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Best Adventure Travel Memoirs (nonfiction)
I was looking for the best category to fit my book and realized that Adventure Travel categories were quite limited, and that the most popular of these lists were often restricted to 100 titles.
With thousands of amazing adventure travels, and expeditions, it’s sad to see that all lists only feature very same best-sellers. They certainly have their spot-on top of many lists, but I’d like to start a list here that also reveals some of the best travel memoirs in any and all outdoor activities and wilderness environments, being jungles, oceans, mountains, etc.
Activities such as cycling, kayaking, hiking, sailing, diving, skiing, jungle walks, survival and many non-motorized outdoor activities. I’ll start this list with not only book that I’ve read, but also some that I’d like to read. What are your favorites, and why?
With thousands of amazing adventure travels, and expeditions, it’s sad to see that all lists only feature very same best-sellers. They certainly have their spot-on top of many lists, but I’d like to start a list here that also reveals some of the best travel memoirs in any and all outdoor activities and wilderness environments, being jungles, oceans, mountains, etc.
Activities such as cycling, kayaking, hiking, sailing, diving, skiing, jungle walks, survival and many non-motorized outdoor activities. I’ll start this list with not only book that I’ve read, but also some that I’d like to read. What are your favorites, and why?
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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Into the Wild
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 1,172,820 ratings
score: 491,
and
5 people voted
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| 2 |
|
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
by
4.46 avg rating — 158,054 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
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| 2 |
|
Toward Beauty: Reigniting a Creative Life on the Camino de Santiago
by
Dennis Garnhum (Goodreads Author)
4.49 avg rating — 77 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
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| 4 |
|
Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival
by
4.23 avg rating — 63,503 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
|
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| 5 |
|
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
by
Cheryl Strayed (Goodreads Author)
4.07 avg rating — 855,060 ratings
score: 292,
and
3 people voted
|
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| 6 |
|
Immersed in West Africa: My Solo Journey Across Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau (Travels With Terry Book 1)
by
Terry Lister (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 120 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 6 |
|
Adventures in Emotional Alchemy: You Can't Even Make This $#!T Up (The Alchemy Series)
by
Moxie D'Vine (Goodreads Author)
4.85 avg rating — 20 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 8 |
|
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
by
Jon Krakauer (Goodreads Author)
4.26 avg rating — 555,402 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 9 |
|
The Lost City of the Monkey God
by
Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 61,665 ratings
score: 196,
and
2 people voted
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| 10 |
|
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
by
4.14 avg rating — 81,175 ratings
score: 190,
and
2 people voted
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| 11 |
|
The Hitchhiker Man
by
Matt Fox (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 114 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
Wai-wai
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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
Duas Viagens ao Brasil
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4.30 avg rating — 440 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
Witch Doctor's Apprentice: Hunting for Medicinal Plants in the Amazon
by
4.31 avg rating — 111 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
Dancing with Death: An Inspiring Real-Life Story of Epic Travel Adventure
by
Jean-Philippe Soulé (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 219 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
Against All Odds: The inside account of the Thai cave rescue and the courageous Australians at the heart of it
by
4.53 avg rating — 1,897 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
GRINGOS AND FLAMINGOS : A Fat Bastard’s Guide to Trekking in Northern South America
by
Scott Nelson (Goodreads Author)
4.48 avg rating — 25 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
Travels Of Ibn Jubayr
by
3.74 avg rating — 84 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
The Third Pole: My Everest climb to find the truth about Mallory and Irvine
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4.13 avg rating — 4,279 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
Tracks
by
3.93 avg rating — 17,334 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 11 |
|
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by
4.07 avg rating — 438,721 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
The Two Week Traveller
by
Matthew Lightfoot (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 98 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
Finding Elevation: Fear and Courage on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain
by
Lisa Thompson (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 202 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
Volcanic Adventures in Tonga - Species Conservation on Tin Can Island
by
Ann Göth (Goodreads Author)
4.79 avg rating — 42 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 11 |
|
In The Wake: An 80 Day Canoe Odyssey into Canada's Northern Wilderness
by
James McNamara (Goodreads Author)
4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 26 |
|
Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
by
4.47 avg rating — 14,864 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
A young man's journey
by
4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives: The Thai Cave Rescue
by
3.96 avg rating — 599 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
Last Hours on Everest
by
Graham Hoyland (Goodreads Author)
3.77 avg rating — 425 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
In a Sunburned Country
by
4.08 avg rating — 119,871 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
Snapshots (Matthew Lightfoot Travel Books)
by
Matthew Lightfoot (Goodreads Author)
4.56 avg rating — 18 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 26 |
|
A New Day Dawns (Travels With Terry, #2)
by
Terry Lister (Goodreads Author)
4.66 avg rating — 82 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 26 |
|
Travels of William Bartram
by
3.92 avg rating — 224 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 34 |
|
River Monsters
by
4.26 avg rating — 957 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 34 |
|
On Celtic Tides: One Man's Journey Around Ireland by Sea Kayak
by
3.94 avg rating — 254 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 34 |
|
In the Land of Giants: Hunting Monsters in the Hindu Kush
by
3.51 avg rating — 76 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 34 |
|
Aquanaut: A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue
by
4.37 avg rating — 1,159 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 34 |
|
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart
by
Tim Butcher (Goodreads Author)
3.98 avg rating — 11,933 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 34 |
|
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away
by
3.90 avg rating — 68,824 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
|
Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea
by
4.14 avg rating — 20,488 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
|
Out of the Silence: After the Crash
by
3.88 avg rating — 7,138 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 40 |
|
Tim & Tigon
by
4.05 avg rating — 82 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 43 |
|
Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle
by
4.06 avg rating — 4,484 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
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| 43 |
|
Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam
by
Andrew X. Pham (Goodreads Author)
3.99 avg rating — 6,641 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 45 |
|
The Joy of Swimming: A Celebration of Our Love for Getting in the Water (Lisa Congdon x Chronicle Books)
by
3.90 avg rating — 175 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 45 |
|
You're Not From Around Here, Are You?: Notes from a Naturalized Southerner
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
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| 45 |
|
Finding Hildasay: How one man walked the UK's coastline and found hope and happiness
by
4.34 avg rating — 2,733 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
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| 48 |
|
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
by
3.81 avg rating — 64,011 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
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| 49 |
|
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
by
3.94 avg rating — 67,648 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
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| 50 |
|
Bill Bryson's African Diary
by
3.49 avg rating — 10,387 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
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| 51 |
|
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain
by
3.72 avg rating — 38,245 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
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| 52 |
|
Notes from a Small Island
by
3.92 avg rating — 118,362 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
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| 53 |
|
The Sheltering Sky
by
3.89 avg rating — 30,260 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
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| 54 |
|
Military Brats and Other Global Nomads: Growing Up in Organization Families
by
Morten G. Ender (editor)
3.88 avg rating — 8 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
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| 55 |
|
Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress
by
4.31 avg rating — 215 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
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| 56 |
|
MILITARY BRATS: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress
by
4.31 avg rating — 215 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
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| 57 |
|
Casey and the Military Brats Club
by
Sara M. Barton (Goodreads Author)
liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
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57 books ·
27 voters ·
list created February 2nd, 2019
by Jean-Philippe Soulé (votes) .
Tags:
adventure, autobiography, biography, canoeing, canyoning, climbing, cycling, diving, expedition, expeditions, explorations, indigenous, jungle, jungles, kayaking, memoir, memoirs, mountain-biking, mountaineering, mountains, native-people, non-fiction, nonfiction, rafting, rainforest, rainforests, sailing, sea-kayaking, skiing, survival, travel, travel-books, travel-essays, travel-journals, travel-memoirs, travelogue, travelogues, true-stories, wilderness
Jean-Philippe
26 books
2 friends
2 friends
Stephen
15 books
0 friends
0 friends
Rachel
297 books
0 friends
0 friends
li
179 books
10 friends
10 friends
Jennifer
2434 books
355 friends
355 friends
Joanne
54 books
3 friends
3 friends
Ric
25 books
0 friends
0 friends
Fiona
1946 books
50 friends
50 friends
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