Limits of the Known
Written by David Roberts
Narrated by David Chandler
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Editor's Note
Short-listed for the 2019 PEN/ESPN Award…
Spark your spirit of adventure with these gripping stories of dangerous expeditions, fearless explorers, and extraordinary outdoors feats throughout history. Krakauer fans, take note.
David Roberts
David Roberts (1943–2021) was the author of dozens of books on mountaineering, adventure, and the history of the American Southwest. His essays and articles have appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, and The Atlantic Monthly, among other publications.
More audiobooks from David Roberts
The Last of His Kind: The Life and Adventures of Bradford Washburn, America's Boldest Mountaineer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rosie Revere, Engineer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Iggy Peck, Architect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pueblo Revolt: The Secret Rebellion That Drove the Spaniards Out of the Southwest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mountain of My Fear and Deborah: Two Mountaineering Classics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ada Twist, Scientist Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Search of the Old Ones: Exploring the Anasazi World of the Southwest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mountain: My Time on Everest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Limits of the Known
Related audiobooks
High Risk: Climbing To Extinction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Edge of the Map: The Mountain Life of Christine Boskoff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bliss(ters): How I walked from Mexico to Canada One Summer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walking Thru: A Couple's Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shook: An Earthquake, a Legendary Mountain Guide, and Everest's Deadliest Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walking with Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160-Mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adventure North Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Impossible First Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rowing the Northwest Passage: Adventure, Fear, and Awe in a Rising Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Naked and Marooned Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Uncharted: A Couple's Epic Empty-Nest Adventure Sailing from One Life to Another Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Biking Across America: My Coast-to-Coast Adventure and the People I Met Along the Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Happened Like This: A Life in Alaska Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escalante's Dream: On the Trail of the Spanish Discovery of the Southwest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Expedition: Two Parents Risk Life and Family in an Extraordinary Quest to the South Pole Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Exploration of the Colorado river and its Canyons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sea Trial: Sailing After My Father Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYour Blue Is Not My Blue: A Missing Person Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Off For A Walk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dog Went Over the Mountain: Travels With Albie: An American Journey Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5On the Ridge Between Life and Death: A Climbing Life Reexamined Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Higher Love: Climbing and Skiing the Seven Summits Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Chomolungma Diaries: Climbing Mount Everest with a commercial expedition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ogre: Biography of a mountain and the dramatic story of the first ascent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shining Mountain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Climb: Stories of Survival From Rock, Snow and Ice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Outdoors For You
Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Why We Swim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wavewalker: A Memoir of Breaking Free Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5River Wild: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5127 Hours Movie Tie- In: Between a Rock and a Hard Place Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Birth of The Endless Summer: A Surf Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SAS Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Advanced Bushcraft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lost in the Wild: Danger and Survival in the North Woods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rough Water: Stories of Survival From The Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mountains of the Mind: Adventures in Reaching the Summit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deep Blue: Stories of Shipwreck, Sunken Treasure and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crazy for the Storm Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Will to Wild: Adventures Great and Small to Change Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Stay Alive: The Ultimate Survival Guide for Any Situation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hiking Through: One Man's Journey to Peace and Freedom on the Appalachian Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Epic: Stories of Survival From The World's Highest Peaks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Resilience: Strategies for an Unbreakable Mind and Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Survival Guide for Life: How to Achieve Your Goals, Thrive in Adversity, and Grow in Character Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Optimist: A Case for the Fly Fishing Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Voyage for Madmen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Limits of the Known
14 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There are people around that revel in climbing the tallest mountains, seeking out the wildest places and pushing their bodies to extremes. David Roberts was one of those people who was always seeking the next place, another mountain all because he could. He never considered himself a risk-taker though, more of a risk manager, as he knew the absolute limit of what he could achieve and never pushed himself over that line. His outlook on life all changed though with his diagnosis of throat cancer. Gone were the days of scaling the peaks and he had to take time out to be treated and to rest and recuperate.
The sudden expanse of spare time that he had meant that he could consider whys and wherefores as to why he undertook adventures and also made him think about other people who have sought the perils of extreme travels. These days we are not cut off from civilisation, our technology can pinpoint our exact spot in the globe and we are only a phone call away from help should things become sticky. That said becoming too dependent on it can be lethal. It feels that there are no more blank spaces on the maps anymore; even 100 years ago there were parts of the North American continent that had never had humans walk or climb over them.
Restricted because of his health, the journeys in this book are literal and historical. Not only does he reminisce on the highlights and the close calls that he had in his own adventures all of the globe, but he writes about adventures that he admires, such as Henry Worsley’s epic walk across Antarctica, Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen who managed to get closer to the North Pole than anyone else before him and British explorer Eric Shipton who was the first to see some of Alaska before it appeared on a map. There are modern adventures in here too, people who have turned away from the much-photographed and mapped surface and headed underground, deep deep underground to discover about those who push their limits right to the limit when cave diving.
Roberts asks some interesting questions, about the need for humanity to seek the places that have never glimpsed directly by our eyes and what drives these people to do these things. He goes some way to answer them too, by considering his take on adventures and his attitude to risk even after losing climbing partners to falls. This is the first of his books that I have read. I really liked his writing style, detailed and yet concise and will definitely be reading some more of his books.