Adventure/Survival

Executive Orders by Tom Clancy

Clancy’s latest thriller is a continuation of Debt of Honor. A Japanese airliner has crashed into the Capitol, killing the President, his cabinet, and most members of Congress and the Senate. Having just been confirmed Vice-President, Jack Ryan immediately inherits a nation, a crippled government, and the threat of a third world war.

Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien

The junior-year English anthology contains an excerpt from Tim O’Brien’s Going after Cacciato called “Night March.” In this chapter, Paul Berlin, recently drafted into the Vietnam War, tries to escape the war through mind games. But the novel begins with a more ambitious escape as Cacciato, the moon-faced soldier, goes AWOL, planning on walking to Paris. His platoon follows in chase. Much of the novel, however, takes place in the Observation Post, where Paul tries to piece together the chronology of his first few months in Vietnam. Philip Calputo calls it “the best novel about the Vietnam War.”

The Hungry Tide--Ghosh This book is set in one of the most beautiful and exotic regions on the earth: the Sundarban Islands off the eastern coast of India, a region characterized by the endless fight for survival against poverty, sometimes catastrophic weather and floods, and deadly tiger attacks. The main character is Piya Roy, a young American marine biologist of Indian descent in search of a rare, endangered river dolphin. Her adventure begins when she is thrown from a boat into crocodile- infested waters and then rescued by a young, illiterate fisherman, Fokir. Although they cannot communicate verbally, Piya and Fokir share a passion for the sea, so Piya hires Fokir to help with her research. Kanai Dutt, a Delhi businessman with roots in the Sundarbans, becomes her translator. As the three of them strike out for the mysterious backwaters, they are drawn into a world that most of us will never experience.

Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman

Iron and Silk is written by Mark Salzman, a Yale graduate who went to the People’s Republic of China to study Kung-Fu and teach English at a Chinese university. Mr. Salzman writes fascinating accounts of his adventures in China. Each chapter is a new episode that tells of his exciting experiences as he discovers life under Communism as well as the philosophy and secrets behind traditional Chinese martial arts.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Set in the late nineteenth century, Lonesome Dove is the story of a cattle drive from Texas to Montana. The drive represents for everybody involved not only a daring, even foolhardy adventure, but part of the American Dream -- the attempt to carve out of the last remaining wilderness a new life. A love story, an adventure, an American epic, the book embraces the entire West--legend and fact, heroes and outlaws, prostitutes and ladies, Indians and settlers.

Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis

This is a great book about leadership, courage, and love during the tough times of the twentieth century. Chesty Puller was even too tough for the Marine Corps. He might be the best example of how good leadership can inspire people to do uncommon deeds.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

In 1957 with the publication of On the Road, Jack Kerouac became a celebrity and a spokesman for the “Beat Generation,” youth who were dissatisfied with the middle-class values and conformity of the 1950s. Looking for extraordinary experiences, the narrator of this picaresque novel sets out to hitchhike across the country. Kerouac parallels romantic aspirations -- his American dream -- to the realism of the road.

The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger Ex Libris selection

This true story, like the storm of the century that it describes, builds up inexorably as it traces the fate of a doomed New England fishing boat. Included are gripping accounts of helicopter rescue attempts and amazing tales of physical stress and human courage.

What Is the What by Dave Eggers

This is the fictional account of a Lost Boy of the Sudan, who escapes the horrors of his homeland only to face the indignities of a menial job, a robbery, and a physical assault in his new home in America.

West with the Night by Beryl Markham

British East Africa (present day Kenya) in the early 1930s is the setting of Markham’s biographical account of life in Africa. Born in England but reared by her father and African servants from the time she was four years old, she was free to pursue her unique interests, including being the first person ever to fly the Atlantic solo from England to North America.