers while they were building. They became known as the "Ghost and the Darkness," or "The Ghost and the Darkness." To get rid of this threat, Patterson set out to do what he could, and the story is very exciting.

The Four Voyages: Being His Own Log-Book, Letters and Dispatches with Connecting Narratives by Christopher Columbus

In what kind of person did Christopher Columbus turn out to be in the end? Eccentric? A crazed person? The best explorer in history? Find out what you think by looking at the journals of Christopher Columbus, who kept track of everything that happened before and after the first trip in 1492.

"I should not go by land to the East, as is usually done, but by sea to the West, which is where we haven't seen anyone go before."

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

He was a cultural explorer who went to the Middle East to get away from the oppression of society. The Rub' al Khali, also known as "The Empty Quarter," is where he became the first person to cross. The Empty Quarter is one of the largest sand deserts in the world. It is in the Middle East. It covers a large part of the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula. It is made up of 250,000 square miles of the most dangerous land on the planet. Thesiger set out to cross this huge area, and he planned to make a map of the area while he was there. He made it across the Empty Quarter twice, between 1946 and 1949.

"For a long time, the Empty Quarter had been the desert's last, impossible challenge for me."

To other people, my trip would not be very important. If you did this, you would get nothing but a very bad map that no one would use. An almost-tasteless drink of water was the only thing that came out of it for me. I was happy with that.

The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons by John Wesley Powell

It was a great story about the Colorado River, told by the leader of the first group to follow the river through the Grand Canyon. A must for people who love whitewater river runs.

High Adventure by Edmund Hillary

When Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest in 1953, it was the first confirmed Everest summit ever. This is Hillary's own account of the climb.

"My solar plexus was tense with fear as I kept on going," I said. Tired, I had to stop about halfway up. I could look down 10,000 feet between my legs, and I've never felt more insecure in my whole life.

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Journey by Alfred Lansing

In this best-selling book, Shackleton tells the story of his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which turned into a battle for survival against the harsh conditions of Antarctica. He did a lot of research into Shackleton's journals and talked to people who survived the Endurance's terrifying journey.

Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival by Yossi Ghinsberg

People's personalities clash and their wills are put to the test in this modern-day survival story set in the Amazon rainforest. An unlikely group of backpackers get lost in the woods.

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson

In the Peruvian Andes, Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, set out to climb the dangerous Siula Grande. They knew it was going to be a risky job, though. When Joe falls into a ravine, Simon thinks he died and has to keep going without him. Simpson was left alone and seriously injured. He crawled down the glacier for three and a half days until he reached his base camp, where he was barely alive. An amazing story about one man's desire to live. This is a story that will surprise you.

Into the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

This sea story is said to have been the inspiration for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. It tells the story of the Whaleship Essex, which was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820, and the people who lived on it. Following the attack, some of the crew flee to a nearby island, where they are slowly ravaged by hunger and disease, until they have to eat each other to live.

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