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- Sep 7, 2006
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Hey,
I'm a big fan of survival stories and collect books about this endlessly fascinating subject. These are the best ones I have come across in my years of reading so far:
1) Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston. Aron took a lot of heat for the pickle he got himself into, and other reckless shit he has pulled in his life, but hey, he paid a pretty high price. He almost paid the ultimate price, but through sheer guts and determination he survived. I totally recommend this book to any survival student. The dude was totally unprepared for what hit him, but he made it out alive anyway because he refused to just lay down and die.
2) Adrift, Steven Callahan. Probably the most incredible survival story of all time. Callahan survived 67 days adrift at sea in a life raft, on his own. His boat was hit by a whale (he thinks) and went down. He managed to get out with just the most basic gear (his main survival kit went down with the boat). What he did to survive is beyond incredible. He is a hero in my eyes and he writes damn well to boot.
3) Alive, Piers Paul Reid. The story of the Uruguayan rugby team who's plane crashed in the Andes. These poor chaps were infamous because they survived by resorting to cannibalism. Its an incredible story a) because they survived a plane crash in an extremely hostile place and b) because two of these dudes WALKED out of the Andes after being stranded there for three weeks and having eaten nothing but dried human flesh. Its hard not to believe there wasn't divine intervention at work here.
4) Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzales. Gonzales goes deep into how people react when the SHTF and why some go to pieces and others don't. Some of it is pretty hard to grasp but its very well written and he really makes you think.
5) Touching the Void, Joe Simpson. Mountain climbers are nuts if you ask me. Read this book and you will agree wholeheartedly. The fact that Joe Simpson is still alive and breathing is nothing short of a stone miracle.
6) Brave Two Zero, Andy McNab. There are lots of great war survival stories, but this is a modern classic. The One That Got Away is also well worth a read.
7) Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden. Forget the movie, the book is way more exciting and gives you way more detail of what these boys went through. Shughart and Gordon are on my heroes wall for sure.
8) We Were Soldiers Once... and Young, Gen Harold Moore and Joe Galloway. Damn, talk about starting your war with a bang. These fellows had one of the most intense encounters of the Vietnam war at the Battle of Ia Drang when they suddenly found themselves facing an entire division of hardened VC, in an area that was supposed to be free of troops. That's like, 2,000 VC (against 450 US soldiers). They were surrounded but fought the VC to a standstill. Amazing stuff, and I challenge anyone to have a dry eye at the end of it.
There are many others, but these will really stay with you, long after finishing them.
Mark
I'm a big fan of survival stories and collect books about this endlessly fascinating subject. These are the best ones I have come across in my years of reading so far:
1) Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston. Aron took a lot of heat for the pickle he got himself into, and other reckless shit he has pulled in his life, but hey, he paid a pretty high price. He almost paid the ultimate price, but through sheer guts and determination he survived. I totally recommend this book to any survival student. The dude was totally unprepared for what hit him, but he made it out alive anyway because he refused to just lay down and die.
2) Adrift, Steven Callahan. Probably the most incredible survival story of all time. Callahan survived 67 days adrift at sea in a life raft, on his own. His boat was hit by a whale (he thinks) and went down. He managed to get out with just the most basic gear (his main survival kit went down with the boat). What he did to survive is beyond incredible. He is a hero in my eyes and he writes damn well to boot.
3) Alive, Piers Paul Reid. The story of the Uruguayan rugby team who's plane crashed in the Andes. These poor chaps were infamous because they survived by resorting to cannibalism. Its an incredible story a) because they survived a plane crash in an extremely hostile place and b) because two of these dudes WALKED out of the Andes after being stranded there for three weeks and having eaten nothing but dried human flesh. Its hard not to believe there wasn't divine intervention at work here.
4) Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzales. Gonzales goes deep into how people react when the SHTF and why some go to pieces and others don't. Some of it is pretty hard to grasp but its very well written and he really makes you think.
5) Touching the Void, Joe Simpson. Mountain climbers are nuts if you ask me. Read this book and you will agree wholeheartedly. The fact that Joe Simpson is still alive and breathing is nothing short of a stone miracle.
6) Brave Two Zero, Andy McNab. There are lots of great war survival stories, but this is a modern classic. The One That Got Away is also well worth a read.
7) Black Hawk Down, Mark Bowden. Forget the movie, the book is way more exciting and gives you way more detail of what these boys went through. Shughart and Gordon are on my heroes wall for sure.
8) We Were Soldiers Once... and Young, Gen Harold Moore and Joe Galloway. Damn, talk about starting your war with a bang. These fellows had one of the most intense encounters of the Vietnam war at the Battle of Ia Drang when they suddenly found themselves facing an entire division of hardened VC, in an area that was supposed to be free of troops. That's like, 2,000 VC (against 450 US soldiers). They were surrounded but fought the VC to a standstill. Amazing stuff, and I challenge anyone to have a dry eye at the end of it.
There are many others, but these will really stay with you, long after finishing them.
Mark
