This year’s adult summer reading club has come to an end. Get Between the Covers with a nonfiction account of adventure, true survival, or true crime and enjoy the rest of the summer!
At the Devil’s Table: The Untold Story of the Insider Who Brought Down the Cali Cartel by William C. Rempel
Traces the collaborative effort between two U.S. agents and a security chief for a notorious Colombian drug cartel to dismantle the organization and bring its leaders to justice, a life-risking venture marked by a race to protect the life of a key witness.
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad (audio download, CD book, eBook)
Describes the author’s struggles with constant fear in the face of his father’s thrill-seeking personality, and his efforts to survive a plane crash that killed his father and stranded him in the Gabriel Mountains.
Down Around Midnight: A Memoir of Crash and Survival by Robert Sabbag
The author shares his story of surviving a 1979 plane crash in the woods on Cape Cod, and reconnects with other survivors in an attempt to come to terms with the emotional ramifications of the incident.
Extreme Weather: A Guide to Surviving Flash Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Heat Waves, Snowstorms, Tsunamis, and Other Natural Disasters by Bonnie Schneider
A CNN meteorologist shares guidelines on how to prepare for weather emergencies, providing recommendations for making evacuation plans, stocking emergency supplies, and surviving extreme weather scenarios at home, in a car, and outdoors.
Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby & Greg Campbell
Presents an account of the largest diamond heist in history as “The School of Turin” stole half a billion dollars in diamonds and other valuables from the Antwerp Diamond Center in Belgium.
Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth by Chris Dixon
Rising from the depths of the North Pacific lies a fabled island, now submerged just 15 feet below the surface of the ocean. Rumors and warnings about Cortes Bank abound, but among big wave surfers, this legendary rock is famous for one simple (and massive) reason: this is the home of the biggest rideable wave on the face of the earth.
Hell or High Water: Surviving Tibet’s Tsangpo River by Peter Heller
Tibet’s Tsangpo Gorge, inspiration for Shangri-La and one of the world’s most insurmountable stretches of river, remained unconquered until a team of seven world-class kayakers rose to the challenge.
How to Survive Anything, Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment by Chris McNab
A complete handbook of the urban and wilderness survival skills practiced by elite U.S. and U.K. military units.
K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs & David Roberts
The first American mountaineer to have ascended all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks explores the history of K2 as reflected by six dramatic climbing campaigns, describing the tragedies that have marked many attempts as well as his own near-fatal 1992 ascent.
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann (audio download, CD book, eBook)
Interweaves the story of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who vanished during a 1925 expedition into the Amazon, with the author’s own quest to uncover the mysteries surrounding Fawcett’s final journey and the secrets of what lies deep in the Amazon jungle.
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff (audio download, CD book, eBook)
The story of an extraordinary World War II rescue mission, where a plane crash in the South Pacific plunged a trio of U.S. military personnel into the jungle-clad land of New Guinea
Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French
Chronicles the efforts of two detectives, one British and one Chinese, as they raced to find an Englishwoman’s killer in 1937 before the Japanese invaded Peking.
The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World by Jay Bahadur
This riveting narrative examines the world of the Somalian pirates: how they live, the forces that have created piracy in Somalia, how they spend the ransom money, and how they deal with their hostages.
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King
Chronicles the hardships encountered by twelve American sailors who, in 1815, were shipwrecked on the coast of North Africa, captured, sold into slavery, and sent on a difficult odyssey through the perilous heart of the Sahara.
SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper by Howard E. Wasdin & Stephen Templin (audio download, CD book)
A Navy SEAL Team Six sniper reveals how he became an elite soldier while recounting the dramatic mission that nearly cost him his life, offering insider perspectives on his team’s extensive training process at the Marine’s Scout Sniper School.
The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood
Draws on stories about survivors of accidents, crime, and serious illness to investigate why some people succumb to life-threatening hardships while others rally.
The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible by John Geiger
Explores the human capacity to survive extreme conditions, noting a phenomenon in which people in life-endangering circumstances often sense an unseen presence who offers encouragement and guidance.
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant (audio download, eBook)
Documents the efforts of a tiger conservation leader who was forced to hunt a man-eating tiger through the brutal Siberian winter, an effort that familiarized him with the creature’s history, motives, and unique method of attack.
To the Last Breath: A Memoir of Going to Extremes by Francis Slakey
A physics professor describes the rigidly scheduled and isolated existence he led before embarking on a life-risking effort to climb the world’s highest mountains and surf every ocean.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (audio download, CD book, eBook, large print)
The true story of a U.S. airman who crashed into the sea during WWII and had to face thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.
Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America’s Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang by William Queen
A veteran ATF agent describes his stint as an undercover agent with the Mongols, a violent outlaw motorcycle gang.