A very old list (2004 was like centuries ago!) from National Geographic Adventure (which exists, near as I can tell, to stick it to Outside) profiles the top 100 adventure books. A few I liked:
7. Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey (1968) Abbey is our very own desert father, a hermit loading up on silence and austerity and the radical beauty of empty places. Early on he spent summers working as a ranger at Utah’s Arches National Monument, and those summers were the source for this book of reverence for the wild—and outrage over its destruction. But really his whole life was an adventure and a protest against all the masks of progress. He wanted to recapture life on the outside—bare-boned, contemptuous of what we call civilization—and to do it without flinching. He helped ignite the environmental movement, teaching his followers to save the world by leaving it absolutely alone.
Simon and Schuster, 1990.
Have to read that one sometime. His Monkey Wrench Gang was great fun.
13. Roughing It, by Mark Twain (1872) Twain lit out for the territory when the Civil War started and knocked around the West for six years. Roughing It is the record of that time, a great comic bonanza, hilarious when it isn’t simply funny, full of the most outrageous characters and events. It is not an adventure book, it is an anti-adventure book, but no less indispensable.
Penguin, 2000.
More great reads, which, come to think of it, would take time away from your essential blog-reading responsibilities. When will I ever learn?
“Monkey Wrench Gang” was “fun,” as you put it, especially if you were already a bit familiar with Abbey’s unusual sense of humor.
“Desert Solitaire” is in a completely different category, written a much younger ago and in very different circumstances. It is, in my view, a much better book and very much worth reading. Twice. Or more.
Dan
I would add to the list My Side of the Mountain.
“Roughing It” is a gem. I read it while living abroad, and Twain’s description of trekking into the heavily-forested and utterly deserted Lake Tahoe basin made me ache to be back in the Sierras.
I enjoyed Bill Bryon’s recounting of his AT adeventure in “A Walk in the Woods.” And on last summer’s backpack trip I sped through “Into Thin Air;” not great literature, but it’ll keep you turning the pages.
Hmmmm, wonder why Gambolin’ Man’s B. Traven wannabe adventure narrative never made the list, “Diary of Acapulco Slim” (self, 1975, 186 pp.)
Late response here. I just finished “The Last Season” by Eric Blehm. This is the story of Randy Morgensen, and veteran back country ranger who went missing while on duty in a remote section of King’s Canyon. It’s a great read even though it has a sad ending.
I have been recently been keenly interested in books by Terry Grosz. He is a retired US Fish and Game officer who rose up through the ranks over his career. A graduate of Humboldt State, he began working for the state of California, and later the Fed. His books are collections of true stories of his exploits in protecting all manor of wildlife from all manor of threats. Some of his stories are quite riveting, many are funny, and many are ultimately tragic. If you love wildlife you will definitely admire this man’s commitment and passion. My favorite one is his first, called “Wildlife Wars”.