The Accidental Adventurer: Memoir of the First Woman to Climb Mount McKinley

Accidental Adventurer by Barbara Washburn proves to be a well written autobiography. Her husband was late Bradford Washburn, a man of science as well as a explorer. Her book reflects her quiet lifestyle until she married this man and how that marriage totally transformed her, almost by accident, into a world wide adventurer, traveling with her husband from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mount McKinley (being the first woman to summit that peak in 1947). During the entire time, she was rising children, being a house wife and a teacher. Her life was definitely not boring and reading this book helps us understand how exciting it really was. I found the book to be entertaining and fun. It shows how a wife can be a true partner with her husband in all things, not just at home but in the field. Barbara Washburn not only embraced her husband but his lifestyle and work. The trials and tribulations of both man and wife proves to be truly extraordinary and the book reflects on that life very clearly. This is an easy book to recommend to anyone to read.