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Inside this book, you'll find stories of 50 extraordinary people such as:Evel Knievel, who jumped his motorcycle over 14 Greyhound…
busesThe Iceman, the most well-preserved human, found in the ice after 5,300 yearsSam Patch, who jumped Niagara Falls for $75Helen Thayer, who walked to the North Pole aloneRoy Sullivan, who was struck by lightning 7 timesThese intriguing facts and hundreds more await curious readers, amateur historians, and anyone who aspires to the altogether extraordinary!Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
By Mike Massimino. 2016
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NASA astronaut Mike Massimino shares incredible true stories from space—a rare, wonderful world where science…
meets the most thrilling adventure. &“Mike is a spaceman through and through; he tells how hard work can take you out of this world.&”—Bill Nye the Science Guy Have you ever wondered what it would be like to find yourself strapped to a giant rocket that&’s about to go from zero to 17,500 miles per hour? Or to look back on Earth from outer space and see the surprisingly precise line between day and night? Or to stand in front of the Hubble Space Telescope, wondering if the emergency repair you&’re about to make will inadvertently ruin humankind&’s chance to unlock the universe&’s secrets? Mike Massimino has been there, and in Spaceman he puts you inside the suit, with all the zip and buoyancy of life in microgravity.Massimino&’s childhood space dreams were born the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Growing up in a working-class Long Island family, he catapulted himself to Columbia and then MIT, only to flunk his first doctoral exam and be rejected three times by NASA before making it through the final round of astronaut selection.Taking us through the surreal wonder and beauty of his first spacewalk, the tragedy of losing friends in the Columbia shuttle accident, and the development of his enduring love for the Hubble Telescope—which he and his fellow astronauts were tasked with saving on his final mission—Massimino has written an ode to never giving up, revealing just what having &“the right stuff&” really means.#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The epic account of the storm on the summit of Mt. Everest that claimed five lives…
and left countless more—including Krakauer's—in guilt-ridden disarray. "A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment and of heartbreaking heroism." —PEOPLE A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself. This updated trade paperback edition of Into Thin Air includes an extensive new postscript that sheds fascinating light on the acrimonious debate that flared between Krakauer and Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev in the wake of the tragedy. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in the postscript, dated August 1999. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I. In 1999, Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters--a prestigious prize intended "to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment." According to the Academy's citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer. His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the birth of the American dream
By Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler. 2006
A chronicle of explorer John Smith (1580-1631), who founded and led the Jamestown colony from 1607-1609. Uses Smith's writings, colonists'…
diaries, and archives to trace his adventures, including his arrival in the New World facing possible execution, and to demythologize his relationship with Pocahontas and portray wilderness life. 2006Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (P. S. Series)
By Piers Paul Read. 1974
The #1 New York Times bestseller and the true story behind the film: A rugby team resorts to the unthinkable…
after a plane crash in the Andes . Spirits were high when the Fairchild F-227 took off from Mendoza, Argentina, and headed for Santiago, Chile. On board were forty-five people, including an amateur rugby team from Uruguay and their friends and family. The skies were clear that Friday, October 13, 1972, and at 3:30 p.m., the Fairchild's pilot reported their altitude at 15,000 feet. But one minute later, the Santiago control tower lost all contact with the aircraft. For eight days, Chileans, Uruguayans, and Argentinians searched for it, but snowfall in the Andes had been heavy, and the odds of locating any wreckage were slim. Ten weeks later, a Chilean peasant in a remote valley noticed two haggard men desperately gesticulating to him from across a river. He threw them a pen and paper, and the note they tossed back read: "I come from a plane that fell in the mountains . . ." Sixteen of the original forty-five passengers on the F-227 survived its horrific crash. In the remote glacial wilderness, they camped in the plane's fuselage, where they faced freezing temperatures, life-threatening injuries, an avalanche, and imminent starvation. As their meager food supplies ran out, and after they heard on a patched-together radio that the search parties had been called off, it seemed like all hope was lost. To save their own lives, these men and women not only had to keep their faith, they had to make an impossible decision: Should they eat the flesh of their dead friends? A remarkable story of endurance and determination, friendship and the human spirit, Alive is the dramatic bestselling account of one of the most harrowing quests for survival in modern times.The Boiling River: Adventure and Discovery in the Amazon (TED Books)
By Andrés Ruzo. 2016
In this exciting adventure mixed with amazing scientific study, a young, exuberant explorer and geoscientist journeys deep into the Amazon--where…
rivers boil and legends come to life. When Andrés Ruzo was just a small boy in Peru, his grandfather told him the story of a mysterious legend: There is a river, deep in the Amazon, which boils as if a fire burns below it. Twelve years later, Ruzo--now a geoscientist--hears his aunt mention that she herself had visited this strange river. Determined to discover if the boiling river is real, Ruzo sets out on a journey deep into the Amazon. What he finds astounds him: In this long, wide, and winding river, the waters run so hot that locals brew tea in them; small animals that fall in are instantly cooked. As he studies the river, Ruzo faces challenges more complex than he had ever imaged. The Boiling River follows this young explorer as he navigates a tangle of competing interests--local shamans, illegal cattle farmers and loggers, and oil companies. This true account reads like a modern-day adventure, complete with extraordinary characters, captivating plot twists, and jaw-dropping details--including stunning photographs and a never-before-published account about this incredible natural wonder. Ultimately, though, The Boiling River is about a man trying to understand the moral obligation that comes with scientific discovery --to protect a sacred site from misuse, neglect, and even from his own discovery.Columbus: his enterprise : exploding the myth
By Hans Koning. 1991
Koning debunks the legend of Columbus as a brave sailor who set out to find a new route to Asia…
and instead discovered America. The author looks at the explorer's life, from his childhood in Genoa through his four voyages, and describes how Columbus's desire to find a new route to Asia and to bring back gold to Spain led to the plundering of Native AmericansThe remarkable voyages of Captain Cook
By Rhoda Blumberg. 1991
In 1768 James Cook, a self-educated ship's master, was selected by Britain's Royal Society to command an expedition to the…
South Seas in search of the Unknown Southern Continent. The author presents a thorough and lively account of Cook's three voyages and his discoveries. Drawing on Cook's own notebooks, Blumberg applauds Cook's achievements while acknowledging his frailties. Junior High. c1991.Winterdance: the fine madness of running the Iditarod
By Gary Paulsen. 1994
Recounts the author's survival adventure: running the 1,180-mile Iditarod dogsled race across the Arctic wilderness. Enduring frostbite, sleeplessness, moose attacks,…
and countless trail hazards, he finishes the race eager to run another. 1994.John Wesley Powell: explorer of the Grand Canyon (Historical American biographies)
By Roger Bruns. 1997
Briefly describes Powell's early years, marriage, and Civil War service, followed by a more detailed portrait of his life as…
an explorer. Recalls his contributions as an adventurer, conservationist, geologist, and anthropologist. Junior High. c1997.Shipwreck at the bottom of the world: the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance
By Jennifer Armstrong. 1998
An account of the survival of a twenty-eight man crew whose ship for a 1914 expedition to Antarctica was marooned…
in pack ice. Explains the daily difficulties the men faced during their nine-month ordeal and Captain Ernest Shackleton's bravery to effect their rescue. For grades 5-8Jolliet and Marquette: explorers of the Mississippi River (Explorers of new worlds)
By Daniel E Harmon. 2002
Describes the travels of French explorers Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, and Louis Jolliet, a trader, who sailed down the…
Mississippi River in 1673 hoping to find a westward route across America. Grades 5-8. 2002.Witch-hunt: mysteries of the Salem witch trials
By Marc Aronson, Stephanie Anderson. 2003
Explores the history behind the 1692 trials in Salem, Massachusetts, that a group of teenage Puritan girls brought on by…
accusing others of witchcraft. Quotations from primary sources help the reader interpret motives behind the accusations that led to twenty-five people being hanged. For senior high readers. 2003Grizzly maze: Timothy Treadwell's fatal obsession with Alaskan bears
By Nick Jans. 2005
Wilderness writer examines the life and death of Timothy Treadwell, an avid defender of grizzly bears. Describes the fatal mauling…
of Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard by grizzlies in Alaska's Katmai National Park in 2003. Discusses Treadwell's background and his attraction to the dangers of bear-watching. 2005Lewis and Clark in Missouri
By Ann Rogers. 2002
Lewis and Clark, spent five months in the St. Louis area preparing for the expedition that would go up the…
Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean. It took them ten weeks to cross the six hundred miles of the Louisiana Purchase that was the future state of Missouri. This book covers that part of their journeyAmelia lost: the life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart
By Candace Fleming. 2011
Biography of pilot Amelia Earhart offers an account of her attempt to circumnavigate the globe - a journey that ended…
when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in July 1937. Discusses Earhart’s adventurous nature, the difficulties of long-distance flight, and the lack of navigational equipment aboard her plane. For grades 4-7. 2011.Wolf: the lives of Jack London
By James L. Haley. 2011
Biography of adventurer Jack London (1876-1916), author of The Call of the Wild (DB 49486). Chronicles London's impoverished childhood as…
the illegitimate son of a spiritualist medium in San Francisco, his menial jobs and itinerant life, turn to socialism, and literary success. Spur Award. 2010Soul Fuel for Young Explorers
By Bear Grylls. 2004
TV star, former SAS soldier, Guinness World Record holder, author and the first ever Chief Ambassador to World Scouting, Bear…
Grylls is an inspiration for youngsters who want to make the most of life's adventures. In his recent bestseller Soul Fuel Bear revealed for the first time the inspiration that helps him to stand strong and find peace each day. Now Soul Fuel for Young Explorers takes his message and inspires children and young people to find courage and confidence in this source too.Bear offers seventy reflections along with stories from his own life -- brilliantly illustrated by Patrick Laurent -- making it a vibrant and engaging devotional for young readers. 'Faith doesn't mean you have to be especially "religious". But, in a nutshell, my faith tells me that I am known, that I am secure and that I am loved - regardless of the storms I may find myself in from time to time, regardless of how often I fall and fail.'- Bear GryllsThe Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd (Adventure Ser.)
By Richard Zacks. 2002
Everybody knows the legend of Captain Kidd, America's most ruthless buccanneer. Few people realize that the facts of his life…
make for a much better tale. Kidd was actually a tough New York sea captain hired to chase pirates, a married war hero whose secret mission took a spectacularly bad turn.This harrowing tale traces Kidd's voyages in the 1690s from his home near Wall Street to Whitehall Palace in London, from the ports of the Caribbean to a secret pirate paradise off Madagascar. Author Richard Zacks, during his research, also unearthed the story of a long forgotten rogue named Robert Culliford, who dogged Kidd and led Kidd's crew to mutiny not once but twice. The lives of Kidd and Culliford play out like an unscripted duel: one man would hang in the harbor, the other would walk away with the treasure. Filled with superb writing and impeccable research, The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a ripping good yarn, and it delivers something rare: an authentic pirate story for grown-ups.Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic
By Jennifer Niven. 2003
from the bookjacket "Ada Blackjack was an unlikely heroan unskilled 23-year-old Inuit woman with no knowledge of the world outside…
Nome, Alaska. Divorced, impoverished, and despondent, she had one focus in her lifeto care for her sickly young son. In September 1921, in search of money and a husband, she signed on as seamstress for a top-secret expedition into the unknown Arctic. It was controversial explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson who sent four young men and Ada Blackjack into the far North to colonize desolate, uninhabited Wrangel Island. Only two of the men had set foot in the Arctic before. They took with them six months' worth of supplies on Stefansson's theory that this would be enough to sustain them for a year while they lived off the land itself. But as winter set in, they were struck by hardship and tragedy. As months went by and they began to starve, they were forced to ration their few remaining provisions. When three of the men made a desperate attempt to seek help, Ada was left to care for the fourth, who was too sick to travel. Soon after, she found herself totally alone. Upon Ada's miraculous return after two years on the island, the international press heralded her as the female Robinson Crusoe. Journalists hunted her down, but she refused to talk to anyone about her harrowing experiences. Only on one occasionafter being accused of a horrible crime she did not commitdid she speak up for herself. All the while, she was tricked and exploited by those who should have been her champions."