25 Greatest Adventure Books to Read Now

We can’t go on great adventures all the time, but we can read about them (see books every man should read in his lifetime). Whether it be a Nobel Prize winner driving across America with his dog, Anthony Bourdain taking us on a tour of the world’s greatest meals, exploring the mysteries of the American West with Edward Abbey, seeing the Appalachian Trail through the eyes of Bill Bryson, or experiencing frozen hell with Sir Ernest Shackleton, these 25 books will take you on a journey. Our list comprises memoirs, biographies, and novels from some of the most curious and intrepid individuals to ever live.

1. Outriders Africa: Essays on Exploration and Return

If you’re looking to get a lot of perspectives on a continent, but are only willing to spring for a single book, look no further than Outriders Africa. In spring 2020, 10 writers split off into pairs and, in the midst of a pandemic, set off on journeys in Africa. They generated essays as well as travel diaries, letters, and poetry. All the participants have African heritage, resulting in a journey of discovery as well as coming to terms with their subject’s often harsh history.

2. A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain

The late Anthony Bourdain is revered for being a bestselling author and television host, who traveled all over the globe to try different dishes and showcase different cultures. And while Kitchen Confidential might be considered his greatest accomplishment as a writer, A Cook’s Tour gets to combine all of the things we love about Bourdain.  

3. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Exploring what’s beyond our planet remains one of the last truly extraordinary adventures to experience. In The Right Stuff, one of America’s foremost reporters explores the U.S. space program in the postwar era—covering what the astronauts went through, how it impacted their families, and why they were willing to do it. 

4. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

At the start of the 20th century, when getting to a remote part of the world was still a nearly unimaginable task, Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions to Antarctica were really on another level. In Endurance, Lansing’s incredible biography, interviews with the last surviving crew members, and diaries that had never been seen by the public prior to the book’s publication help to show why Shackleton’s name is synonymous with adventure. 

5. A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols

Sailing around the world is the dream of any sea lover. Doing it alone, however, could be considered insane. A Voyage for Madmen relays the journey of nine men who said to hell with that logic, and all set out alone on nonstop trips around the world. One of them triumphantly made it, but the others weren’t as lucky. 

6. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Your mother has passed away, your marriage recently ended, and you’re headed in a downward spiral you can’t seem to stop. What do you do when it feels like everything has fallen apart? If you’re Cheryl Strayed, you start hiking. You put on your boots, walk across trails in California and Oregon, and you find that redemption. In Wild, Strayed proves that personal change and growth come from within, and being out in nature certainly helps the process. 

7. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The title couldn’t be any clearer as to what this 1996 classic is about, but the story inside Into the Wild is a harrowing, ultimately tragic tale the likes of which you probably won’t find anywhere else. Christopher McCandless gave it all up: talking with his family, his college funds, and a great future. He hitchhiked to Alaska with nothing but 10 pounds of rice, a rifle, several boxes of rifle rounds, a camera, and a guide to edible plants. He died after more than a hundred days of surviving in the wild. With a deft hand, Krakauer brilliantly weaves the how, why, and events that unfolded before his demise.

8. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

An adventure book doesn’t need to feature swashbuckling badasses climbing mountains or sailing the rough seas. It doesn’t even have to offer much action at all. Such is the case with Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. It’s a book that, while glacial in its pace compared to a few of the titles on this list, is one man’s adventure of going it alone in the woods of Massachusetts. The idea of a person giving it all up so they can drop out for a while to explore nature, be by themself, and survive on mostly wits doesn’t seem likely in our hyper-connected world. Somebody doing it and writing so clearly and beautifully about it seems downright impossible. That’s what makes this timeless. 

9. The Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway

There are two Ernest Hemingways we know best: Hemingway the novelist who wrote classics like “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and Hemingway the larger-than-life outdoorsman. Although “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” a book on many high school reading lists to this day, was published a few years before it, 1933’s Green Hills of Africa is the book that truly made Papa the adventurer we still talk about to this day.

Recounting his experiences in East Africa, Hemingway writes about hunting with the touch of a novelist, but also finds time to wax philosophical about 19th-century European writers. It might not be considered among his greatest works, but it’s an essential one to read if you want to know him. 

10. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

One of America’s great writers hits the road with his trusty dog to rediscover what he once loved so much about his country; it’s a formula that wouldn’t work as perfectly today as it did in 1960. Yet this adventure across the continent in Travels With Charley remains a timeless classic that helped Steinbeck win the Nobel Prize a few months later. 

11. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Despite all of our modern advances and explorations, the American West still remains the strangest and most mysterious region on the continent, and that’s a huge part of what makes Desert Solitaire such a fantastic book. It’s almost like a 20th-century version of Thoreau moving to middle-of-nowhere Utah, meditating on the expansive, dry landscape. 

12. Deliverance by James Dickey

You don’t get to hear “Dueling Banjos” like in the 1972 classic Deliverance, but the book that spawned the film with some of the most troubling and unforgettable scenes of when a weekend adventure with your friends goes incredibly wrong is, in fact, just as good as the movie. Arguably even better. 

13. Roughing It by Mark Twain

Something that tends to get lost in the conversation about Mark Twain, one of America’s most famous writers is just how great of a travel writer he was. Considering he got a good deal of his money from live appearances all over the globe, it shouldn’t come as much of a shock that one of the funniest and most astute observers of his time had a lot to say about the places he visited.

While he went all over the globe for Innocents Abroad, Roughing It centers on a young Twain out in the rough-and-tumble West during and right after the Civil War—during a time when North and South dominated the narrative. 

14. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Although it might not be as universally beloved as The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s memoir Wind, Sand and Stars recounts his days as a pioneering aviator, flying across the Sahara and South American Andes. It’s a thrilling tale of places that were more shrouded in mystery than they are today. Full of adventure and plenty of danger, this is a timeless piece of writing that deserves to be discovered by generations to come. 

15. Travels in a Thin Country by Sara Wheeler

“Thin” is really the best way to describe Chile. At 2,600 miles long and about 110 miles wide, the long and narrow country borders Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and sits between the Andes and the ocean. That makes it the perfect type of place to explore, and that’s just what Sara Wheeler does in Travels in a Thin Country, from top to bottom. 

16. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is practically synonymous with quirky, kooky adventure (see: In a Sunburned Country and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir). Rest assured there’s still plenty of zany in A Walk in the Woods, but also evocative descriptions of America’s diverse landscapes, meditative reflections, and a heck of a five-month foil for the ups and downs of life. Bryson and Stephen Katz, a pseudonym for the author’s long-time friend and recovering alcoholic, tackle the AT with more candy than a sugar factory. Good luck putting this one down. And yes, this 1998 tome is better than the movie—even despite Robert Redford.

17. Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad

Crazy for the Storm has everything you could want in a cling-to-the-edge-of-your-seater: A plane crash, a sprawling mountain range, blizzards, you name it. Sadly, Ollestad’s beloved father never made it home alive from that 8,600-foot peak, but the then 11-year-old holds his father’s relentless spirit with him on every step down to safety. A remarkable journey that meanders seamlessly between Mexico, Malibu, and the San Gabriel Mountains, it’s a literary masterpiece.

18. Wilderness Tales: Forty Stories of the North American Wild edited by Diana Fuss

Wilderness Tales is one thrill-seekers will return to again and again, whether to grab an inspiring passage to share with a friend in need of advice or to get lost in the marvelous writing of Jack London, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Annie Proulx, to name a few. The anthology kicks off with a great introduction by Diana Fuss expounding on the meaning of wilderness and its literary origins (she also provides excellent forewords to each section and succinct commentaries introducing each piece and its author). From there, it traverses the diverse North American terrain via the imagination and recollections of Ted Chiang, Frederick Douglass, Jaren Russell, Pam Houston, Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, William Faulkner, and other fantastic wordsmiths. Starting with the “Kaatskill Mountains” of Washington Irving in the 1800s and concluding in Tommy Orange’s interpretation of a climate-changed California in 2040, no two stories are alike, even though they all speak of the same sliver of Mother Earth. 

19. Taking London: Winston Churchill and the Fight to Save Civilization by Martin Dugard

Taking London more than earns its spot amongst the classics on this list. You may think you’re an expert on Winston Churchill, but this book will illuminate aspects of World War II and battlefield history like nothing you’ve ever read. On the heels of Dugard’s Taking Paris and Taking Berlin, this book places you in the pilot’s seat with Royal Air Force heroes and behind the scenes with Churchill at the Battle of Britain, as well as everyday people who made it through The Blitz. For history buffs and fans of fighter pilots, this relatively quick read will have a lasting impact.

20. Dixon, Descending by Karen Outen

In Dixon, Descending Karen Outen adeptly brings to life a school psychologist named Dixon in the aftermath of his and his brother’s attempt to become the first Black American men to reach Everest’s summit. We don’t want to give too much away but between the lack of oxygen and hazardous weather, it’s safe to say you’ll feel like you’re breathing thin air while reading this one. Whether you’re a seasoned mountaineering pro or lured in by Everest’s mythical status, you won’t close this book disappointed. In fact, to quote one sage Amazon review: “I would also buy tickets to see this as a movie SO FAST.”

21. The Bounty: The True Story of Mutiny on the Bounty by Caroline Alexander

Every reading list of dare-devil exploits needs a good mutiny at sea. The Bounty delivers in spades, from aboard the British ship HMS Bounty in the late 1780s on a breadfruit transporting mission from Tahiti to the West Indies. There’s Lieutenant Bligh, who was Capt. James Cook’s sailing master, an open boat, two families banding together, a mutineers’ trial, a 3,600-mile journey at sea, and so much more in the mix. Exquisitely researched, if you’re captivated by this 2004 best-seller, we also recommend giving Alexander’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition and (newly published) Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World a whirl.

22. The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux

Would it be the greatest hits of literary voyages without a book (or 10) by Paul Theroux? We think not. But if we had to narrow down the author’s vast opus, we’d select The Great Railway Bazaar, first published in 1975, recounting Theroux’s four-month train odyssey in 1973. Join Theroux as he boards the Orient Express, the Golden Arrow to Kuala Lumpur, the Trans-Siberian Express, and other locomotives, journeying from London to Tokyo and back. There are more than a few memorable shared sleeping car companions along the way and you’ll come away from this book emboldened to strike up a conversation with a stranger wherever you are.

23. Monkey King: Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en

Featuring a foreword by Gene Luen Yang and an introduction by Julia Lovell (who also edited, translated, and presented notes for the book), teleport yourself into a fantasy novel of unparalleled splendors. Penned by Wu Cheng’en, a circa 16th century Ming Dynasty poet, Monkey Chronicles tells the story of Sun Wukong, a mystical monkey who accompanies Buddhist monk Tripitaka on a pilgrimage to India to bring sacred Buddhist sutras back to China. Re-released in 2024 as part of the Penguin Vitae hardcover classics collectible series, you’ll also become acquainted with Pigsy, a flying, insatiable pig, and Sandy, a river monster, on this search for eternal life. 

24. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle

You didn’t think we’d complete this roundup without Sherlock Holmes now, did you? Practically synonymous with adventure of the sleuthing variety, accompany the famed fictional detective and Dr. Watson from 221B Baker Street as they solve a Christmas caper. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle combines the theft of a prized blue carbuncle gem with Sir Conan Doyle’s mellifluous prose and themes of redemption and holiday goodwill. And considering it’s under 200 pages, you can savor all that and more in just one or two sittings. Bonus: In 2024, this book was unveiled in Penguin’s Little Clothbound Classic series, with a cheery jacket designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, worthy of passing on to the next generation of detectives.

25. Pym by Mat Johnson

A reimagined version of Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, published in 1838, Mat Johnson hooks you from the moment literary professor Chris Jaynes discovers a manuscript that appears to confirm the existence of Tsalal, a far-flung island in Antarctica discussed in Poe’s 19th-century oeuvre. What follows is a wild undertaking to make it to Tsalal, complete with extreme weather, dramatic events with the motley crew, and racial strife. Part literary satire, part intrepid quest, Pym is compelling and thought-provoking through and through.