Quest for Adventure is a collection of stories written by Sir
Chris Bonington looking at the adventurous impulse which has driven
men and women to achieve the impossible in the face of Earth's elements:
crossing its oceans, deserts and poles; canoeing its rivers; climbing
its mountains, and descending into its caves.
Bonington selects seventeen of the most thrilling expeditions and
adventures of the second half of the twentieth century, uncovering the
common thread that drives men and women to achieve the impossible.
Following a new preface, he charts such outstanding achievements as the
Kon-Tiki voyage; Francis Chichester's round-the-world tour in his
boat Gipsy Moth IV; the race for the first non-stop circumnavigation
of the globe under sail; and Ice Bird's sail around Antarctica.
Away from the ocean, the travels of one of the world's most outstanding
desert explorers, Wilfred Thesiger, are detailed, journeying through
what is menacingly called the Empty Quarter. Bonington returns to
familiar ground as he writes about some exceptional mountain adventures,
including the 1970 ascent of the South Face of Annapurna, the first
ascent of Everest, Reinhold and Gunther Messner on Nanga
Parbat, Andy Cave's triumph and tragedy on Changabang, and the
first ascent of The Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite. Wally
Herbert's team crossing of the Arctic Ocean and the equally gruelling
Fuchs/Hillary crossing of Antarctica are written about in detail.
More recent adventures include two remarkable flights: the
circumnavigation of the globe by balloon and microlight. Quest for
Adventure concludes with an account of the cave diving epic the Dead
Man's Handshake, leaving the reader with a chill in their spine and an
appreciation for the natural wonders below the Earth's surface.
Bonington's eloquent writing on a subject in which he is a passionate
authority makes for a highly engrossing read for adventurers and
armchair explorers alike.
