Showing titles in Adventurers, Explorers & Survival

Why do two continents bear Amerigo Vespucci's name instead of Columbus's, despite Columbus reaching the New World first? Stefan Zweig solved this historical mystery in his 1942 final work through archival detective work. The answer: A German cartographer named Martin Waldseemüller, working in 1507, read an account claiming Vespucci reached the mainland before Columbus. Based on this likely forged document, Waldseemüller labeled the continents "America." The name spread across Europe in thousands of copies before the error was recognized—by then, too late to correct.

In 2024, a gay youth leader was jailed for 22 years. One of his victims tells why it took him two decades to call the police. In 1996, at the age of fourteen, Richard Hall met a man who changed his life. Two and half decades later, he called the police. As a result, the man was jailed for twenty-two years. This is the story of what came before the police: how a teenage boy who had been hounded at school because he was gay walked into a world where he thought he would be safe, but he was too inexperienced to navigate. In his naïvety, he thought what happened next was normal.

“I was riveted by this searing ode to the resiliency of the human psyche, rich in beauty and devastation.”—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood An unflinching and stunning debut memoir of an Iranian girl’s coming-of-age experiencing abuse, war, and superstition—and her survival through...

This story of a real-life Indiana Jones of the 1950s named John Keel contains everything but a trip to Venus in a flying saucer - a subject our newsman/explorer would become famous for a decade later. In Egypt, the fearless Keel was cursed by a mummy and befriended members of a strange snake-charming cult. In Iraq, he played Russian roulette with a notorious desert bandit and lived among the Yezidi devil-worshippers. Later, in India, he was buried alive and discovered the secret of the Indian rope trick, which he then performed for incredulous reporters in New Delhi.

An epic memoir from a man whose life is defined by exploration and innovation, The Sky Below re-creates some of the most unforgettable adventures of our time. From dramatic, high-risk spacewalks to author Scott Parazynski's death-defying quest to summit Mount Everest - his body ravaged by a career in space - listeners will experience the life of an elite athlete, physician, and explorer.

Two Parents, One Child, No Love is the unflinching true story of a boy forced to raise himself in a home that never wanted him—and the man he chose to become. Mark Anthony invites you into the shadows of his childhood: a father who saw parenting as duty, not love; a stepmother whose cruelty was masked by civility; and a mother who visited once a month, just long enough to be a stranger. This memoir is not a cry for sympathy—it’s a testimony of survival, self-definition, and the defiant act of breaking the cycle.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly, the crusading young female reporter for Joseph Pulitzer’s World newspaper, left New York City by steamship on a quest to break the record for the fastest trip around the world. Also departing from New York that day—and heading in the...

In 1935, Fred A. Birchmore left the small American town of Athens, Georgia, to continue his college studies in Europe. In his spare time, Birchmore toured the continent on a one-speed bike he called Bucephalus (after the name of Alexander the Great's horse). A born wanderer, Birchmore broadened his travels to include the British Isles and even the Mediterranean. After a lengthy, unplanned detour in Egypt, Birchmore put his studies on hold, pointed Bucephalus eastward, and just kept going. 

Now a major Netflix film co-written by and starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) The harrowing, amazing, and often amusing personal account of two mismatched Arctic explorers who banded together to keep themselves sane on an historic expedition gone horribly wrong Ejnar Mikkelsen was...

In early 2003, a young Wall Street investment banker named Bo Parfet set out to accomplish something very few had done before - climbing the highest mountain on every continent. He was not a professional climber, but what began as a casual interest would soon become a lifelong passion and in just over four years, Bo would overcome the odds and conquer all of the mountains - Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Vinson Massif, Elbrus, Carstenz Pyramid, Kosciusko, and Everest - with courage, unbridled passion, and determination.

Mouth artist, motivational speaker and author of the inspirational memoir The Little Big Things, Henry Fraser explores the transformative power of acceptance in this motivational guide. Combining his wisdom and insight, Henry shows you that the key to keeping a positive attitude - in the face of difficult and unexpected challenges - is to accept that seemingly negative experiences, such as failures, disappointments, mistakes and misfortunes, are actually the ultimate markers of human success. 

A powerful memoir of overcoming adversity that will inspire you to find strength from within and shape your own destiny.Bharti Dhir faced many challenges in her childhood that could have broken her.As a baby, she was abandoned at a roadside in the Ugandan heat, and miraculously found by a...

Raised in chaos and violence, I carried my wounds into early motherhood, young, overwhelmed, and repeating the very patterns I swore I’d never pass on. I screamed. I hit. I walked away when they needed me most. And eventually, I gave up custody of the children I loved more than anything. This is not a redemption story with a neat bow. It’s a raw, unflinching memoir about what it takes to break generational cycles from the inside out. About failing -deeply- and still choosing to come back. About learning how to parent with intention after years of surviving on instinct.

In the summer of 1942, the Rabinowitz family narrowly escaped the Nazi ghetto in their Polish town by fleeing to the forbidding Bialowieza Forest. They miraculously survived two years in the woods—through brutal winters, Typhus outbreaks, and merciless Nazi raids—until they were liberated by the Red Army in 1944. After the war, they trekked across the Alps into Italy, where they settled as refugees before eventually immigrating to the United States. 

The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot chronicles another thrilling chapter in American aviation history: the race to break the sound barrier. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States accelerated the development of technologies that would give it an advantage over the...

Ask almost anyone their view on Aleister Crowley and opinions will polarize: he was a genius; a psychopath; a drug-riddled sex maniac; a champion of sexual freedom against the restrictions of Victorian prudery and hypocrisy; he was a secret agent; a lost-soul poet; a playboy with little better to do than dabble in magic; a lifestyle imitator of Oscar Wilde and Richard Burton; a drug addict; a narcissistic sadist; a visionary artist.

Marathon Man is an uplifting story of an extraordinary achievement - all the more inspiring given that the author was an inexperienced long-distance runner and only 20 when embarking on his mission to run 35 marathons in 35 consecutive days.

David Livingstone was one of the most consequential individuals who lived in the 19th century. An unpretentious Scottish missionary doctor, explorer, and abolitionist, he opened the door for Christianity in southern Africa. He was a man who overcame many deprivations and discouragements, and displayed the utmost measure of courage, self-control, faith, wisdom, and ingenuity. Christie takes a balanced look at Livingstone’s amazing achievements, but also at his very real flaws. This gripping and in-depth biography is a must-listen insight into a fascinating man.

Storms, fatigue, equipment failure, intense hunger and lack of water are just a few of the challenges that ocean rower Mick Dawson endured whilst attempting to complete one of the world's 'Last Great Firsts'. In this nail-biting true story of man versus nature, former Royal Marine commando Dawson, a Guinness World Record holder for ocean rowing and high-seas adventurer, takes on the Atlantic and ultimately the North Pacific.

*Now a major international TV series starring Rachel Griffiths and Martin Henderson* A poignant and darkly comedic memoir from a mother who opened an ethical escort agency in small town New Zealand – the only country in the world where sex work is fully legalised – and dared to make a...