25 Best Books for Adventurers To Embrace As They Explore Their World Through Reading

Discover our list of the best books for adventurers. From trip-planning tips to thrilling accounts from the world’s best explorers, there’s something for everyone!

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Are you ready to take that first step and go on your own adventure? Maybe you’ve dreamed of scaling Mount Everest to stand on Earth’s highest point. Perhaps you’ve imagined yourself seeing penguins in person in the Arctic. Or, maybe those adventures are a little too adventurous for you.

If you love adventure but aren’t quite ready to embrace adventure for yourself, a book could be the answer. You can revel in the escapades of people braver than you while your feet remain planted firmly at home. Take a journey through literature by reading the best Morrocan authors!

An adventure story takes you into the heart of the jungle, the top of the mountain or the depths of the sea, with no risk to yourself. You can experience the emotions of explorers while sitting safely in the comfort of your home. Readers can feel the anguish of people grappling with the challenges of the natural world without having to feel the hunger, cold and sweat themselves directly. All it takes to experience these feelings is the right book. Not sure where to start? Here’s a list of the best books for adventurers, or adventurers at heart, to add to their reading lists.

Best Short Story Adventure Books

1. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, Volume 4, Part 1 by Louis L’Amour

The name Louis L’Amour brings ideas of cowboys, outlaws and beautiful ladies at their sides. While he’s most famous for his novels of the Wild West, he also has many short stories that are just as adventurous but with a different setting. The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour, compiled in 2006, houses several of them. These tales will take readers across the globe from Borneo to the United States. The stories embrace L’Amour’s signature storytelling style but in a smaller package than his larger novels. This author’s considered America’s Storyteller and these adventure tales show why. 

If you like reading more adventure books, you might want to explore our round-up of the best adventure books.

“Over their heads the sky was fiercely blue, their horses’ hooves drummed upon the hard, close-cropped turf . . . there were few clouds. Yes . . . these rides would be remembered. Nowhere were there mountains like these, nowhere such skies.”

Louis L’Amour, The Collected Short Stories of Louis L’Amour

2. She Explores by Gale Straub

Who says men have to have all of the adventures? Women are adventurers, too! She Explores, the 2019 work by Gale Straub, is a collection of short stories by women adventurers. From climbers to campers to backpackers, this book has brave souls of all types, but all are female. There are 40 stories included in this book, accompanied by practical ideas for planning your own adventurous expedition. The stories include breathtaking photos of some of the world’s most adventurous places. Each true story in this book will inspire your outdoor adventure as you read about these brave women. 

“Maybe she’s a realist, maybe she’s a dreamer. Maybe she’s an artist and the varying landscapes she crosses inspire creativity within her. Or maybe the changing landscapes are overwhelming at times. She wants to slow down and stay a while.”

Gale Straub, She Explores

3. Small Boats on Green Waters, edited by Brian Anderson

Not all adventures take place on land. Some take place on the water, a setting just as grueling and unforgiving as the land, especially on a small vessel. Small Boats on Green Waters, compiled by Brian Anderson in 2007, has stories that span many time periods and writing styles. Small Boats on Green Waters has plenty of humor, different settings and various authors within its pages. You’ll also read about many different types of small watercrafts. Authors include famous names like Robert Louis Stevenson, Meriwether Lewis and Mark Twain.  

“I dreamed of someday spending days alone between sea and sky with maybe an albatross or a school of dolphins for company, and then stepping from a sturdy little sailboat onto the quat at Marseilles, Instanbul, Tahiti, Shanghai, or a hundred other ports whose names hung in the air, as pungent as the spices, salt cod, ambergris, whale oil, and incense that drove men over the seas in the first place.”

Brian Anderson, Small Boats on Green Waters

4. Tough Women Adventure Stories, edited by Jenny Tough

From the story of a woman swimming the English Channel to one woman’s Arctic expeditions, Tough Women Adventure Stories is full of true stories of brave women who have had triumphant and sometimes heartbreaking adventures around the globe. These stories will inspire you to conquer your fears and join women who have achieved amazing feats worldwide. The book Tough published in 2020, features 12 authors telling adventure stories.

“Perhaps that is one thing that I love so dearly about spending time in the wilderness – it’s the greatest equalizer. The mountains don’t care what gender you identify with, how old you are, who you love, how you speak. They don’t give a toss. You are free out there. But on so many occasions in my life, I’ve been warned against going to this sanctuary – because I’m a woman.”

Jenny Tough, Tough Women Adventure Stories

Best Non-Fiction Adventure Stories

5. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Nothing’s quite as adventurous as a Mount Everest expedition. Hundreds have lost their lives to the rugged mountain wilderness, thin air and jagged peaks. A national bestseller, Into Thin Air, is the personal account of the perils of climbing the world’s tallest mountain. Author Jon Krakauer recounts his personal story of what happened when he ascended the mountain with a team of climbers in 1996. After reaching the summit, the team headed back down the mountain when a storm hit and left several of them stranded. Eight of the climbers lost their lives in the disaster. The book was adapted into a movie in 1997, the same year it was published.

“My hunger to climb had been blunted, in short, by a bunch of small satisfactions that added up to something like happiness.”

Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air

6. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

We know about mid-life crises, but what about young adult crises? This is the setting of Into the Wild, which tells the story of Christopher McCandless and his ill-planned trek across Alaska to scale Mt. McKinley. The fascinating story begins when the smart college-educated man gives his money to charity and strikes off on his own, intent on taking on nature.

Sadly, his lack of planning and self-assuredness led to his death. Into the Wild tells how the young man came to be alone in the wilderness and how his innocence and hubris led to the mistakes that cost him his life. Jon Krakauer’s signature storytelling style keeps readers turning the pages to finish the book. Krakauer published this classic book in 2017.

“It’s easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it.”

Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

7. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garra

The Arctic and Antarctic regions of the globe are some of the least explored and most unforgiving. In 1910, Robert Falcon Scott took off on an expedition to the South Pole with a team of explorers. One of those explorers was Apsley Cherry-Garra. Sadly, the expedition led to the demise of most of the party, with only three men coming out alive. The brutal cold and lack of food led to the downfall of the rest of the team. The Worst Journey in the World, published in 1922, tells the story with detailed descriptions that make the Antarctic world come to life. Many consider it a classic in travel and adventure writing.

“Generally, the risks were taken, for, on the whole, it is better to be a little over-bold than a little over-cautious, while always there was something inside urging you to do it just because there was a certain risk, and you hardly liked not to do it. It is so easy to be afraid of being afraid!”

Apsley Cherry-Garra, The Worst Journey in the World

8. The Journey In Between: A Thru-Hiking Adventure on El Camino de Santiago by Keith Foskett

So many of the books on this list have sad endings, but not this one. Published in 2019, The Journey In Between is a newer book on this list, but it’s full of adventure. It tells an autobiographical tale of Keith Foskett’s thru-hiking journey across the 1,000-mile-long El Camino de Santiago. On this trip, the hiker must deal with extreme temperatures, thievery and the rest of the challenges of backpacking trips. It’s a travel memoir with vivid descriptions of the people and places he experienced. This book is a must-read for people who love adventure books but not sad endings.

“The ancient path I had chosen to walk came under many guises. As well as the Camino de Santiago, it is also referred to as El Camino, the Way of St. James, the Way of St. Jacques and the Pilgrims Way.”

Keith Foskett, The Journey In-Between

9. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Looking for humor with a side of adventure? Then this book’s for you. In A Walk in the Woods, Bryson writes about his trek along 2,100 miles of the Appalachian Trail after returning to America from a 20-year hiatus in Britain. The adventure story is told with Bryson’s signature humor. He also brings attention to detail in the writing, giving readers a glimpse of one of America’s last great wilderness areas. The book, published in 1998, inspired a motion picture of the same name.

“Life takes on a neat simplicity, too. Time ceases to have any meaning. When it is dark, you go to bed, and when it is light again, you get up, and everything in between is just in between. It’s quite wonderful, really.”

Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

Best Fiction Adventure Novels for Kids

10. Call of the Wild by Jack London

Not all adventure stories have a human main character. Published in 1903, Call of the Wild by Jack London tells of Buck, a sled dog who lived during the Klondike Gold Rush. When Buck is stolen from his home in California and sold to be a sled dog in Alaska, his adventures begin. At its heart, this book is a story of survival, but it also sheds light on life and conditions in a unique time in America’s history. It has had several movie adaptations, with the first dating back to 1908. It also made Jack London a well-known name in American literature.

“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”

Jack London, Call of the Wild

11. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Argh, matey! If your idea of adventure is a swashbuckling pirate tale, add this classic book to your reading list. Since its original publication in 1882, Treasure Island has remained a classic of children’s literature, inspiring generations of young adventurers through the story of Jim Hawkins and his battle against Long John Silver. The swashbuckling narrative takes to the high sea, includes a mutiny and introduces the “X marks the spot” treasure map trope. It presented readers with the idea of peg-legged pirates and parrots on their shoulders, which have woven their way through culture since its publication. This novel is one of the most frequently dramatized works in the English language.

“That was Flint’s treasure that we had come so far to seek, and that had cost already the lives of seventeen men from the Hispaniola. How many it had cost in the amassing, what blood and sorrow, what good ships scuttled on the deep, what brave men walking the plank blindfold, what shot of cannon, what shame and lies and cruelty, perhaps no man alive could tell.”

Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

12. Roughing It by Mark Twain

In Roughing It, Mark Twain tells his own story of life on the Mississippi River. The author skillfully mixes his personal experiences with a bit of fiction to create an interesting and engaging account. In addition to spending time on the water, the character also explores what life in a militia and as a prospector was like. Twain even takes readers on a short trip to Hawaii. Readers can see Twain’s personality shine and humor through his main character, and reading the book provides a picture of America’s frontier in the 1860s. Like most of the author’s works, it has plenty of social satire mixed with tales of river travel and adventure.

“This book is merely a personal narrative, and not a pretentious history or a philosophical dissertation. It is a record of several years of variegated vagabondizing, and it’s object is rather to help the resting reader while away an idle hour than afflict him with metaphysics, or goad him with science.”

Mark Twain, Roughing It

13. Hatchet by Gary Paulson

What happens when you drop a 13-year-old with no wilderness knowledge and facing an emotional family crisis in the middle of the Canadian woods? You get a Newbery Honor-winning book that sells 4.5 million copies. Hatchet tells the story of 13-year-old Brian Robeson, who takes off in a single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time after his parent’s divorce.

The plane goes down in Canada and the pilot is killed, leaving Brian alone. The teenager must overcome self-pity and despair to learn how to survive. He spends 54 days in the wilderness and learns patience and maturity, weaving a bit of coming of age into an adventure book. Paulson published Hatchet in 1986.

“He did not know how long it took, but later he looked back on this time of crying in the corner of the dark cave and thought of it as when he learned the most important rule of survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work. It wasn’t just that it was wrong to do, or that it was considered incorrect. It was more than that–it didn’t work.”

Gary Paulson, Hatchet

14. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

In The Sign of the Beaver, a 13-year-old boy is left to guard a cabin in the wilderness and tries to prove to his father that he can take on this job. But someone steals his gun, leaving him defenseless so he must figure out how to hunt. This setback leads to his meeting a Native boy who teaches him about the land he lives on. This friendship teaches Matt that the changes his people bring to the land directly impact those who called the land home first.

“The two boys stood and looked at each other. There was no amusement and no scorn in Attean’s eyes. How very strange, Matt thought. After all the brave deeds he had dreamed of doing to win this boy’s respect, he had gained it at last by doing nothing, just by staying here and refusing to leave.”

Elizabeth George Speare, The Sign of the Beaver

Best Adventure Fiction Novels for Adults

15. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Man versus sea versus whale. This plot line is the basis for the 1851 classic Moby Dick. It tells of Captain Ahab and his search to destroy Moby Dick, a sperm whale that once bit off his leg. The narrator, Ishmael, is a sailor on the ship who chronicles not only the adventurous search for the whale but also quite a bit of what a sailor’s life was like in the 1800s. This book is full of meaning, including the theme of revenge. It is also a historically accurate novel that depicts the whaling industry.

Looking for more reading material talking adventure? Check out our guide to the best authors like Bill Bryson!

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”

Herman Melville, Moby Dick

16. The Odyssey by Homer

Homer’s Odyssey is one of the two major Greek epic poems attributed to the ancient writer. First published in English in 1614, it tackles wandering, testing and omens themes. It tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who spends ten years wandering to find his way home after the Trojan War. Many classic myths are found in this epic tale and it is definitely one that adventure lovers will appreciate. The Odyssey and The Iliad are often printed together.

“Take courage, my heart: you have been through worse than this. Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.”

Homer, The Odyssey

17. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Traveling around the world on a time crunch is about as adventurous as you can get and that’s the story Jules Verne tells in Around the World in Eighty Days. Originally published in French and translated into English in 1873, the book starts with Phileas Fogg betting with his friends at a club where he can travel the globe in just 80 days. They take him up on the bet and the clock starts ticking. Along the way, Fogg travels using many interesting transportation options, including hot air balloon, elephant and train. The reader is left to wonder if he will make it back on time to win the bet while learning about various unique and beautiful global destinations.

“I see that it is by no means useless to travel, if a man wants to see something new.”

Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

18. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Imagine coming face to face with a T-rex bent on finding his next meal. Welcome to Jurassic Park. This book by Michael Crichton explores what would happen if the dinosaurs came back to life. Using cloning technology, a team of scientists creates a theme park with live dinosaurs. Yet dinos are unpredictable and soon they escape captivity, leading the main characters on an adventurous journey to keep the reptiles contained and protect their own lives. Jurassic Park was such a successful novel it sparked an entire movie franchise. Crichton published the book in 1990 and it became a New York Times bestseller.

“Even pure scientific discovery is an aggressive, penetrative act. It takes big equipment, and it literally changes the world afterward. Particle accelerators scar the land, and leave radioactive byproducts. Astronauts leave trash on the moon. There is always some proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries.”

Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park

19. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Published in 1899, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novella that tells of an Englishman, Charles Marlow, who heads out as a ferry boat captain sent to Africa. While in Africa, he learns of the darkness of the Congo wilderness and sees the darkness among Europeans as they treat the Native people with disdain. The story chronicles his voyage along the Congo River as Marlow discovers the truth behind colonialism and the madness it creates in some people. Many consider Heart of Darkness one of the most influential English works.

“You know I hate, detest, and can’t bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appalls me. There is a taint of death, a flavour of mortality in lies – which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world – what I want to forget.”

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

20. Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven

The 1935 book by B. Traven tells the story of three American men heading to Mexico to seek treasure. Along the way, they become entangled in a world of greed and betrayal. The book has been considered part of the mythology of the Wild West and has quite a bit of irony. In 1948, it became a major motion picture starring actor Humphrey Bogart. At the end of the story, readers are left to realize that it’s the hunt, not the treasure, where the true adventure lies.

“It isn’t the gold that changes man, it is the power which gold gives to man that changes the soul of man. This power, though, is only imaginary. If not recognized by other men, it does not exist.”

B. Traven, Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Best Adventure Biographies and Memoirs

21. A Man of the World: My Life at National Geographic by Gilbert M. Grosvenor

Gilbert M. Grosvenor created National Geographic Magazine, and A Man of the World chronicles his story. Starting with a Victorian club in the 1880s and building into a media empire recognized worldwide and known for its adventurous articles and photographs, Grovsener built a media empire that still goes strong today. This 2022 book tells about his adventures as he traveled the globe searching for new stories for his magazine. His adventurous life made him explore hidden tombs, ancient temples and more. The book has many photographs to illustrate the adventure that was Grosvenor’s life.

“Aloft over the Arctic Ocean, I couldn’t take my eyes off that endless expanse of whiteness beneath. Everything to the west had been marked ‘Unexplored’ on a map my grandfather had published only a few years before I was born. Somewhere below was the track Peary had followed to the North Pole.”

Gilbert M. Grosvenor, A Man of the World

22. Explorer: The Quest for Adventure and the Great Unknown by Benedict Allen

What’s left to explore in the 21st century? Explorer: The Quest for Adventure and the Great Unknown by Benedict Allen seeks to answer this question. This memoir showcases what Allen learned in his many adventures into the planet’s most remote areas. In it, readers will discover the value of disconnecting from modern society to explore a culture and world that’s simpler and more in tune with nature. Allen is known for his tendency to immerse himself among indigenous people while exploring and this 2021 book shows some of what that practice taught him. 

“Each habitat was a land to investigate at my leisure, and in the centre of each, I placed an insectivorous plant. A sundew, a butterwort, a Venus flytrap.”

Benedict Allen, Explorer: The Quest for Adventure and the Great Unknown

23. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Wild follows the story of Cheryle Strayed, whosuffered a series of life-altering tragedies, including a failed relationship and the death of a parent. Strayed had nothing left to lose. She strapped on a pair of shoes and decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Starting in the Mojave Desert and making her way through California, Oregon and Washington State, she learned to love herself through this journey. The book tells about the trip with candor and humor. 

“Alone had always felt like an actual place to me, as if it weren’t a state of being, but rather a room where I could retreat to be who I really was.”

Cheryl Strayed, Wild

24. Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Imagine the terror and excitement of being some of the first commercial pilots. Night Flight explores the miracle of early flight by chronicling the brave people who piloted night maile plains from Patagonia, Chile and Paraguay to Argentina. With aviation in its infancy, these brave pilots faced several dangers but continued to deliver the mail to the people who needed it. Night Flight was published in French in 1931 and then in English in 1932.

“We do not pray for immortality, but only not to see our acts and all things stripped suddenly of all their meaning; for then it is the utter emptiness of everything reveals itself.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Night Flight

25. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey spent many years working as a seasonal ranger in the national parks and Canyonlands of Moab, Utah. His time in the desert living out of a trailer allowed him to get to know this unique terrain. From the wild horses of the mountain ranges to the petroglyphs of ancient Puebloan civilizations, he found many treasures in his time in the desert. Abbey writes about these adventures in Desert Solitaire, which he published in 1968.

“A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” – Edward Abbey, Desert SolitaireBook cover Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey”A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.”

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Looking for more? Check out our round-up of the best Karly May books!