Explorer & Adventurer Biographies

‘What a story and what an inspirational human. Ed is a total legend.’ Joe Wicks ‘A life-affirming story … inspirational’ Tim Peake The Sunday Times Bestseller Now a major motion picture – The Mountain Within Me. From tragedy to triumph, one step at a time – an inspirational story of triumph over adversity against the odds. At just 28 years...

In Cook's relatively short but adventurous life (1728-79), he voyaged to the eastern and western seaboards of North America, the North and South Pacific, and the Arctic and Antarctic, bringing about a new comprehension of the world's geography and its peoples. He was a linking figure between the grey speculation of the early 18th century and the industrial age of...

WINNER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY BOOK PRIZE A profound and ground-breaking new history of one of the most important encounters in the history of colonialism: the British arrival in India in the early seventeenth century. ‘A triumph of writing and scholarship. It is hard to imagine anyone ever bettering Das's account of this part of the story’ - William Dalrymple,...

He's climbed Everest not long after a heart bypass operation, he's run seven marathons on seven continents, he's hauled loaded sledges across both polar ice caps and he's circumnavigated the earth... Ran Fiennes truly is the world's greatest explorer, and this book celebrates his 80th birthday by showcasing his greatest achievements in his own words. Featuring interviews and tributes from...

On the night of October 6, 1998, in Laramie, Wyoming, Matthew Wayne Shepard (1976-1998) was brutally killed solely because he was gay. It was a shocking murder that was nationally covered in the media, and it became a rallying cry for the LGBTQ+ rights movement. In 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed...

A True Story Of Risk, Resilience and Survival After a life-changing neck injury left him paralysed, Ed Jackson defied the odds to walk again. Driven by a renewed perspective on life and determination to push his limits, Ed set out to climb Himlung Himal—a 7,126-metre peak deep in Nepal’s Himalayas. But as the climb unfolded, what began as a daring...

A charming book for little learners that's bursting with facts about inspiring explorers, adventurers, daredevils, and pioneers. An exciting introduction to the awesome adventures of the eager explorers, dynamic daredevils, imaginative inventors, and other pioneers who shaped the world. Take a dive into the great unknown and go on a daring journey across land, sea, and sky as you explore...

With the assistance of Garry’s partner, Angela Emslie, The Shannon Company has compiled a selection of papers, speeches, poems, and even a few songs penned by Garry Weaven over the course of his 40-year connection to the superannuation industry. Combined with a few photographs and some enlightening press clippings, this collection tells a story written, as it were, between the...

The incredible account of Sister Betty Jeffrey OAM and the Australian war nurses who survived the bombing of evacuation ship SS Vyner Brooke in February 1942, and subsequently spent three years in Japanese prison camps in Sumatra. During those perilous years surviving in squalid conditions, Sister Jeffrey kept a secret diary of day-to-day events which, after the war, was turned...

Fatherless, friendly 31yoF looking for intrepid M50s-70s who wants to try being a father figure (not sugar daddy). Never Had a Dad by Georgie Codd tells the story of a woman, Georgie, who never had a father. She never thought this would change until a stranger's practical joke sparked the idea that she might find one. Her quest for a...

At the age of 22, Brad, a notoriously outgoing and gregarious person, was celebrating a belated birthday present: a thrill-seeking tandem skydive. In what can only be described as a ‘freak accident’, Brad and his instructor’s parachute failed to open properly. Not once … but twice. The reserve chute got tangled in the first. With both parachutes failing, they circled...

The extraordinary life, loves and voyages of the man who put Australia on the map In 1810, Matthew Flinders made his final voyage home to his beloved wife, Ann, his body ravaged by the deprivations of years of imprisonment by the French. Four years later, at the age of just 40, he would be dead - a premature, tragic end...

An immersive memoir about a groundbreaking surfing career, and a stunning portrait of Ireland as one of the world’s most captivating big-wave surfing destinations. “A brilliant story” – Ray D’Arcy Born and raised in Bundoran, with the waves of the west coast of Ireland breaking at his doorstep, Richie Fitzgerald was moulded by his environment – from his initiation to...

The remarkable true story of an unrivalled journey to recreate the greatest run in film history: 15,621 miles, five-times across the United States. ‘Rob Pope has made his name revelling in challenges that range from the unconventional to the extraordinary.’ BBC News Becoming Forrest is the incredible story of Englishman Rob Pope, a veterinarian who left his job in pursuit...

Enter a world of ancient secrets, old money, new ambitions and the discovery of priceless treasure in this revelatory new biography. Between November 1922 and spring 1923, a door to the ancient Egyptian world was opened. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun would be the most astonishing archaeological find of the century, revealing not only the boy pharaoh’s preserved...

International bestseller Paolo Cognetti, author of The Eight Mountains, explores the quiet joys of not racing straight to the snowy peak. An awestruck love letter to one of the most spectacular places on earth, from the author of the international bestseller The Eight Mountains. Paolo Cognetti marked his 40th birthday with a journey he had always wanted to make—to Dolpo,...

Lemmy’s name was synonymous with notorious excess. His blood would have killed another human being. This is the up-to-date story of the heaviest drinking, oversexed speedfreak in the music business who tragically passed away earlier this year. Lemmy had quickly outgrown his local bands in Wales, and tripped through his early career with the Rocking Vicars, backstage touring with Jimi...

The Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) is one of the most famous navigators in history. He was the first man to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and led the first voyage to circumnavigate the globe, although he was killed en route in a battle in the Philippines. In this biography, Stefan Zweig brings to life the Age...

From Eric Blehm, the bestselling author of The Last Season and Fearless, comes an extraordinary new book in the vein of Into the Wild, the story of the legendary snowboarder Craig Kelly and his death in the 2003 Durrand Glacier Avalanche—a devastating and controversial tragedy that claimed the lives of seven people. On January 20, 2003, a thunderous crack rang...

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable – the story of a 23-year-old tradie who put his body ‘through hell and back 10 times’ to prove that anything is possible when you break past your own barriers. Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2024 Showing Up by Nedd Brockmann chronicles a journey of ambition and resilience. Fresh after running fifty marathons in...

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2023 ‘Grippingly vivid and pacey’ THE TIMES ‘A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing’ - SIMON WINCHESTER 'An astonishing almost day-by-day account of [a] hazardous journey and its legacy’ - TELEGRAPH ‘This is a story of an epic childhood journey, so exciting...

Sir David Attenborough: A Treasure Trove by Summersdale Publishers is a stunning gift book that celebrates our most beloved broadcaster, biologist, and environmentalist. Packed to the brim with facts, trivia questions, and a selection of his most insightful and inspiring quotes, this book is a treasure for any enthusiast. Sir David Attenborough has spent a lifetime inspiring, educating, and delighting...

In this rich and stylish description by New Zealand scholar Salmond, Cook's voyages take on a peculiar, dreamlike quality. Salmond's claim is that Cook was far more affected by his exposure to the Polynesian world than historians have thought. The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas is fascinating as an incomparable travelogue filled with amazing...

Discover the extraordinary history and thrilling frontiers of exploration with this gorgeously illustrated guide from The Explorers Club, the esteemed home of the world's most prominent explorers. The discovery of the North and South Poles, the summiting of Everest, the moon landing, and the (largely unknown) birth of climate change science are just some of the stories from The Explorers...

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘The creature’s teeth were buried in the gunwale, and it lifted the whole thing out of the water like a lion can a roebuck…’ Scientist Pierre Aronnax, together with his faithful servant Conseil and the whaler Ned Land, is invited to join a hazardous voyage to the Pacific Ocean...

The atlas of 1816 was a document riddled with uncertainties and white spaces, symbolising the vast unknowns of the world. What was the nature of the North Pole? Did a North-West Passage exist? What lay at the uncharted heart of Africa? And was Antarctica a myth or reality? Driven by these pressing questions, John Barrow, the Second Secretary to the...

An extraordinary true tale of love, shipwreck, and survival, beautifully told. Maurice and Maralyn's escape from 1970s England and its oil crisis, strikes, and inflation is also a story for our times. A Guardian, Observer & Waterstones Nonfiction Book of 2024 A Financial Times BEST SUMMER READ 'One of those very special books that makes you put everything on hold...