Epic is a mountaineering term that evokes a sense of treacherous disaster the climb that went wrong; fighting blinding snowstorms and horrific avalanches; days spent tentbound, running low on food, water, and oxygen; surviving broken bones and shattered spirits. Editor Clint Willis has gathered the most exciting climbing literature of the modern age into one cliff-hanging volume with 15 memorable accounts of legend-making expeditions to the world's most famous peaks, often in the world's worst possible conditions. Authors include Jon Krakauer, Greg Child, David Roberts, Alfred Lansing, and...

Wild brings together the best writing about men and women fighting for their lives in the wilderness, from Jon Krakauer's article on which he based his bestseller Into the Wild, to Carl R. Raswan's account of surviving raids, droughts, and sandstorms in the desert with the Bedouins, to Joe Kane's description of terrifying adventures on the Amazon. Other accounts include: Philipe Descola telling of life with an isolated tribe of headhunters; Bill Bryson describing his life-threatening but hilarious adventures along the Appalachian Trail; and Eric Newby finding himself lost in some of the...

Climb focuses on the most exciting descriptions of the hardest climbing in the world, from the cliffs of Yosemite to the windswept towers of Patagonia to the high peaks of the Himalayas. 16 photos.

Venables shares this rousing account of his 1988 climb of the East Face of Mount Everest, where he led three unknown American climbers up a sheer avalanche-swept wall of snow and ice -- without a supply of oxygen. Photos.

Stephen Venables and three companions made the first ascent of Panchu Chuli Va remote Himalayan peak on the borders of India, Nepal and Tibet. A rappel anchor failed on the descent, pitching Venables into a 300-foot fall. Crashing through the black night, flung from rock to rock, he assumed that he was plunging to his death. Against all odds he survived, but was left stranded 19,000 feet above a labyrinth of glaciers and snow slopes with two broken legs, the threat of gangrene, and scant food or medical supplies. If he was to return to his wife and son waiting at home some 5000 miles away,...

In 1970, Chris Bonington and his now-legendary team of mountaineers were the first climbers to tackle a big wall at extreme altitude. Their target was the south face of Nepal's Annapurna: 12,000 feet of steep rock and ice leading to a 26, 454-ft. summit. As serious armchair climbers will tell you, Annapurna South Face is better than all but a handful of equally gripping classics. One could also argue that all that has happened in the big mountains in the past 30 years has come out of this expedition and out of this book. Bonington and his teammost of whom subsequently died in the...

Readers are taken into the heart of organized crime in this anthology of writings from some of the masters of the genre, ranging from Peter Massand and E. L. Doctorow to Mario Puzo and Nicholas Pileggi, and from law enforcement insiders and mobsters such as Sam Giancana. Photos.

Firefighters have long been among the most admired men and women in our culture, and recent events have shown how well-placed that admiration isadding fuel to our innate fascination with stories about fire and the people who risk their lives to fight it. Some of our best writers are drawn to the subject of firefighting, and over the years they have created a rich body of literature. Fire Fighters offers the most exciting and compelling stories from that body of work, including accounts of devastating fires from New York to Yellowstone, as well as smaller blazes that have turned particularly...

New York has always inspired larger-than-life tales and great writingbut on the topic of cops and crime it provides more raw material than almost anywhere else. A long history of classic films, television hits, and of course, books, have turned the New York City Police Department into a symbol for the dark drama of urban police work. And the rich and colorful vein of literature which has grown up around this culture makes NYPD not only a gripping read but a literary tour de force. Adrenaline Books takes you inside this gritty, tough life of being a cop in New York City. In addition to works...

Featuring superb writing drawn from the best fiction, nonfiction, and journalism, Gangs paints a visceral and fascinating picture of a part of the American experience that is more nightmare than dream. 16 photos.