Classic Survival Stories: Thirteen Tales of Strength, Determination, and the Will to Live

This book was really a joy to read. These are some of the best survival tales ever written. I even enjoyed the ones that I had read earlier as a boy. Indeed, I found that rereading them now at a much later stage of life I got more out of them. I think that this is because I could draw on personal life experiences that were at least mildly similar and recognize the truth and accuracy of the details. The stories are: 1) To Build a Fire- Jack London 2) The Great Unknown- John Wesley Powell 3) The Battle of the Marten and the Porcupine- Mayne Reid 4) Robinson Crusoe- Daniel Defoe 5) Love of Life- Jack London 6) Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex- Owen Chase 7) An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier- John Muir 8) The Boat Journey- Sir Ernest Shackleton 9) Battle with the Giant Octopus- Victor Hugo 10) Encounter with the Blackfeet- Osborne Russell 11) Around the Horn- Richard Dana Jr. 12) The Worst Journey in the World- Apsley Cherry-Garrard 13) On Dangerous Ground- Lamar Underwood Most of these are extracted from larger works and a list of sources is included in the back in case you want to track down the original book. One last thing, as the author points out in the introduction, these stories are a much different thing than what one sees in "survivor" game shows on television. It isn't just that they represent real life or death trials. It is the fact that most often survival isn't about stabbing others in the back like rats- it is about selfless sacrifice for the other to see that everyone gets through. Touching on the edge of the abyss should bring out the highest, and not the animal-like lowest, in people.