Top Ten Gift Ideas for the Well Read Adventurer

The next best thing to an adventure is reading a story about one. These picks for the Top Ten Gift Ideas for the Well Read Adventurer are entertaining, amusing and inspiring tales from those who dared.

1) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (1998) The Appalachian Trail calls many to the woods. Its legendary path is filled with wanderers who dream of traversing every mile from Georgia to Maine. Bryson had that dream, stepped into the woods and emerged with the funniest long-distance hiking memoir ever written. With his less-than-prepared hiking partner he endures blunders, blisters and the rattling question "why didn't I do this alone?" It's the perfect humorist view of how the romantic notion of a walk in the woods falls prey to bugs, bears and bad attitudes. This read is on the Top Ten Gift Ideas for the Well Read Adventurer because, well it's just hilarious.

2) The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (1997) The blockbuster movie by the same title doesn't hold a candle to Junger's in-depth account of the ill-fated fishing boat, the Andrea Gail. The theme is perilous work and Junger pays respect throughout this novel. From the fishermen and women of the town of Gloucester to the US Coast Guard para-jumpers, the book is a non-stop thrill ride of man against nature. Junger's talent is the ability to recognize that everyone has a story to tell and his skill is crafting those stories into thrillers. Your well read adventurer may never find themselves on a long-line fishing boat, but if they do this read will make sure they are prepared.

3) Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman (2002) She was the self-described "run-of-the-mill woman next door." Divorced, two grown kids, 63 years old. Then, one day, she realized she was living someone else's life, so she left. In doing so she awoke a nomadic spirit that had been trapped inside her and her suburban life. She began wandering and her travels took her through rice fields of Bali, New Zealand landscapes, swampy jungles of Irian Jaya and she wrote down everything. When she is told that she is courageous her reply is that "it is in fact glorious and gentle, but not the least bit dangerous." Not just for female adventurers, Tales of a Female Nomad reminds everyone to dig up the dreams inside.

4) Running the Amazon by Joe Kane (1989) This account of a first-descent of the Amazon River is as much about white water as it is about being human. The author's work with the Rainforest Action Network prompted him to join a team of nine men and one woman whose goal was to challenge 4,200 miles of Amazon waters. A journey in some of the most remote, biologically diverse and dangerous regions in the world. By the end of the adventure only four team members and one fascinating tale remain.

5) Artic Dreams by Barry Lopez (1986) Close encounters with polar bears, killer whales, walruses made the author of this pick "rather anxious." But his inexperience as an artic traveler allowed for a purely awe inspiring interpretation of a frozen land. Every close call, wild encounter and lesson learned leaves the reader amazed by the natural world. The well read adventurer on your list will feel as though they've been to the edge of the planet after this endless, sparkling journey.

6) Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (1996) Krakauer is famous for his modern-mountaineering tale Into Thin Air and his essays in serious adventure magazines like Outside. This is a quieter tale of a young idealist named Chris McCandless who yearned for something purer than the frenzied affluence of American life and headed into the wildness of Alaska. Compiled from accounts of those who McCandless had met along his journey, Into the Wild is a compelling story about the lure of solitude and the unforgiving nature of the wild.

7) Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry (1939) No writer has expressed the spirit of adventure as beautifully as "Saint-Ex." This collection of tales was born out his pilot journeys carrying mail over the Sahara for the Aéropostale in the 1920s. Cyclones, sandstorms, Moors and long, lonely nights in the heart of the desert, "the naked rind of the planet" give this book a perspective of the planet that is rare. Saint Exupéry was known as a remarkable pilot but it is his writing that will take the well read adventurer to the ends of the world.

8) The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (1978) This book is the ultimate expression of why people go to the mountains. Matthiessen finds himself in a last enclave of Tibetan culture tracking an elusive wild cat and takes the well read adventurer with him on a journey of inquiry. While chasing the snow leopard in the Land of Dolpo, Matthiesen's experience on the spiritual ground between life and death is the ultimate mountain adventure.

9) On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957) Carpe diem - seize the day! The need to just get out is why this read taps the nerves of every well read adventurer. This anti-confinement tale has the perfect mix of rural wilderness, urban jungles and endless deserts that all lead to freedom. The adventure for all times, On The Road is a tribute to everyone who refuses to miss out on life and determined to make the most of now.

10) The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto "Che" Guevera (1952) Before he became an icon of the Cuban Revolution, Che Guevera was a just another young man with a thirst for adventure. A semester before he was due to complete his medical degree, Che traversed 13,000 km of the South American continent on motorcycle with his sidekick Alberto Granada, a biochemist. During the journey, the two witnessed the poverty and suffering of the South American lower class, an experience that would change both of them. Their final destination was the San Pablo leper colony in Peru. It was here that Che began his lifelong quest to restore dignity to the oppressed. In the symbolic act of swimming the Amazon River at night he crossed the divide between two societies: the comfortable cabins of doctors and the shacks of the lepers forever cementing his legacy as a man of the people. Regardless of Che's later prominence, The Motorcycle Diaries is the story of two young men on the journey of a lifetime and how that one adventure gave their lives direction. It is a story about the best of what travel brings us and why the well read adventurer appreciates storytelling.