‘Clear water’s rising’ by Nick Crane – a gentle, charming account of a walk across Europe’s divide.

Or, if you fancy some fiction ‘The Son’ by Philip Meyer – brutal, beautiful, unforgettable.

back to square 1 . will try some of other suggestions now.

Read mostly happy returns on the plane down to oz. Great book for those with a link to the area. Probably not one for those that don’t already have an interest in the cairngorms and or MRT’s

Like cairngorm john a great insight into the the MRTs are run , the mentality and fortitude of those involved.

Next on my list is the us coastguard story “the finest hours” and when i get back ill pick up “the living mountain”

Maybe one of these Books

Speed by Michael Hutchinson, brilliant cycling book, lots to learn in there but also full of humour and some great tales of pro-cycling.

‘Sand, Wind and War’, RA Bagnold – pre-war desert explorer then joins LRDG and early SAS.

the living mountain by nan shepherd ,

The wild truth by carine mccandless (because krackaur leaves out/makes up big facts in his counts on most things it seems)

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainance by robert pirzig

and jupiters travels by ted simon

ordered up for my holiday in a few weeks 😀

Fiction, but I recently enjoyed Coffin Road by Peter May. Factual / topical premise set largely in the Outer Hebrides.

I tend to go for factual – military history etc, but this got me back into fiction – a real page turner

if you’re a fan of the cairngorms and haven’t read “the living mountain” by nan shepherd, it’s awesome…

Referenced by Robert Macfarlaine in his books, which are all very well worth reading:
Mountains Of The Mind, Landmarks, The Wild Places, The Old Ways
If you don’t find enormous inspiration to get out into the countryside after reading these wonderful books, then you ain’t got no soul! 😀

The Lving Mountain – noted p,us @Count’s list

Bruneeps pending autobiography?

Hen, gies a cochieback!

Iron War

i just sent that to the wife earlier nobeer as she cycles along there almost daily …..although i pitty the fool that tries….

Have to agree with Clear Waters rising. A great book to return to. In fact anything by any of the Cranes is good.
Try something by Dervla Murphy, the older the better. Or Eric Newby, A short walk in the Hindu Kush is good.
Anything by Shipton or Tilman.
Herbie Sykes does nice cycling books.

+1 for Into Thin Air and Jupiter’s Travels (The sequel 30yrs later is good too.)

Have’nt read The Finest Hours but the movie was good.

Best non-fiction books I’ve read over the years:

Call of the Wild by Guy Grieve: Scottish middle-class tw*t goes to live in the Alaskan wilderness for a year. You end up rooting for the guy. Would be worth it just for the chapter on learning to drive Huskies.

Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox: Totally heroic.

Fire Strike 7/9 by Paul Grahame: I didn’t think the story of a bloke with a radio calling in air support (JTAC) would be more exciting than all the SAS type books – but it is.

Confessions of an NFL Dropout by Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson: It starts with him snorting coke from a Vicks Sinex bottle on the field, during the Superbowl and it’s all downhill from there.

The Sweet Science by AJ Liebling: What a writer. Worth it even if you don’t care for boxing.

Ten Points by Bill Strickland: An uncomfortable but also heartwarming tale of child abuse and criterium racing.

Currently reading this

Fascinating read 🙂

Land of second chances by tim lewis now.

Perhaps a little vested intrerest because the mrs taught out there and rode with the guys in the book but shaping up to be a fascinating if not difficult at times read.

I know this is a novel, but it’s also a great historical reference. And actually an ever so brief but compelling read…

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Trust me!

The Tiger by John Valliant

Sounds like you’re sorted.
Recently ,I was so bored at work, I read both Freddie Starr & David Hasselhoff’s autobiographies.
I can’t recommend either.
(Someone left them in the tea room and I will never ,ever ,get that time back.)
🙂

I went through a big blob of polar exploration books- some modern accounts, some historical, some logs etc. Amazing stories, proving what can be achieved by total idiots.

Speed by Michael Hutchinson

Sorry, it’s called Faster and is utterly brilliant.

Berserk in the Antarctic is a good read.