Best of
Adventure

1936

The Mutiny on the Bounty Trilogy


Charles Bernard Nordhoff - 1936
    The storytelling genius of the authors finds here a canvas filled with color, action and adventure. Readers will realize, as did the authors, that so large a drama could not be confined to the compass of an ordinary book. Nordoff and Hall chose to tell the story of the Bounty in three acts: Mutiny on the Bounty Men Against the Sea Pitcairn's Island In The Mutiny on the Bounty Trilogy these three books have been united in a single volume to form the complete work that the authors had in mind.

Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party


George R. Stewart - 1936
    Stewart's history of the Donner Party is “compulsive reading ??—?? a wonderful account, both scholarly and gripping, of horrifying episode in the history of the west" (Pulitzer Prize-winner Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.)The tragedy of the Donner party constitutes one of the most amazing stories of the American West. In 1846 eighty-seven people ??—?? men, women, and children ??—?? set out for California, persuaded to attempt a new overland route. After struggling across the desert, losing many oxen, and nearly dying of thirst, they reached the very summit of the Sierras, only to be trapped by blinding snow and bitter storms. Many perished; some survived by resorting to cannibalism; all were subjected to unbearable suffering. Incorporating the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George R. Stewart wrote the definitive history of that ill-fated band of pioneers. Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party is an astonishing account of what human beings may endure and achieve in the final press of circumstance.

News From Tartary


Peter Fleming - 1936
    It was a 3500 mile journey across the roof of the world. He chose as his traveling companion Ella Maillart, a beautiful Swiss journalist. Fleming is one to underemphasize difficulties. He describes events and places in brilliant color and detail, also with great wit and humor. His story of the journey, a seven month odyssey through desert and upland, virtually uncharted, has become a classic of travel literature since its publication in 1936. "No writer has given a keener picture of unchanging Tartary than has Fleming, and his description of Sinkiang reveals the last home of international intrigue, politics, violence and melodrama, where all foreigners are suspects and none welcome."

A Pony for Jean


Joanna Cannan - 1936
    Not to worry though, as it seems they're going to live in a lovely little cottage, and Jean is assured she can have chickens. And perhaps even a new puppy... Jean has never been to the country before, and is fairly sure she isn't going to like it. But she soon learns that the country is full of fun and adventures, and much more exciting than boring old London. Sadly her newly-discovered cousins are a bit haughty though, as well as pony-mad, and Jean wishes she could join in. But then a wonderful opportunity to do so arrives in the form of a pony named 'The Toastrack' (so-called due to his poor ribs sticking out so much) and Jean is told she can have him! The cousins are mean, and say a knacker's horse like that won't ever come to anything, but Jean and the quickly-renamed Cavalier know they can prove them wrong. Gymkhana glory is only a few jumps away!

Old Soldier Sahib


Frank Richards - 1936
    Here, in the author's own words, is the story of his life as a British soldier in India during the first decade of the twentieth century.

The Blue Cup


Arkady Gaydar - 1936
    The Blue Cup is a 1936 Russian language short story.

The Cattle King


Ion L. Idriess - 1936
    At the age of 13 Sidney Kidman ran away from home with only five shillings in his pocket. He went on to become a horse dealer, drover, cattle buyer and bush jockey and he also ran a coach business. Above all, Kidman created a mighty cattle empire of more than a hundred stations, fighting droughts, bushfires, floods and plagues of vermin to do so. His enterprise and courage won him a huge fortune and made him a legend.