Recommendations based on "In a Sunburned Country"

Sir Ernest Shackleton's South is one of the greatest survival stories of all time. In 1914, Shackleton led a party of men hoping to be the first to traverse the Antarctic, but when their ship was crushed by ice 350 miles from land, the expedition soon became a matter of life and death. This is the extraordinary account of treacherous seas, glaciers and relentless cold - and wonderfully encapsulates the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. - South: The Endurance Expedition (Popular Penguins) By Ernest Henry Shackleton (Paperback)

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).

A surprising and lyrical journey—part memoir, part nature book—meditating on the meaning of "flatness" and its literary tradition to find ways to understand ourselves and our trauma in one of nature’s most undervalued wonders.Does the concept of "flat" have an undeservedly bad rap? There are centuries’ worth of adoration for rolling hills and dramatic, mountainous landscapes. In contrast, flat landscapes are forgettable and seemingly unworthy of poetic or artistic attention.Noreen Masud suffers from complex post-traumatic stress the product of a profoundly disrupted and unstable childhood. It flattens her emotions, blanks out parts of her memory, and colours her world with anxiety. Undertaking a pilgrimage around Britain's flatlands, seeking solace and belonging, she weaves her impressions of the natural world with poetry, folklore and history, and with recollections of her own early life.Masud's British-Pakistani heritage makes her a partial outsider in these both coloniser and colonised, inheritor and dispossessed. Here violence lies beneath the fantasy of pastoral innocence, and histories of harm are interwoven with nature's power to heal. Here, as in her own family history, are many stories that resist the telling. She pursues these paradoxes fearlessly across the flat, haunted spaces she loves, offering a startlingly strange, vivid and intimate account of the land beneath her feet.Masud combines memoir, nature writing, and literary reflection to explore what can be drawn from these powerful places, and to understand her own experience of complex trauma and post-traumatic stress, as well as grief and loss. A Flat Place is a book that drives to the heart of what it means to experience place — bodily and psychologically — and the healing properties of literature and landscape.

“[A] lively account of a fall spent chasing the striped-bass migration from Maine to the Outer Banks” (Sports Illustrated). Each autumn, one of nature’s most magnificent dramas plays out when striped bass undertake a journey, from the northeastern United States to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in search of food and warmer seas. Writer and angler David DiBenedetto followed this great migration—the fall run—for three months in the autumn of 2001. On the Run offers vivid portrayals of the zany and obsessive characters DiBenedetto met on his travels—including the country’s most daring fisherman, an underwater videographer who chucked his corporate job in favor of filming striped bass, and the reclusive angler who claims that catching the world-record striper in 1982 sent his life into a tailspin. Along his route, DiBenedetto also delves into the natural history and biology of this great game fish, and depicts the colorful cultures of the seaside communities where the striped bass reigns supreme.

Yvon Chouinard-legendary climber, businessman, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia, Inc.-shares the persistence and courage that have gone into being head of one of the most respected and environmentally responsible companies on earth.From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.A newly revised edition of Let My People Go Surfing is available now.

“The Place of Tides feels like, not only a modern classic, but one we very much need right now.” –George SaundersFrom perhaps the preeminent nature writer of our time and the acclaimed author of Pastoral Song and The Shepherd’s Life, a magical work of nonfiction in which James Rebanks reflects on a life-changing summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway, where his only companion was an old woman who practiced the ancient tradition of collecting eiderdown from birds that nest on this remarkable landscape each year.We are all in need of lights to follow.One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on.Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island.This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for gathering, like feathered gold.Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not what he had previously thought. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness.

"A classic outdoor manual [that] addresses every conceivable disaster scenario. Don’t leave home without it”--Outside magazineThe ultimate guide to surviving anywhere, now updated with more than 100 pages of additional material, including a new chapter on urban survivalRevised to reflect the latest in survival knowledge and technology, and covering new topics such as urban survival and terrorism, the multimillion-copy worldwide bestseller SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman is the definitive resource for all campers, hikers, and outdoor adventurers. From basic campcraft and navigation to fear management and strategies for coping with any type of disaster, this complete course includes:Being prepared: Understanding basic survival skills, like reading the weather, and preparation essentials, such as a pocket survival kit.Making camp: Finding the best location, constructing the appropriate shelter, organizing camp, staying warm, and creating tools.Food: What to eat, what to avoid, where to find it, and how to prepare it.First aid: A comprehensive course in emergency/wilderness medicine, including how to maximize survival in any climate or when injured.Disaster survival: How to react in the face of natural disasters and hostile situations—and how to survive if all services and supplies are cut off.Self-defense: Arming yourself with basic hand-to-hand combat techniques.Security: Protecting your family and property from intrusion, break-ins, and theft.Climate & terrain: Overcoming any location, from the tropics to the poles, from the desert to the mountains and sea.

The First Volume In Tim Robinson's Phenomenal Connemara Trilogy - Which Robert Macfarlane Has Called 'one Of The Most Remarkable Non-fiction Projects Undertaken In English'. In Its Landscape, History And Folklore, Connemara Is A Singular Region: Ill-defined Geographically, And Yet Unmistakably A Place Apart From The Rest Of Ireland. Tim Robinson, Who Established Himself As Ireland's Most Brilliant Living Non-fiction Writer With The Two-volume Stones Of Aran, Moved From Aran To Connemara Nearly Twenty Years Ago. This Book Is The Result Of His Extraordinary Engagement With The Mountains, Bogs And Shorelines Of The Region, And With Its Folklore And Its Often Terrible History: A Work As Beautiful And Surprising As The Place It Attempts To Describe. Chosen As A Book Of The Year By Iain Sinclair, Robert Macfarlane And Colm Tóibín 'one Of The Greatest Writers Of Lands ... No One Has Disentangled The Tales The Stones Of Ireland Have To Tell So Deftly And Retold Them So Beautifully' Fintan O'toole 'dazzling ... An Indubitable Classic' Giles Foden, Condé Nast Traveller 'he Is That Rarest Of Phenomena, A Scientist And An Artist, And His Method Is To Combine Scientific Rigour With Artistic Reverie In A Seamless Blend That Both Informs And Delights' John Banville 'one Of Contemporary Ireland's Finest Literary Stylists' Joseph O'connor, Guardian

"A heart-pounding, mind-bending adventure." —Ilyon WooA riveting biography of Alexander the Great's final years, when the leader's insatiable desire to conquer the world set him off on an exhilarating, harrowing journey that would define his legacy. By 330 B.C.E., Alexander the Great had reached the pinnacle of success. Or so it seemed. He had defeated the Persian ruler Darius III and seized the capital city of Persepolis. His exhausted and traumatized soldiers were ready to return home to Macedonia. Yet Alexander had other plans. He was determined to continue heading east to Afghanistan in search of his ultimate goal: to reach the end of the world.Alexander's unrelenting desire to press on resulted in a perilous seven-year journey through the unknown eastern borderlands of the Persian empire that would test the great conqueror's physical and mental limits. He faced challenges from the natural world, moving through deadly monsoons and extreme temperatures; from a rotating cast of well-matched adversaries, who conspired against him at every turn; and even from his own men, who questioned his motives and distrusted the very beliefs on which Alexander built his empire. This incredible sweep of time, culminating with his death in 323 BC at the age of 32, would come to determine Alexander's legacy and shape the empire he left behind.In Alexander at the End of the World, renowned classicist and art history professor Rachel Kousser vividly brings to life Alexander's labyrinthine, treacherous final years, weaving together a brilliant series of epic battles, stunning landscapes, and nearly insurmountable obstacles. Meticulously researched and grippingly written, Kousser's narrative is an unforgettable tale of daring and adventure, an inspiring portrait of grit and ambition, and a powerful meditation on the ability to learn from failure.

'A memorable, oddly beautiful book' Wall Street Journal 'A marvellous glimpse of the Japan that rarely peeks through the country's public image' Washington Post One sunny spring morning in the 1970s, an unlikely Englishman set out on a pilgrimage that would take him across the entire length of Japan. Travelling only along small back roads, Alan Booth travelled on foot from Soya, the country's northernmost tip, to Sata in the extreme south, traversing three islands and some 2,000 miles of rural Japan. His mission: 'to come to grips with the business of living here,' after having spent most of his adult life in Tokyo. The Roads to Sata is a wry, witty, inimitable account of that prodigious trek, vividly revealing the reality of life in off-the-tourist-track Japan. Journeying alongside Booth, we encounter the wide variety of people who inhabit the Japanese countryside - from fishermen and soldiers, to bar hostesses and school teachers, to hermits, drunks and the homeless. We glimpse vast stretches of coastline and rambling townscapes, mountains and motorways; watch baseball games and sunrises; sample trout and Kilamanjaro beer, hear folklore, poems and smutty jokes. Throughout, we enjoy the wit and insight of a uniquely perceptive guide, and more importantly, discover a new face of an often-misunderstood nation.