As Told at the Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales of Adventure

by George Plimpton (Editor)

For more than a century, The Explorers Club has been the meeting place for some of the most daring adventurers on the planet. It's a legendary oasis, where a man just back from the Gobi Desert might kick back and, over some port, have a chat with a fellow off to Bandung.

Here then, are some of the best tales ever swapped at that capital of adventure, including:

Anthony Fiola on being in close quarters with a polar bear
Charles Lindbergh on his famous flight
Felix Reisenberg on the Arctic
Anne Keenleyside, Ph. D. on cannibalism
Roald Amundsen on the explorer Stefansson
Mervyn Cowie on hunting killer lions
Jean-Marc Boivin on hang-gliding
Curtis and Kathleen Saville on oceanic rowing
E. W. Deming on Sitting Bull's mysterious death

It's some of the finest writing on some of the most hair-raising journeys ever made, all selected by editor George Plimpton, himself a member of The Explorers Club.

Genres: Adventure, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Anthologies

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, actor, and gamesman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.

He was the grandson of George A. Plimpton.

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although many of those whose stories are contained within this book consider 'adventures' a result of poor planning, they nevertheless had marvelous tales to tell. From manning a 'ghostly' station on a very remote Arctic island to roaming with the nomads of the Asian steppes to joining a cheetah hunt (where the cheetahs are used to hunt other animals), these explorers show us a world few of us will ever encounter.

[Midnight Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very eclectic mix of adventure and anthropology. Many of these tales are from the early parts of the 20th century so the marked lack of political corectness towards people of other cultures is pretty striking.

[Cortney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of anecdotes from people who have explored every continent on the globe. Quaint and intriguing, like being with a group of friends and recounting adventures. It's a cozy read and makes you want to go somewhere.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Told at the Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales of Adventure edited by George Plimpton (Lyons Press 2003) (910.4) is a collection of hunting, mountaineering, and exploring tales by well-situated good old boys. My rating: 7/10, finished 3/8/14.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites! Something here for every explorer

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read, it just felt like some of the stories were thrown in for filler. Some of them were great, others were good but just didn't seem to belong in this particular collection.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a selection from the previous 3 collections of stories published from 1931 thru 1941. A fourth edition was planned but was shelved as World War II grabbed the world's attention. There are also pieces from "The Explorers Journal" a magazine that has been collecting and publishing tales of expeditions from the founding of The Explorers Club in 1904 through today.

Actually fifty-one tales that range from across Africa, Asia, Alaska, Canada, the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans, the lower 48 of the United States, Central America, United Kingdom and the final part called "Horizons" which talks about exploration itself and a couple articles about Lowell Thomas.

And Thomas has a couple tales relayed within the book itself - the Khyber Pass to Kabul as well as his remembrances of flying over Palestine and the mention of the travels with T.E. Lawrence.
There is also the amusing tale of the mayor of Jerusalem surrendering to the Brits 4 times over a matter of days - first to some Cockney cooks foraging for eggs, then their major, then Brigadier General Watson and finally, for the fourth time, the Commander-in-Chief Allenby. Everyone wanted the credit save the cooks - they just wanted some eggs for their officers' meal.

Other tales include hang-gliding off K2. Hunting with cheetahs. Looking for yeti and okapi. Encounters with king cobras. Witchcraft among the Zulu and the Mongolian compliment by calling a woman a 'beast'. Pitcairn Island 200 years after the mutiny. Lindbergh bailing out over Illinois. Wrestling a Kodiak bear - that was reported by L. Ron Hubbard. Rowing across the Atlantic - Casablanca to Antigua and then the same couple rowing across the Pacific - Callao, Peru to the Galapagos to the Marquesas to American Samoa to Vanuatu to Cairns, Australia. And quite a bit more.

As they are all written by a variety of explorers, some are more readable than others. Admittedly, the earlier ones do convey a sense of the adventurers novels from Burroughs, Haggard, Conan Doyle and Verne.

2021-208

[John Hewlett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full disclosure; I am an elected Fellow of the Explorers Club and have been for years. This was the first time I really dug into this book and while there was some good stuff in it, a lot of it had little to do with actual exploration and was frankly a lot of glorified travel writing that had an embellished tone. I would've given it 3.5 stars but that wasn't possible.

[Mark Frigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable collection of short stories that can be individually read at any time.

[Da277 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on various Explorers Club adventures. It is broken out by geography and the stories are quick reads in in chapter. I liked that the stories varied on everything from hunting with cheetahs, the Hindu God Ganesha and that to be called a beast in old Mongolian culture is a high compliment.