National Geographic Adventure has published their list of the 100 best adventure books. Perusing through the list, it is immediately apparent that the books are all the sort of high quality adventure writing, you would expect in a recommendation from National Geographic.

The books span from the golden age of exploration to the modern day. I see some old favorites (#7 Desert Solitaire, #17 Kon Tiki, #92 The Silent World), some I've been meaning to read (#14 Two Years Before The Mast, #47 Gipsy Moth Circles the World) and some new ones that look promising (#64 News from Tartary, #32 Through the Dark Continent,).

In general, I'm not a fan of these "100 best" type lists. It's a ridiculous way to classify cultural items. It doesn't matter if you are discussing rock songs, movies, or adventure books, it's always a bad idea. Simply calling the list 100 great adventure books would have been sufficient and more than accurate. Every book on the list that I've read is on my personal list of favorite books. I recognized many classics.

The books are mostly from the modern era. The earliest title I saw was from the 13th century (Marco Polo), but most are from the 19th century and later. I would have been tempted to include the Odyssey - the greatest adventure of all time, but this list does not include mythology. I would also have added a book or two about the spanish conquistadors. They are not very politically correct these days, but some of them were great explorers.

These are all minor nitpicks. This is a fantastic list. Go check it out: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0404/adventure_books.html

Paul Farrall
September, 2005