Book picks similar to
Thin White Line by Andy Cave
climbing
mountains
biography
non-fiction
In the Shadow of Denali: Life and Death on Alaska's Mt. McKinley
Jonathan Waterman - 1993
In his exhilarating and stunning narratives, Jonathan Waterman paints a startlingly intimate portrait of the white leviathan and brings to vivid life men and women whose fates have entwined on its sheer icy peak.Jonathan Waterman has forged an international reputation as an alpinist, adventurer, writer, and photographer. He has written or compiled six other books, including "Kayaking the Vermilion Sea, A Most Hostile Mountain, The Quotable Climber, " and "Surviving Denali."
Eating with Peter: A Gastronomic Journey
Susan Buckley - 2018
A man who was larger than life, Peter pulls Susan out of her comfort zone to taste the fine life, literally. Together they embark on a rollicking adventure through Michelin-starred restaurants in France to the souks of Morocco and the waters of the Red Sea and the Caribbean. They explore the world, and along the way discover the most desired tables (sometimes in a tent) and the best markets, moving from Peter's adventures with Hemingway to sampling delectable treasures in an Alpine meadow.When they return to New York, Susan and Peter—a writer, photographer, gourmand, as well as an inventive chef—incorporate their adventures into their daily American life. As they explore three-star restaurants, French farms, and Italian cheesemakers, the reader gets a taste of famous gastronomic dishes and their chefs, in addition to learning about mouth-watering recipes, culinary moments around the Buckley's kitchen and table with family and friends, and many of their New York food secrets.If much has been written about La Haute Cuisine in the past, nothing compares to the fresh, personal, and tantalizing tone Eating with Peter offers. All twenty-eight recipes in the book have thoroughly been tested, and should invite the reader to recreate the joys of Susan and Peter's experience.
Ocean Star: A Memoir
Christina Dimari - 2006
"Ocean Star" is the story of how God found her in the midst of an abusive childhood, became the loving parent she never had, and revealed himself in tangible ways through her amazing life journey. Filled with insightful symbolism, "Ocean Star" will help Christians and non-Christians find hope, humor, and healing in a powerful true story of a broken life made new.
A Man's Life: Dispatches from Dangerous Places
Mark Jenkins - 2007
His journeys are as intellectual and spiritual as they are physical, and we are by his side, in his head." So wrote Robin Russin for the LA Times about Mark Jenkins’s last book, The Hard Way.In A Man’s Life, Jenkins walks across northern Afghanistan, retracing the ancient route of Marco Polo; clandestinely enters northern Burma, slipping along the forgotten Burma Road; climbs a new route in Uganda’s Mountains of the Moon; bicycles across Lithuania with a long-lost friend; canoes through Surinam with the Maroons, descendants of escaped slaves. Described by critic Bill Berkeley as having a "Whitmanesque openness to experience," Jenkins’s desire to explore and understand the world has pushed him to extremes most of us cannot imagine—being arrested in a dozen different countries from Tibet to Tajikistan, breaking a dozen bones, climbing inside glaciers in Iceland, narrowly escaping falling glaciers on Mont Blanc. Through his willingness to put himself out there, Jenkins captures profound glimpses of our chaotic, contradictory, ever-morphing world.A Man’s Life shares how these experiences change Jenkins from a reckless young globetrotter to a mature, contemplative family man who seeks adventure because he viscerally must, and yet is constantly aware of the dangers of the world and its cool-faced indifference to one man’s life. Each departure from home could be permanent and each homecoming is layered with pathos—his latest journey might have cost him his daughter’s first steps or his wife’s birthday. The tales in A Man’s Life explore the razor’s edge between life and death, as well as the nature of love and friendship, failure and redemption. Together, they unite Jenkins’s stunning travels with his lucid contemplations on the meaning of it all.Praised by Richard Bernstein in The New York Times for being able to "[transform] a common sight into a moment of pure magic" and by Amanda Heller in the Boston Globe as "blessed with a rare combination of physical and intellectual grace … he makes us understand what pushes the man who pushes the envelope," Jenkins is one of the rare writers who channels action-packed adventure into lyrical, evocative storytelling.
The Long Hitch Home
Jamie Maslin - 2015
One end of the globe to the other. 800 hitchhiking rides. 18 thousand miles. Four seasons. Three continents. 19 countries.How many rides does it take to hitch from Tasmania to London? Rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin decides to find out, propelling him into a high stakes adventure of a lifetime that sees him tackle searing desert, freezing mountains, tropical jungle and barren steppes on little more than a thumb and a prayer.The Long Hitch Home is a dynamic mix of heart-thumping adventure and well-researched social, cultural, and historical commentary on the score of countries Maslin encountered during his arduous, and at times life threatening, journey home.Whether writing about exotic backstreets of cities few of us will get to see, or unique wonders far off the beaten track, Jamie Maslin gives a thrilling and often hilarious account of what it is like to hit the road and live with intensity and rapture.
We All Live In a Perry Groves World: My Story
Perry Groves - 2006
Perry Groves spent over a decade in the footballing spotlight. Sometimes he was at the top, often he was at the bottom and that's half the reason the fans loved him so much--and still do. This is the most truthful and hilarious book about professional football you will ever read. Perry Groves was the first signing by the legendary Arsenal manager George Graham, and that unmistakeable figure with his Tin-Tin haircut and cheeky grin was a player in one of the Gunners' greatest sides. Now he has decided to tell all about his rollercoaster years of booze binges, girl-chasing and gambling sprees. He's a nonstop fund of of hilarious anecdotes, recounting top-flight games played with a hangover, 125 mph motorway chases with international stars, visits to a brothel with an England World Cup hero and revealing how one drunken escapade ended with a group of internationals beting questioned over an attempted murder charge. This is a unique chance to find out what top-flight footballers really get up to off the field and how they behave when the dressing room door is closed.
Sundays Will Never Be the Same: Racing, Tragedy, and Redemption--My Life in America's Fastest Sport
Darrell Waltrip - 2012
died.THREE-TIME NASCAR CHAMPION DARRELL WALTRIP knew that big changes were in the wind on the morning of February 18, 2001. For the first time in his long and storied career, Darrell would be watching the race from the broadcast booth high above the track, explaining its complexities to a television audience of millions. His younger brother Michael Waltrip would be among the starting drivers. Michael, who had competed in 462 NASCAR races without a win, would be piloting one of two cars owned by legendary driver Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt would be racing too, as would Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 2000 runner-up for Rookie of the Year. Sundays Will Never Be the Same opens with a heart-stopping account of that dramatic race. By the time the sun set on that day, Michael Waltrip would have captured his first checkered flag in NASCAR’s biggest race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have placed second, and Dale Earnhardt, the sport’s brightest star, would have passed into eternity. The sudden death of Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 was a traumatic loss for the entire NASCAR family, and few were affected more deeply than Darrell Waltrip. During the course of their tumultuous thirty-year association, Dale and Darrell had been friends, then “frenemies,” and finally friends again. Darrell regales the reader with his earliest memories of the fiercely competitive kid from Kannapolis, and he describes the highs and lows of their relationship through the twin arcs of their overlapping careers. Along the way, Waltrip provides a fascinating history of racing in Daytona and offers glimpses of some of the sport’s most colorful characters, including Bill France, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, and Richard Petty. He weaves the story of his own unlikely journey from the small-town ovals and rural roads of Kentucky (where his talents were largely devoted to running from the cops) to the grandest tracks and richest purses in motor racing. With his customary candor, Darrell gives us an insider’s view of some of NASCAR’s greatest battles and most memorable moments. This is an epic that only a storyteller with Waltrip’s access and experience could write. Sundays Will Never Be the Same reaches its crescendo with a heart-wrenching insider account of that pivotal weekend in Daytona, including a poignant pre-race interview in which Dale rhapsodized about his family and his plans for the future. After the wreck, Waltrip takes us along on his frantic ride to the trauma center and into the waiting room, where Dale’s family and friends struggle to accept the unthinkable. Darrell recounts the weeks that followed: the shock and disbelief, the outpouring of grief from around the world, and the top-to-bottom safety changes NASCAR eventually made in what would become the most enduring tribute to Dale Earnhardt and his legacy.*** With touching nostalgia and his trademark wit, NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Darrell Waltrip recalls scenes from his remarkable life, vividly recounting memorable moments with some of the giants of the sport—such as this first encounter with the young man who would become his “frenemy,” NASCAR’s legendary superstar, Dale Earnhardt: One evening a bleary-eyed mustachioed young man wearing a dirty T-shirt and Hush Puppies wandered into the shop carrying a half-empty fifth of Jack Daniel’s. He regarded me silently for several minutes, taking an occasional pull from the bottle. Finally Robert introduced us. “This here’s Dale,” Robert said, in his Virginia twang. “He’s married to my daughter Brenda. You may have heard of his dad, Ralph. Dale’s a driver and a mechanic.” I walked over to Dale and stuck out my hand. “Darrell Waltrip,” I said. “Nice to meet you.” Dale drained the bottle and tossed it into a nearby barrel, where it landed with a clatter, then he wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “This your car?” he said.
Sweet Encore: A Road Trip from Paris to Portugal, via northern Spain (Tout Sweet Book 4)
Karen Wheeler - 2015
Her latest memoir – the long-awaited sequel to Tout Soul – features more tales from the French countryside and takes the reader on a 3000-kilometre road trip from Paris to Spain and Portugal. Accompanied by her sixteen-year-old niece and her charismatic black dog Biff, the author mingles with surfers in Biarritz, upsets religious pilgrims in Fatima and learns never to argue with a Spanish waiter. She also discovers Lisbon’s best-kept secret and how to ‘be like a bee’ in Madeira. Meanwhile, back in France, a new expat is behaving very badly indeed… Featuring a quirky cast of characters in the French countryside, Sweet Encore is sprinkled with anecdotes form the author’s previous life as a fashion editor – meeting Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in New York, incurring the wrath of a famous Italian fashion designer, and receiving an invitation to a private dinner with Madonna in Milan. So, pour yourself a glass of something chilled, sit back and enjoy a sparkling summer read.
A Son of the Game: A Story of Golf, Going Home, and Sharing Life's Lessons
James Dodson - 2009
But once there, the curative power of the sandhills region not only helps him find a new career working for the local paper but also reignites his flagging passion for the game of golf. And, perhaps more significantly, it inspires him to try to pass along to his teenage son the same sense of joy and contentment he has found in the game, and to recall the many colorful and lifelong friends he has met on the links. This wise memoir about finding new meaning through an old sport is filled with anecdotes about the history of the game and of Pinehurst, the home of American golf, where many larger-than-life legends played some of their greatest rounds. Dodson's bestselling memoir "Final Rounds" began in Pinehurst twenty-five years ago, and now "A Son of the Game" completes the circle as it follows his journey of discovery back to where his love of the game began a love that he hopes to make a family legacy."
At Home in the Woods: Living the Life of Thoreau Today
Bradford Angier - 1951
Brad was a journalist, and Vena, a dance director. One day they packed up all their belongings and set off for a remote spot in the woods of British Columbia. This is the story of their first year "living the life of Thoreau today"--simply, happily and successfully.
Safari: A Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer
Geoffrey Kent - 2015
Today, he is the co-owner of Abercrombie & Kent, a half-billion dollar international corporation that provides unique, stylish luxury travel to the planet’s wildest frontiers, for an exclusive clientele that includes Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Ralph Lauren, and DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.In his first book, this “Indiana Jones meets James Bond” entrepreneur who invented the cutting-edge travel industry tells his story—his life reads like a work of fiction, growing up barefoot in the African bush, riding his motorcycle across the continent, and ultimately becoming the most sought-after travel professional in the world. Safari: Memoir of a Worldwide Travel Pioneer is a breathtaking and exhilarating trip to some of the most exotic and stunning locations on earth. Beginning in Africa and ultimately spanning the globe, it is packed with sometimes harrowing and always entertaining memories from Kent’s life and career, revealing fascinating tales from his personal and ultra-exclusive celebrity clients. The book is also filled with insider travel tips and award-winning photography. In addition, Kent provides an inspiring bucket list of must-see sites, so that every class of voyager and even armchair travelers can experience the wonders of the world.From sophisticated cities to far-flung locales, Safari lets readers indulge their spirit of adventure, whisking them to the places of their dreams—and beyond through the lens of this larger-than-life action adventurer.
Loopers: A Caddie's Twenty-Year Golf Odyssey
John Dunn - 2013
The lifers - as in "caddies for life" - that plied the loops were an ensemble of misfits and degenerates that made the caddy yard look more like an OTB parlor than anything near a country club. But Dunn came of age in those yards and on those courses, and after an eye-opening experience caddying in Aspen during college the magnetism of the game and the lifestyle proved irresistible. One adventure after another kept him coming back summer after summer, until - out of college - he found himself migrating with the seasons, looping at some of the most exquisite and exclusive golf locations in the world; Sherwood, Augusta, Bandon Dunes, Shinnecock, and St. Andrews to name a few. Dunn criss-crossed the country on his own big loop; working inside the privet hedges while camping on the mountains; following the back roads and stumbling across unexpected moments of profound natural beauty; embracing the freedom of what he calls the last vagabond existence in America, all while trying to decide whether to quit the loop and get a real job. Maybe next season...
Sacred Fire My Journey Into Ashtanga Yoga
Kino MacGregor - 2012
The narrative explores the dynamic of the sacred teacher-student relationship in the spiritual tradition of India. By presenting the intensity of transformation achieved through yoga and spiritual practice through the eyes of an American woman many readers will easily identify with the narrator's personal dilemmas, issues, and accomplishments. Sacred Fire is a courageous, vulnerable, unflinchingly soul-searching account of the journey from a girl to a woman, a student to a teacher, and a seeker to devotee of love in all its forms. Anyone who has ever felt self-doubt, wished for grace, or dreamed of peace will find a compassionate friend and guide within.
Fighting Infertility: Finding My Inner Warrior Through Trying to Conceive, IVF, and Miscarriage
Samantha Busch - 2021
She shares both in this honest and relatable account where faith, family, love, and loss intersect. As Samantha’s and Kyle’s public lives grew more pronounced, their private life was being torn apart. The frustrations and uncertainty of their fertility problems took a toll on them as individuals and as a couple, creating a cyclone of emotions that threatened everything they had worked so hard for. Through these trials, they learned how to build a stronger relationship, foster a deeper faith, and find humor through the tears. They also discovered a passion for helping other couples gain access to fertility treatments. In this memoir, Samantha uses her voice to break the silence and stigma that surround the infertility community. She details her battle with infertility, including her IVF experience, her miscarriage, a failed cycle, and the overwhelming grief and depression that surrounded these obstacles. By sharing practical advice as well as candid and inspiring stories of her journey, she provides support, validation, community, and education for others experiencing similar tribulations. Fighting Infertility is an opportunity to feel understood, to gain strength through the struggle, and to ignite your inner warrior.
Blown Away
Herb Payson - 1980
Their globe-spanning travels and side-splitting adventures are recounted in Blown Away, a sort of Swiss Family Robinson by way of the Marx Brothers.
