Points Unknown

Book excerpt: Stories of courage, endurance, and passion that define adventure. From Robert Falcon Scott's final journal entry to Jon Krakauer's reckless solo climb of the Devil's Thumb to Tom Wolfe's brilliant portrayal of Chuck Yeager shattering the sound barrier in The Right Stuff, David Roberts and the editors of Outside have gathered the most enduring adventure literature of the century into one heart-stopping volume. A frigid winter ascent of Mount McKinley; the vastness of Arabia's Empty Quarter; the impossibly thin air at Everest's summit; the deadly black pressure of an underwater cave; a desperate escape through a Norwegian winter--these and thirty-six other stories recount the minutes, hours, and days of lives pushed to the brink. But there is more to adventure than hair-breadth escapes. By turns charming and tragic, whimsical and nerve-racking, this extraordinary collection gets to the heart of why adventure stories enthrall us. Includes works by Edward Abbey, Tim Cahill, Edward Hoagland, Sebastian Junger, Eric Newby, Ernest Shackleton, Freya Stark, and Wilfred Thesiger. For nearly thirty years, award-winning Outside magazine has been bringing together the best in adventure travel, sports, nature writing, and photography. Now, W.W. Norton and Outside come together to bring that same excellence to an exciting new line of books.