For all fellow Walter Mitty's I pose this question. What books, historical eras or subjects inspired you to do whatever it is we call adventure? For me; it was Antoine de Saint-Exupery writing about flying, Joseph Conrad the Sea and Robert W.Service the Gold Rush. It all came together during my tour in Alaska. I briefly gave up reading after I did a night swim off Tillamook Bay Oregon. Never read JAWS before starting a nightwatch <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />.

Hmmm. Not that I'm a world class adventurer but I guess that I started with "treasure Island" and similar classics. My first outdoors type book was "Bushcraft". I've progressed from there to the books of Bradford Angier.

Chris

Jules Verne's books, especially The Lighthouse at the End of the World.

Burak

I too was a big Jules Verne fan. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and Master of The World. These books had such a dramatic impact on me it's not going to be much longer before you're all going to be bowing before me in willful supplication. Oh, wait, that's Bush's line <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

LOL

Cub Scout Manual, Hardy Boys and TinTin Adventures. Pete

Without a doubt, "Tunnel in the Sky" by Robert Heinlein.

There were lots and lots of books after that, some very inspirational, but I read them all after this book had created the fascination with the subject.

When I was young, I was a huge fan of a series of books about "Dale of the Mounted" (the only title I can remember is "Dale of the Mounted in Newfoundland") about a Canadian Mountie (named Dale, of course). I don't remember anything about them, except I think he drove a dog sled in at least one of the books. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

And another book I read and enjoyed was "Paddle to the Sea", a rather strange travelogue involving a carved toy Indian in a canoe that was left on a snowbank overlooking Lake Superior, to eventually travel through the Great Lakes and the St. Laurence River to the Atlantic Ocean. An ingeniously sneaky way of getting children to learn geography <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

'Hatchet', by Gary Paulsen.

It was actually my older brother (rather naughty guy), his best friend (similar in many regards), their imagination, and the freedom of a banana and macadamia nut farm that got me into outdoor life.

Could I go back 1 step furthwe and say that it was my Grandfathers stories?

As well as the SAS survival guide, Robinson Crusoe and other survival books, Gary Paulsen's hatchet was another book that got me captivated.

WOFT, have you read his follow up books: Hatchet - winter, Hatchet - the return and Hatchet - The Call? I've also read: The Voyage of the Frog, Dogsong, Bluelight (rather obscure, but interesting), The Fourteenth Summer, Foxman, Mr Tucket and Tucket's Ride. Good books.