Quest for Adventure: Remarkable feats of exploration and adventure

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 mid-late 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 Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki voyage across the Pacific Ocean; 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; Hillary and Tenzing’s first ascent of Everest; Reinhold and Gunther Messner on Nanga Parbat; Andy Cave’s triumph and tragedy on Changabang; and the Warren-Harding-led 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 the race to make the first circumnavigation of the globe by balloon – a high-stakes race with a high-profile cast, including Richard Branson and Steve Fossett. 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.