The book that my dad was almost in - only a day behind the ill-fated Carl Wake, the main character of this here story, my dad was on another deliver that nearly sent them into Hurricane Lenny. It didn't but the storm didn't spare Carl, John's friend, and this is the true story. A very sad one at that.

David Lewis is one of the unsung single-handers of the 1960s and 1970s - unless of course you've heard of him! This is a survival story as much as it is a sailing story, chronicling his circumnavigation of Antarctica. David Lewis previously had a ketch called 'Isbjorn', a big part of the inspiration for our own Isbjorn.

Eric Newby wrote 'The Great Grain Race,' and spent time on tall ships. But he was also known as one of the UK's best travel writers in his day, and this is one of those books. If you like adventure, check it out.

Pete Goss sailed 100 miles upwind in hurricane force to rescue a fellow Vendee Globe racer. This is the story.

The book that got me into freediving, and a fascinating look at the ocean. Tangentially related to sailing, but one that all sailors should read.

The craziest story from the fabled Golden Globe Race of 1968, and probably the saddest. Crowhurst build the 'Teignmouth Electron' trimaran for the race, and never made it out of the Atlantic...the boat today is washed ashore somewhere in the Virgin Islands.

My favorite coffee table book (too big to keep on the boat!), and a Christmas present from Mia a few years back. Every country in the world has a full two-page spread with awesome little tidbits of information and beautiful photographs.

The classic adventure story of Thor and his crazy Norwegian friends who set out from South America on a balsa wood raft to prove that the South Pacific could have been populated by South American's. The museum in Oslo is equally fascinating!

From Outside Magazine: "By now, most people know this story down to the last dog and cat, but the immediacy of Worsley's account revitalizes it. If you don't feel his sorrow in losing his ship to the ice pack, share his delirium glissading down to the South Georgia whaling station that would be their salvation (a scene to which Shackleton, ever careful not to seem whimsical, gives only a cursory line in South), or tear up when the two men return to their friends on Elephant Island 128 days after they set out, you don't love adventure."

The incredible log of Admiral Richard Byrd who spent a long, dark winter alone in Antarctica, basically just to see if he could do it!

Alvah Simon heads north in his iconic boat, the 'Roger Henry,' and gets frozen in for a long winter of spiritual inspiration. He nearly dies when his diesel heater basically suffocates him with carbon monoxide. One of several books that has me drawn to the Arctic...

Recommended Ben Shaw as a great book to read with his daughter and for being the book that Disney’s movie Moana is based on. Also recommended by Captain Bill Pinkney during his On the Wind episode for “awakening his spirit of adventure.”

By Amazon: “A boy tries to overcome his fear of the sea in this treasured classic and winner of the Newbery Medal.”

This one was recommended by Bruce M., but I'm also including it in my list, as it's an all-time classic that I had forgotten about! The first real attempt to solo circumnavigate, with one stop in Australia. Set off a lot of future solo voyages.

Thanks to Lance Garms for reminding me of this one! "Godforsaken Sea is the hair-raising account of the world's most demanding, dangerous, and deadly sailing race. Around the world, one sailor, one boat, no stops, no assistance. Author Derek Lundy's vivid book follows the field of the 1996 - 1997 Vendee Globe through the race's grueling four-month circumnavigation of the globe, most of it through the terror of the Southern Ocean."

Our friend Micah gave this to us before the trans-Atlantic on 'Arcturus.' I read it on the way across. It's a story of some guys in a wooden boat who re-traced the Vikings voyage westabout across the Atlantic. Vinland was rumored to be Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or even New England. Equal parts history book and really cool voyaging tale. -Andy