Editorial Review

Ethiopia, 1941. Felice Benuzzi was a junior officer in the Italian Colonial Service, stationed in Addis Ababa, when the British thwarted Mussolini's ambition to build a colonial empire in East Africa. Benuzzi, along with thousands of other Italians, was captured and interned in a POW camp near the foot of Mount Kenya, where he and his countrymen languished indefinitely, waiting out the war and the desperate boredom, passivity, and isolation of prison life. "In order to break the monotony," he writes, "one had only to start taking risks again." But the isolation of the camp precluded the possibility of escape to a neutral country: "I thought, then at least I shall stage a break in this awful travesty of life. I shall try to get out, climb Mount Kenya and return here." So begins Read more

Reviews (12)

a great adventure story
Felice Benuzzi wound up in a second World War POW camp close to the foot of Mount Kenya, a mountain that is higher than the highest alp in Europe.Prison camps are boring; soon Benuzzi, who went on to become an ambassador in post-war Italy's diplomatic service, was dreaming of scaling the mountain he saw beyond the barbed wire of his confines.
1/2 stars ... pretty good.
I enjoy escape stories & the first half of this book was a typical WW2 escape story. The story has humour throughout & their task - to climb Mount Kenya - was quite an undertaking. What I liked best was the author's personality / humour & seeing things from an Italian and African perspective. His descriptions of the types of people in the prison camp are awesome. Day to day camp life is well described also.
Made me feel as if I were there too...
I really enjoyed this book. It sounds almost whimsical that POWs would go to all this trouble and face considerable personal danger to escape, climb a mountain, and then go right back to the prison camp, but the way Benuzzi describes it, it makes a certain sense. The painstaking process of preparing for the trip - which included all the risks and difficulties of a "typical" prison break plus the demands of an Alpine climb - is told in a matter-of-fact, rather dry fashion. (On nominating the third man for the party: "He had never climbed a mountain in his life. The only reason why we decided to try him was because he was universally thought to be mad as a hatter, and mad people were what we needed.") Benuzzi's descriptions of the scenes on the way up the mountain are glorious, and of the return to camp are funny and quite touching. A very enjoyable pocket-adventure story that deserves to be better known. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Benuzzi, Felice    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Italy    6. Military    7. Mountaineering    8. Personal narratives, Italian    9. Prisoners Of War    10. Prisoners and prisons, British    11. Sports    12. Sports & Recreation    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Travel / Africa    15. True Stories   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Boating - General    3. Fishing - General    4. Sports    5. Sports & Recreation   

Editorial Review

Just about the time that famous lion hunters like Ernest Hemingway and Denys Finch Hatton were meeting their ends, a young Portuguese boy and his family landed on the coast of Mozambique to establish a farm in the Portuguese colony. It wasn't long before Adelino Serras Pires cut his hunting teeth, on a hunt for a pride of man-eating lions who had been victimizing a local population made vulnerable by an epidemic of sleeping sickness. Soon,Read more

Reviews (8)

A different view of the safari lifestyle
When I started reading The Winds of Havoc,I had the impression the book would be the memories of a gone by lifestyle, and quite frankly I was repulsed by how important the big game hunting business seemed like.Not until I reached the last quarter of the book did I realize the value of the author's memories in providiing a picture of a productive and peaceful "colonial" lifestyle and comparing it to the present state of Mozambique's existence.Clearly, African politics have changed for the worst over the last half of the 20th century.For all that was wrong about colonialism, the "indiginization" of most African countries has been a failure that will hurt Africa and the rest of the world for most of the 21st century.The fate of the African wildlife is an accurate indicator of the evolution of Mozambiquean politics.Mozambique will go as the wildlife goes.

Shocking Revelations
If there is a single book that informs and clarifies issues pertaining to Africa, from European colonization to the new millennium, this is the one. I am a seasoned collector of books on Africa. Nothing on my shelves, however, can compare with The Winds of Havoc. Adelino SERRAS PIRES and Fiona CAPSTICK have an intimate knowledge of Africa and I personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. I also had the honor of working with Adelino in Africa in the 1980s. This book confirms the courage and honesty he has retained throughout his turbulent life, qualities he never abandoned when many other people would have been tempted to give in to their tormentors. There are shocking revelations in this book as the reader is taken on a unique odyssey into many African countries, witnessing the fate of the wildlife as the winds of change became gales of violence which spared nothing and nobody. The book is an education. Adelino's extraordinary life and Fiona Capstick's ability with words make this book a compelling, disturbing experience. Buy it before the first printing sells out!

Lies exposed
I am black and I am angry. I live in Africa, The Winds of Havoc has been a revelation because finally, the lies that went with the turf of our liberation are beginning to be exposed. This book is a good start, I salute you Adelino Serras Pires ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1960-    2. Adventure and adventurers    3. Adventurers & Explorers    4. Africa, Sub-Saharan    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Description And Travel    9. General    10. Historical - General    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Pires, Adelino Serras    13. Politics and government    14. Special Interest - Adventure    15. Travel    16. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (10)

"The Red Head"

highly recommended - sypathetic and disturbing
I highly recommend this book.William Clark is presented as a highly capable and effective leader.He comes across as a strong and determined soldier, an amazing traveler and explorer, and a friendly man. But his prejudices (like nearly everyone of his generation) against African and Native Americans are described in striking detail.
Lewis and Clark - Shaping of the West - Book
Book came in timly manner as described. Would buy again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1770-1838    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Clark, William,    8. Explorers    9. Frontier and pioneer life    10. Governors    11. Historical - General    12. Historical - U.S.    13. Missouri    14. U.S. - Discovery And Exploration    15. United States - 19th Century    16. United States - 19th Century/Old West    17. West (U.S.)    18. History / United States / General   

Reviews (2)

Amazing Stories
This book is a must-have.Buy it for yourself and your kids.Relive some of the most thrilling REAL LIFE adventures ever.John Goddard's life is like a hollywood movie.

Awful..
Sounded like a great story..I even used Goddard's list once for an inspirational piece for school. Halfway through the book, I realized that this poorly written book is a compilation of highfalutin' chest thumping near-death experiences. If you are interested in real adventure, read about Shackleton, Krakauer or Simpson. Don't waste your money on this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1926-    2. Adventure and adventurers    3. Adventurers & Explorers    4. Biography    5. Goddard, John,    6. Inspirational    7. Motivational & Inspirational    8. Risk-taking (Psychology)    9. Self-Help    10. Special Interest - Adventure    11. Travel    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers    14. Goddard, John    15. Journeys   

Reviews (2)

The book is an opportunity lost
Dana and Ginger Lamb were adventurers, Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz and Jerome Klinkowits are academics. Like blind people describing an elephant ,the authors told us about it's foot.An elephant is more than a foot. The Enchanted Quest of Dana And Ginger Lamb was researched in libraries. There is no indications that the authors ever so much as visited Mexico on a Club Med Tour. The book is an opportunity lost. For those who are hungry for Lamb information the book has value. If one has not read the Lamb books, there is no reason to read

Adventurous couple
I am, for the most part, an armchair adventurer. Ever since a friend gave me a copy of Byron Farwell's epic biography of the famed 19th century traveler, Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, many years ago, I have been a huge fan of exploration and adventure literature. I've planned half a dozen trips either following in Burtons footsteps or blazing paths I thought anew. None have ever come to fruition, though I have been on many smaller adventures since. Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventure and adventurers    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Explorers    8. Lecturers    9. Popular Culture - General    10. Special Interest - Adventure    11. Travelers    12. United States    13. American history: from c 1900 -    14. Biography: general    15. Geographical discovery & exploration    16. The Americas   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Aztecs    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Ethnologists    9. Historical - General    10. History    11. History Of Anthropological Thought    12. Latin America - Mexico    13. Mexico    14. Missionaries    15. Native American Anthropology    16. Sahagun, Bernardino de,    17. Social Scientists & Psychologists    18. d. 1590    19. Anthropology    20. Biography: general    21. North America   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Essays & Travelogues    4. Expeditions & Discoveries    5. General    6. History - General History    7. Polar Regions    8. Travel    9. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    10. Geographical discovery & exploration    11. History, World | British | 1900-1945    12. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Reviews (9)

Mostly True North
I'll admit I was resistant to this book at first - I guess I expected a more scholarly, weighty approach, rather than Kavenna's very personal picaresque - but she wonme over quickly with her elegant, lyric prose, her disarming, understated persona, and her expert blending of travel narrative and history of ideas, literature and exploration. She begins by visiting all the places that have been considered possible locations of Thule, the Shetland Islands, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, advancing northward, capturing what she sees as she smoothly explicates what other travelers have said about those places as Thule, and also examining the turbulent history of Arctic exploration at large.
Interesting
In the fourth century BC, the Greek merchant and explorer Pytheas (~380-~310 BC) traveled north through the North Sea, and finally ended up at a distant island, which he called Thule. Thule lies far to the north, on the edge of the Arctic ice, where the sun never set during midsummer. Many centuries later, Joanna Kavenna, a native of London, found herself dreaming of an untouched northern landscape, glittering in its perpetual ice. And so, she set out to find Thule...this is the story of her search.
Any interested in true adventure will find her odyssey hard to put down
To the ancients Thule was considered a lost icy Eden of strange beauty, fueling the imagination of poets, explorers and now writer Joanna Kavenna, whose journey in search of the legendary Thule is documented in THE ICE MUSEUM: IN SEARCH OF THE LOST LAND OF THULE. Kavenna's journey brought her in touch with others under the same spell, from past evidence of prior seekers to contemporaries. Her journey also uncovered a host of frozen relics of the cold war - and it reads with all the 'you are there' drama of a diary and an investigative research piece. Any interested in true adventure will find her odyssey hard to put down.
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Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Arctic regions    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Geographical myths    7. Kavenna, Joanna    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Thule    10. Travel    11. Women    12. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers   

Reviews (4)

a must read for outdoor enthusiasts with an eye on the inside passage
This is a gem of a book. The author does a wonderful job narrating an adventure story while providing valuable information about the geological and ecological background of this ever evolving part of Alaska. It made for an entertaining and informative read. Having had the pleasure to explore this part of the country by kayak myself, I enjoyed how this book's descriptions of the ocean and landscape captured the experience of exploring the Inside Passage.

great book
I agree wholeheartedly with the other reviewers about this book! I loved the adventure story of kayaking through rough water and harsh weather for two months. The author really brings to life the forest, glaciers, mountains and wildlife of the Inside Passage. The information about the nature and history of the area separates this from a mere adventure story. It's really the story of the coast told through a gripping adventure. And the many sidebars that contain tips for sea kayakers are a great plus. I highly recommend this book!

A great read!
This is a terrific book.The author does an impressive job of weaving together not only his personal story of his kayaking to Alaska, but also accounts of Vancouver's voyage, the explorations of John Muir, and a lot of natural history regarding the region.It's quite well-written and makes for a book that is very readable and often even riveting. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Canada    3. Kayaking    4. Outdoor Skills    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Travel - Foreign    8. Alaska    9. British Columbia    10. Canoeing & kayaking    11. Travel writing    12. True stories of endurance & survival   

Editorial Review

In 1886, the Apache war leader Geronimo surrendered to representatives of the United States military, after having led his small band in a years-long guerrilla war against the white invaders. He and his followers were imprisoned in Florida, then later in Oklahoma. Most would never again see their forested homeland in what is now Arizona and New Mexico.Read more

Reviews (1)

A vivid, original, fascinating and informative work.
To read The Apache Diaries by Grenville (1907-40) and son Neil Goodwin is to enter a portal to another dimension.Through a dialogue of contemporary and historic diaries and related photographs,a vivid landscape haunted by blood, pain, fear, suffering, passion, and ancient enmities emerges.Inthis world all tales are entwined by tones of sorrow, loss, and arelentless quest for the understanding and peace of the dead.There isalso fascination, pride, and great heroism.The plight of the Sierra MadreApaches intrigues the youthful Grennie, destined to become a singular ifshort-lived ethnographer who partially chronicles their ambiguous fate. That unfinished life task is taken up by his son Neil in the research andwriting of The Apache Diaries.In an effort to reach out and perhaps eventouch the father who died when he was only two months old, the authorrecreates the journeys made by his father when he wrote the original diaryentries in the 1930's.The Apache Diaries is,as intended, adialogue built between Neil and Grennie in an exploration of the dualenigmas of the nature of the man himself and the mysterious fate of theSierra Madre Apaches he studied.It is as though Neil, the son,hopes touncover a mirror experience of both the true life essence of his father andtheinconclusive, mysterious fate of the "wild" Sierra MadreApaches.It is fitting that he is joined in his quest by his wife, son and his son's future wife.The Apache Diaries is a classic quest riddle,filled with real unquenchable anguish and courage mixed with evil andcowardice.It is bitterly poignant.True to life, it never resolvescompletely; but there is a partial lifting of the veil.The key toexperiencing this strangely compelling, haunted world of the blood- feudingMexicans' and Apaches' history is, perhaps, acceptance of the pain andwrong, the incredible wrenching anguish that is called forthagain andagain.But there is a second step that is as yet unfinished.One quicklylearns to guess at an outline of forgiveness, perhaps ? a future resolutionthat still may loom yet several generations away.The deaths and thekidnappings are so brutal and vivid.Though Grenville Goodwin was arespected ethnographer and Neil Goodwin is an accomplished film-maker ofNative American documentaries, the reader does not need to be fluent ineither medium to appreciate the depth and complexity of The Apache Diaries. It resonates in the heart.It breaks the heart.Perhaps it remakes theheart, or the heart's vision.This is a profoundly moving book.Perhapsthe book reflects the spirit of the crown dance of the Chiricahua, a holyritual Neil witnesses in 1987 when he accompanies two grandsons of one ofGeronimo's warriors on a commemorative visit to the location of Geronimo'snear surrender to General Crook:Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies    4. History    5. History: American    6. Native American    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Anthropology    9. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    10. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    11. Indigenous peoples    12. USA    13. Western & Pacific Coast states   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Historical - British    4. History    5. Military    6. Military - General    7. Polar Regions    8. 20th century    9. Antarctica    10. Biography: historical    11. British & Irish history: from c 1900 -    12. Geographical discovery & exploration    13. United Kingdom, Great Britain    14. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

Honest review
I most deffinitely DO NOt reccommend this book to anyone who is expecting to read a classic africana book. There is hardly any mention to actual hunting, guns or otherwise much else to do with Safari life. This book is simply a recolection of Mr. Allen`s advances with women while on Safari. Certainly, no gentleman would write anything like this. To me the book sometimes fell in the distaste of erotic novels!!!! DO NOT BUY IT. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. General    3. Hunting - General    4. Hunting Sports    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Sports & Recreation / Hunting   

Reviews (5)

The Last Great Explorer
The Swede Sven Hedin was the last great explorer we will see on this well-traveled planet. Hedin was born in 1865 and this autobiography describes his life up until 1908.Hedin's career was hardly finished, however, as he continued to traipse down the old Silk Road in Central Asia until the 1930s when he was 70 years old.
A well written, great adventure book
(This refers to the National Geographic Reprint edition) An Adventure Story Like No Other
This is a tale wonderfully told of an explorer's quest to fill in the blank spots on the map of Asia.Not only does Hedin present a clear and highly entertaining view of his travels, but he also gives us a portrait of his character.He shows us that he is a man with high goals and is undeterred in achieving those goals, even when all odds are against him.He shows us that he is also a very caring man, very much concerned about the welfare of his men and his animals.He also is a man that is awestruck by nature and is very concerned about not unduly intruding upon it or unnecessarily destroying it.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1865-1952    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Asia    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Description and travel    8. Essays & Travelogues    9. General    10. Hedin, Sven Anders,    11. Travel    12. Biography: general    13. Geographical discovery & exploration    14. Hedin, Sven Anders    15. History    16. History / General    17. Journeys   

Reviews (7)

Daughter Loves this Book
My 2.5 year old daughter loves this book. I read it to her a few times a week. It is just the right lenght for her to fall asleep.

Amazing and Inspiring
One of the greatest joys of this parenthood has been watching my four-year-old daughter come to understand that this is a true story, that men actually traveled to the moon and walked on its surface. Even though the moon landings were something I grew up with, the story grows more powerful with each retelling.It is one of her favorites and one of mine as well.

Sometimes you are remembered for being second
Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. was the second man to walk on the moon when he followed Neil Armstrong on July 16, 1969, while Michael Collins circled the moon in the Apollo 11 spacecraft.In "Reaching for the Moon," Aldrin tells the story of his life that led up to walking on the moon, taking key episodes from his life and presenting them as life lessons to his young readers, such as sinking in a lake because he would not let go of a bucket of rocks he had collected ("I knew that if something was important to you, you had to hold on").Aldrin also shows how various things in his life foreshadowed what he would do on the moon (e.g., his mother's maiden name was Moon and his first airplane flight was in a small plane painted to look like an eagle).
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Subjects:  1. Abridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Personal Memoirs    4. Scientists - Astronauts    5. Unabridged Audio - Autobiography/Biography   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Mountaineering    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Biography: general    8. Climbing & mountaineering   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography   

Reviews (15)

Loved it!
I loved, loved, loved this book. It was exactly the right book for me. I almost didn't buy it, though. I'm on a must-resist-book-buying sort of budget, but my husband pointed this book out to me at the bookstore. After reading the "Ten Indispensable Things You Need to Change the World" on the back flap, I knew I had to buy this book. (#1 is "A cupboard. To put your TV in." Something I know I should do but don't.)
Being herself
This book talked much about what we already knew about the plight of Tibet, Tibetans, and Dalai Lama.Still, I'm continuously pilfering through books written about Tibet lest I forget human's propensity to do atrocities against their fellow human beings.Whilst we think that sacrifices made during World War 2 would remind people not to resort to violence to resolve issues, it happens yet again in our lifetime.Examples are everywhere namely Iraq occupation or revolution depending which sides you are on.The irony of the whole thing is that the main power that ended World War 2 would be the aggressor in this instance in the name of profits.From this book, it's obvious that Isabel has a pure heart and she asked quite rightly why we are actually penalising Dalai Lama when he's the one who preached non-violence to overcome obstacles.She also said it quite rightly about fighting might with right.Cynical readers might be worried that this book is one-sided, China slamming.It's actually not like that at all.Isabel pointed out also that the ways activists were dealing with issues might be at the wrong footing or rubbing China the wrong way.Ultimately, Isabel just shared with us her experience of trying to help Tibets, Tibetans, and the Dalai Lama.It's funny, heart-warming, and straight to the points at times.For those readers that want to know about those three main issues and yet, don't want to read a dry book, I guess this is a book that you can try to get your hands on.It's quite an enjoyable read, really.

Tibet, monks and a lot of laughs...
In A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World Losada decides to devote a year of her life to a worthy cause in an attempt to see whether an individual can make real changes. Her chosen cause is the Tibetan situation. This makes the book sound incredibly serious, but what I like about Losada's style is her way of communicating as if she & you are sitting in the room together & she's chatting to you personally. She is a very witty writer & what could be a dry and depressing topic is actually very funny at times, whilst not losing sight of the serious objectives.
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Subjects:  1. 1951-    2. Adventurers & Explorers    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Buddhism - Tibetan    8. China    9. Description And Travel    10. Losada, Isabel    11. New Age    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Politics and government    14. Tibet    15. Tibet (China)    16. Travel    17. Women    18. Body, Mind & Spirit / Personal Transformation   

Reviews (2)

Interesting story; not an easy read
I bought the book due to my interest in the period it covers -- early Alpine mountaineering. Edward Whymper was an interesting guy, and certainly one of the foreign pioneers of mountain climbing (including the first climb of Matterhorn). I found him to be less inspiring as an author -- the book's pace is slow, punctuated by various tangential discussions, e.g. geology of glaciers. Whymper's writing achieved the summit of excellence.
As one of the early mountain climbers, Whymper was not only a dedicated climber but also an astute observer of human nature and the natural environment. His writings reflect a strong will and great intelligence. The artistry of his mountain scenes vividly illustrate his book and combined with his witty prose make for a mountaineering classic ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Alps    3. Description and travel    4. General    5. History - General History    6. Mountaineering    7. Travel    8. Travelers    9. Climbing & mountaineering    10. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY    11. Travel / General    12. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Fire Science    4. United States - Pacific - Alaska    5. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers    6. Technology-Fire Science    7. Travel-United States - Pacific - Alaska