When life seems too hard, and I want to snivel like the mope that I am, I buck myself up with thoughts of Meriwether Lewis and Ernest Shackleton. That’s right, these two legendary explorers and survivors of expedition-related disaster have been my inspiration, and can be yours, too! You must, however, commit to a rigorous discipline of classic survival nonfiction reading. Obviously, your first stops will be:
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose
and The Endurance: Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic expedition by Caroline Alexander
For more tough-as-nails stories of courage and perseverance, try:
I loved Kon-Tiki. I read it when I was in high school & wanted my own adventure like that. I haven’t built a raft of my own to put on the ocean but I have had my share of adventures and like to think books and stories like this inspired me to venture forth into the world. Thanks for some recommendations that I have not read.