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The Expedition #1
Dark Waters
He survived a terrifying crocodile attack off Australia's Queensland coast, blood poisoning in the middle of the Pacific, malaria in Indonesia and China, and acute mountain sickness in the Himalayas. He was hit by a car and left for dead with two broken legs in Colorado, and incarcerated for espionage on the Sudan-Egypt border. The first in a thrilling adventure trilogy, Dark Waters charts one of the longest, most gruelling, yet uplifting and at times irreverently funny journeys in history, circling the world using just the power of the human body, hailed by the London Sunday Times as "The last great first for circumnavigation." But it was more than just a physical challenge. Prompted by what scientists have dubbed the "perfect storm" as the global population soars to 8.3 billion by 2030, adventurer Jason Lewis used The Expedition to reach out to thousands of schoolchildren, calling attention to our interconnectedness and shared responsibility of an inhabitable Earth for future generations.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2012
31 people are currently reading
656 people want to read
About the author
Jason Lewis
5 books26 followers“Arguably, the most remarkable adventurer in the world today.”—THE DAILY MAIL
Jason Lewis is an award-winning adventurer, author, and voice for global sustainability, recognized by Guinness World Records as the first person to circumnavigate the Earth without using motors or sails: walking, cycling, and inline skating five continents, and kayaking, swimming, rowing, and pedalling a boat across the rivers, seas, and oceans. Taking thirteen years to complete, the 46,505-mile journey was hailed “the last great first for circumnavigation” by the London Sunday Times.
RECORDS
Jason has set three additional records: the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to North America by human power (February 1995, Lewis and Smith); first crossing of North America on inline skates (September 1996, Lewis); and first crossing of the Pacific Ocean by pedal power (August 2000, Lewis).
AWARDS & MEDIA
He has been nominated The Times inGear Man of the Year (2007), the Land Rover Toughest Sportsperson of the Year, and featured as one of Sport Magazine’s Athletes of the Year. A Fellow of London University, the Royal Geographical Society, and The Explorers Club, he has appeared on numerous television and talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC), Good Morning America (ABC), and CBS This Morning.
BOOKS
A frequent contributor to magazines (Men’s Fitness, Sports Illustrated, Geographical) and travel books (Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul, HCI, 2002; Flightless, Incredible Journeys Without Leaving the Ground, Lonely Planet, 2008; The Modern Explorers, Thames & Hudson, 2013), Jason is the author of The Expedition trilogy (BillyFish Books, 2012/3): Dark Waters, The Seed Buried Deep, and To The Brink.
He is a popular speaker and sustainability advocate. Find out more at jasonexplorer.com.
Jason Lewis is an award-winning adventurer, author, and voice for global sustainability, recognized by Guinness World Records as the first person to circumnavigate the Earth without using motors or sails: walking, cycling, and inline skating five continents, and kayaking, swimming, rowing, and pedalling a boat across the rivers, seas, and oceans. Taking thirteen years to complete, the 46,505-mile journey was hailed “the last great first for circumnavigation” by the London Sunday Times.
RECORDS
Jason has set three additional records: the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean from mainland Europe to North America by human power (February 1995, Lewis and Smith); first crossing of North America on inline skates (September 1996, Lewis); and first crossing of the Pacific Ocean by pedal power (August 2000, Lewis).
AWARDS & MEDIA
He has been nominated The Times inGear Man of the Year (2007), the Land Rover Toughest Sportsperson of the Year, and featured as one of Sport Magazine’s Athletes of the Year. A Fellow of London University, the Royal Geographical Society, and The Explorers Club, he has appeared on numerous television and talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC), Good Morning America (ABC), and CBS This Morning.
BOOKS
A frequent contributor to magazines (Men’s Fitness, Sports Illustrated, Geographical) and travel books (Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul, HCI, 2002; Flightless, Incredible Journeys Without Leaving the Ground, Lonely Planet, 2008; The Modern Explorers, Thames & Hudson, 2013), Jason is the author of The Expedition trilogy (BillyFish Books, 2012/3): Dark Waters, The Seed Buried Deep, and To The Brink.
He is a popular speaker and sustainability advocate. Find out more at jasonexplorer.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 1, 2016
5 Crazy, emotional, riveting, hilarious, scary, unbelievable stars. I don't want to give away too much information about this book. It's great to experience it all first hand as the book tells it the best. This is for sure a MUST READ book! I hope to start book 2 soon as the journey continues.
My only wish for this book was there were some pictures included.
My only wish for this book was there were some pictures included.
October 2, 2014
If the word ‘epic’ could only be granted only to a single feat of human resilience and determination in the context of an expedition, there’s little doubt that Jason Lewis’s would be a top candidate. In 1994 — the year I started secondary school, aged 11 — Jason, along with university friend Steve Smith, began an odyssey around the world that would take no less than fourteen years to complete.
The scale of the journey that unfolded was immense. The pair met at university during Thatcher’s reign. ‘Expedition 360′ was conceived under John Major, and launched around the same time as the National Lottery was born. The crossing of the Atlantic by pedal boat and the USA on rollerblades provides the storyline of Dark Waters, the first book in Jason’s trilogy of the journey.
Following a road traffic accident which broke both of Jason’s legs, almost a year of rehab would pass in the States, during which Tony Blair’s tenure began, followed by a year’s detour towards South America and back, and then another year of fundraising. New Year’s Day 1999 saw the pair pedalling a boat across the Pacific, after which Steve left the expedition, with Jason completing the Pacific crossing in the new millenium. The second book, The Seed Buried Deep, deals with this part of Jason’s story.
September 11th 2001 found Jason in Australia, where he stayed for four years and saw the US invade Afghanistan and Iraq, Britain pass the Civil Partnership Act, and his mate Steve publish Pedalling to Hawaii. Kayaking to South-east Asia and then cycling to India, Jason crossed the Arabian Sea to Djibouti in 2007 and began cycling north towards the Middle East and Europe as Brown took Prime Ministership.
He arrived back in the UK, having covered 46,505 miles over 4,833 days, a few days after the launch of the original iPhone.
It is seven years since Expedition 360 was completed, a full two decades since it began, and those of us who have read the first two books in Jason’s trilogy are still eagerly awaiting the publication of the third and final book. I say eagerly, for Jason has proved not just a tenacious adventurer but a top-class writer too, and these first two books are among the most brave and entertaining I’ve read in the genre.
What I particularly enjoy about his writing is that he hasn’t been afraid to recount the full spectrum of his experience, from the early days of desperation in trying to mount an expedition from a North London squat, through to his own inner journey towards self-awareness that begins on the Atlantic, to his evolving relationship with his expedition partner, and the parts played by the many and varied souls with which he comes into contact. The brush strokes are broad where they need to be, at other times detailed and subtle, but always balanced and clear-minded.
We as readers should thank our lucky stars that Jason turned down the big publishing deal with the ghost-writer, the six-week turnaround and the lucrative pre-Christmas launch date that was offered to him on a plate. Just like the journey, the retelling and publishing of his story has been a determined and honest struggle, rather than rushed through on the coat-tails of a big team and a big budget. And I don’t imagine for a second that it’s not all the better for it.
The scale of the journey that unfolded was immense. The pair met at university during Thatcher’s reign. ‘Expedition 360′ was conceived under John Major, and launched around the same time as the National Lottery was born. The crossing of the Atlantic by pedal boat and the USA on rollerblades provides the storyline of Dark Waters, the first book in Jason’s trilogy of the journey.
Following a road traffic accident which broke both of Jason’s legs, almost a year of rehab would pass in the States, during which Tony Blair’s tenure began, followed by a year’s detour towards South America and back, and then another year of fundraising. New Year’s Day 1999 saw the pair pedalling a boat across the Pacific, after which Steve left the expedition, with Jason completing the Pacific crossing in the new millenium. The second book, The Seed Buried Deep, deals with this part of Jason’s story.
September 11th 2001 found Jason in Australia, where he stayed for four years and saw the US invade Afghanistan and Iraq, Britain pass the Civil Partnership Act, and his mate Steve publish Pedalling to Hawaii. Kayaking to South-east Asia and then cycling to India, Jason crossed the Arabian Sea to Djibouti in 2007 and began cycling north towards the Middle East and Europe as Brown took Prime Ministership.
He arrived back in the UK, having covered 46,505 miles over 4,833 days, a few days after the launch of the original iPhone.
It is seven years since Expedition 360 was completed, a full two decades since it began, and those of us who have read the first two books in Jason’s trilogy are still eagerly awaiting the publication of the third and final book. I say eagerly, for Jason has proved not just a tenacious adventurer but a top-class writer too, and these first two books are among the most brave and entertaining I’ve read in the genre.
What I particularly enjoy about his writing is that he hasn’t been afraid to recount the full spectrum of his experience, from the early days of desperation in trying to mount an expedition from a North London squat, through to his own inner journey towards self-awareness that begins on the Atlantic, to his evolving relationship with his expedition partner, and the parts played by the many and varied souls with which he comes into contact. The brush strokes are broad where they need to be, at other times detailed and subtle, but always balanced and clear-minded.
We as readers should thank our lucky stars that Jason turned down the big publishing deal with the ghost-writer, the six-week turnaround and the lucrative pre-Christmas launch date that was offered to him on a plate. Just like the journey, the retelling and publishing of his story has been a determined and honest struggle, rather than rushed through on the coat-tails of a big team and a big budget. And I don’t imagine for a second that it’s not all the better for it.
August 17, 2016
Wow, what a ride. If you want adventure with a hard look at what it takes mentally, physically, emotionally and spirituality to circumnavigate the globe using human power, this is the book for you. I like how honest Mr. Lewis is about his own limitations and the trial and tribulations that he faced.
It ended in a major cliffy but that's ok because I will be reading the 2nd in the series.
It ended in a major cliffy but that's ok because I will be reading the 2nd in the series.
January 10, 2014
The most remarkable non-fiction book I've read in a long, long time. Must, absolutely must read.
June 6, 2023
I have read The Expedition Series by Jason Lewis three times. Now, on my fourth reading of Dark Waters, I am amazed at how much nuance and detail Jason Lewis recounts from his harrowing, rigorous, and eye-opening journey of 13 years circumnavigating the globe with Expedition 360(the name of the first human-powered circumnavigation). I would be remised if I didn't mention Steve Smith, the expedition leader of Expedition 360 whose efforts gave legs to the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.
To stay on track, Dark Waters is written well, and Jason's writing pace left me on the edge of my seat. The book's beginning which chronicles the humility and resilience to get the expedition started occasionally loses pace but picks up again without a hitch. I enjoy how Jason Lewis uses spiritual experience to share his journey. For instance, I enjoy how he incorporates Eastern religious teachings in the book and how it impacted his journey whether on land or sea.
It's amazing how people came together collectively to make the Expedition 360 a reality and it shows the true grit that one must have to make your dreams a reality. I was engaged at least 95% of the book and that says a lot when it comes to travel or adventure memoirs. Jason and his team have done a superb job clearly and concisely telling the audience about the planning, the successes/failures, and the epiphanies he endured while circumnavigating the globe. Most of all, I like that Jason Lewis talks about his shortcomings and victories. The book is not written through rose-colored glasses and that's an admirable quality in Dark Waters.
It is truly a gigantic undertaking to circumnavigate the globe without a motor and sails. Dark Waters is a superb introduction to a great Trilogy that more people need to read. These books are hidden gems and that may be the best treasure of all.
This is one of the most extraordinary adventures I have ever heard of or read about. It's a great idea to read Jason's account in The Expedition's trilogy series and also Steve Smith's Pedaling to Hawaii.
Dark Waters=Excellent 1st installment. Must read.
To stay on track, Dark Waters is written well, and Jason's writing pace left me on the edge of my seat. The book's beginning which chronicles the humility and resilience to get the expedition started occasionally loses pace but picks up again without a hitch. I enjoy how Jason Lewis uses spiritual experience to share his journey. For instance, I enjoy how he incorporates Eastern religious teachings in the book and how it impacted his journey whether on land or sea.
It's amazing how people came together collectively to make the Expedition 360 a reality and it shows the true grit that one must have to make your dreams a reality. I was engaged at least 95% of the book and that says a lot when it comes to travel or adventure memoirs. Jason and his team have done a superb job clearly and concisely telling the audience about the planning, the successes/failures, and the epiphanies he endured while circumnavigating the globe. Most of all, I like that Jason Lewis talks about his shortcomings and victories. The book is not written through rose-colored glasses and that's an admirable quality in Dark Waters.
It is truly a gigantic undertaking to circumnavigate the globe without a motor and sails. Dark Waters is a superb introduction to a great Trilogy that more people need to read. These books are hidden gems and that may be the best treasure of all.
This is one of the most extraordinary adventures I have ever heard of or read about. It's a great idea to read Jason's account in The Expedition's trilogy series and also Steve Smith's Pedaling to Hawaii.
Dark Waters=Excellent 1st installment. Must read.
June 26, 2018
As I read the first few chapters I found myself wondering if the adventurers were crazy or just plain stupid! By the time I got to the middle I was convinced they were both. I mean who tries to circumnavigate the world with no money and no sponsors setting off across the Atlantic in a floating oversized pedalo only just big enough for two men?
I have now finished the first book and I’m going straight into the second. I still think they are crazy but what an incredible adventure they are having!
I have now finished the first book and I’m going straight into the second. I still think they are crazy but what an incredible adventure they are having!
August 13, 2021
He's not a great writer and it can feel like reading an early internet blog at times: a lot of "this is what we did and when we did it" content but improves greatly by the end. The improved writing, unsurprisingly, increases at the same rate that his adventures increase in extremism. He also becomes more introspective offering some truly eloquent and well-written thoughts that make it well-worth the read. Where else can you get inside the head of someone who pedaled a boat across the Atlantic for 119 days? That's a perspective on life that you can find nowhere else.
August 27, 2017
Dude doing dude stuff with other dudes while thinking dude thoughts. How interesting!
And also hilarious, his smug instisting on how this journey was exclusively human-powered, when they started off by having their friend tow their boat after them with a van through all of France, Spain and Portugal. I wonder how this loose interpretation of human-powered developed after the Atlantic crossing, but not enough to actually read it.
And also hilarious, his smug instisting on how this journey was exclusively human-powered, when they started off by having their friend tow their boat after them with a van through all of France, Spain and Portugal. I wonder how this loose interpretation of human-powered developed after the Atlantic crossing, but not enough to actually read it.
September 21, 2023
One of the best books I’ve ever read. If you enjoy personal true adventures I’d highly recommend this book. Jason and a friend plan and set of to be the first people to circumnavigate the world by human power. This is the first book in a series of three which tell the whole story. It is an epic adventure and an epic book. It is very well written as you feel like you are there with them; through the highs and the lows of this adventure. To say anymore would spoil the adventure for new readers.
January 19, 2024
I randomly picked this book up from a little library on the side of a country road in Iowa. I wasn’t sure I would like it at first, but I really enjoyed it. It was so good I didn’t want to stop reading. I love that it’s a true story, and I found myself getting so caught up in the adventures. I both loved and didn’t like the ending. It left me wanting to read the second book immediately. I will definitely be reading the other two books in this series.
June 26, 2020
Suomeksi Tummat vedet. Uskomaton reissu, joka sovitaan pienessä sievässä. Ilman kunnon budjettia kädestä suuhun projekti. Hyvin rehellisen oloisesti kirjoitettu, myös negatiivisia tapahtumia ja tuntemuksia on kirjattu. Suurta osaa värittää kuitenkin huumori, joka keventää tilannetta. Pidin erityisesti Atlantin ylitys- osasta, loppuosa oli synkemmän sävyistä. Tämä oli eka osa matkakertomuksesta.
July 26, 2020
The man's nuts....
Raw telling of the first segment of Jason Lewis` human-powered trip around the world; the first ever such trip. The telling was graphic enough in spots that my easily 'squeamed' stomach forced my eyes to skip a few paragraphs to avoid the details. This book is a record of an amazing human feat.
Raw telling of the first segment of Jason Lewis` human-powered trip around the world; the first ever such trip. The telling was graphic enough in spots that my easily 'squeamed' stomach forced my eyes to skip a few paragraphs to avoid the details. This book is a record of an amazing human feat.
July 23, 2017
Are these guys courageous or just naive and full of faith? Good writing and amusing at times if you get past the horrors of such an expedition.
November 15, 2020
Inspiring, humorous and strangely insightful. I very much enjoy this. I would love to do something similar to this (but not on this scale, maybe start with Canada).
December 21, 2020
Entertaining, funny, amazing adventures.
March 8, 2021
Fun to read
A great achievement
An unlikely adventurer in some ways
Ie forgot his passport initially
A great achievement
An unlikely adventurer in some ways
Ie forgot his passport initially
December 1, 2023
Amazing story! I was able to meet him in person and he's a really nice guy!
January 31, 2024
Well! Guess I'm going to have to get Part 2 (and 3) since this was a pretty good read! Cheating death is something Lewis seems to be good at (so far).
April 13, 2020
A phenomenal achievement and an amazingly well written book. Very exciting and very thought provoking. As an explorer he certainly has earned his place amongst the more famous adventurers
August 27, 2012
From Susan Reep: What an interesting story - and so well written! It's almost as if this guy pedaled a boat across the Atlantic Ocean by accident which makes him incredibly stupid, lucky, brilliantly talented, ridiculously naive, or a combination of the above. It's like when your friend says, hey, let's go camping and you've never been, have no gear, and are woefully unprepared but you say yes and somehow you figure it out - but this is so much more than camping. Your friend says hey, let's circumnavigate the globe under our own power so you say ok, and you jump into the drink and somehow stay alive and develop the skills you need as you go. I've read many adventure books from shooting the Boh River to Shackleton's Endurance, Roosevelt's trip up the River of Doubt, just about everything in the far north, all the Everest expeditions, Rescue in the Pacific about a Force 12 storm, Adrift - 76 days at sea, but I've never read anything so crazily planned, executed and oddly compelling, told so matter-of-factly with such dry wit. My only critique is that I want more - I wish it was all in one book because now I have to wait for part two and three. I do recommend this book as a not only a good real-life adventure but also as a jump-starter for thinking about our place on the planet and how we structure our lives. The thing about real life, life-on-the-line adventures is that it makes us deal with needs versus wants and our relationships with each other as well as our environments. So like Shrek and Donkey said, there's layers, like onions, or parfaits.
September 26, 2012
What an overwhelming story. It is not only about an incredible journey, but also about a deeper thought process, about finding what is really important in life and what life is all about.
"A human-powered circumnavigation of the globe ..." the endurance, the doubt, the pain and suffering, the suspence, the adventure is beautifully described in a nothing held back approach which brings the reality of the journey to the reader. But what really got me into this book was the question: "Life. How to live it?" The author tries to find ".. a unifying Philosophy for Life..." and he explains his though process in a very interesting way by relating it to his experiences on a tiny boat crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I can't even come close to imagine what happened during the journey, but Jason Lewis introduced me to a new approach of how to live life in a more appreciative, joyful way and for that I am very thankful.
"A human-powered circumnavigation of the globe ..." the endurance, the doubt, the pain and suffering, the suspence, the adventure is beautifully described in a nothing held back approach which brings the reality of the journey to the reader. But what really got me into this book was the question: "Life. How to live it?" The author tries to find ".. a unifying Philosophy for Life..." and he explains his though process in a very interesting way by relating it to his experiences on a tiny boat crossing the Atlantic Ocean. I can't even come close to imagine what happened during the journey, but Jason Lewis introduced me to a new approach of how to live life in a more appreciative, joyful way and for that I am very thankful.
January 24, 2014
It should be no surprise that the first part of Jason Lewis' Expedition Trilogy is a thrilling adventure. If you have read the book's description, you should understand how exciting Lewis' journey has been. What is surprising - and what makes this book so worthwhile - is that Lewis is actually a very capable writer, and a fantastic storyteller. His prose flows with equal parts self-depracation, humility, and hubris, and his journey has as many laugh-out-loud moments as nail-biting suspense. Along the way, Lewis makes some surprisingly insightful philosophical inquiries, and shares with the reader his ever-changing philosophies, creeds, and occasional bouts of insanity.
With a cliffhanger ending (spoiled by my Wikipedia surfing, I'm afraid), "Dark Waters" sets the reader up to eagerly await the second instalment of this trilogy. I'm counting the days until it is released!
With a cliffhanger ending (spoiled by my Wikipedia surfing, I'm afraid), "Dark Waters" sets the reader up to eagerly await the second instalment of this trilogy. I'm counting the days until it is released!
September 21, 2014
Every journey is an opportunity for personal growth, so when I read a travel memoir, I want to know the opportunity wasn't wasted. Jason Lewis didn't disappoint my expectations. Reading "The Expedition: Dark Waters," you share the days of monotony and moments of terror as Lewis and his friend Steve Smith pedal across the Atlantic, then you see America through a Brit's eyes as Lewis continues westward on rollerblades. Along the way, he shares what went through his mind during all those days of travel: what he learned, how he felt, and how he grew from these adventures. This is a well-written, honest travel memoir that records the daring and record-breaking journey of someone who made the most of the opportunity to travel the world.
March 15, 2014
This is the true story of the first person to circumnavigate the globe using only human power. Extremely underfunded, the first third of the journey (which this book covers), is fraught with obstacles, yet Lewis and his partner are determined and willing to do what it takes. What ensues is at turns harrowing, laugh-out-loud funny, and full of hard-won insight into human existence. Stories of true adventure are often worth reading even if not well written. Fortunately for us, this book was not only absolutely worth reading but also extremely well written and entertaining. I cannot wait to read the second installment.
April 19, 2014
Fascinating. Look forward to read the sequence.
The Times said : " we see a man who is- as Mowgli put it in The Jungle Book- prepared to pull the whiskers of death."
And Jason Lewis tells us himself:
"When the way ahead is clouded with uncertainty,the safety net is gone,and every iota of logic is howling at you to give it all up and go home,that is the time to push on regardless,surrendering to the free fall of not knowing.for the universe has an uncanny habit of responding to such blond leaps into the abyss,rising up to meet them halfway. All you have to do is to keep an open mind,an open heart,and have faith.The rest is out of your hands."
The Times said : " we see a man who is- as Mowgli put it in The Jungle Book- prepared to pull the whiskers of death."
And Jason Lewis tells us himself:
"When the way ahead is clouded with uncertainty,the safety net is gone,and every iota of logic is howling at you to give it all up and go home,that is the time to push on regardless,surrendering to the free fall of not knowing.for the universe has an uncanny habit of responding to such blond leaps into the abyss,rising up to meet them halfway. All you have to do is to keep an open mind,an open heart,and have faith.The rest is out of your hands."
June 6, 2013
Frank and captivating account of an incredible journey, at least the first part of the journey. The author comes across in a bit of a this-is-how-to-live-your-life arrogant way at times, but he certainly demonstrates the power of mind over matter in such an epic undertaking. His account is witty, honest and genuinely thought-provoking, particularly in terms of questioning one's purpose in life. Shame the rest of the journey hasn't yet gone to print!
February 9, 2014
Written very dramatically, like it is cool to get in trouble. Who would go to round the world without spare parts? - Totally idiot. On the other hand it was not either boring.
Kirjoitettu liioittelevaan sävyyn. Vain uusavuton ihminen lähtee kiertämään ilman maapalloa ilman elintärkeitä varaosia. Toisaalta ei tämä nyt aivan pitkästyttävä ollut.
Kirjoitettu liioittelevaan sävyyn. Vain uusavuton ihminen lähtee kiertämään ilman maapalloa ilman elintärkeitä varaosia. Toisaalta ei tämä nyt aivan pitkästyttävä ollut.
July 20, 2020
Well-written but uneven. I especially enjoyed the text about the actual journey but there was a lot of preparation dealt with that was not particularly interesting or relevant to the story. If this is to be a trilogy I am guessing that one tightly written and absorbing book probably would have been preferable to most readers.
May 13, 2013
This author is a guy I would like to get a beer with sometime - funny, and adventurous (such an understatement!). But I thought the middle of the book dragged a bit (while they were crossing the Atlantic). After reading until the end though, I'm curious to see what happens next!
July 9, 2013
Dark Waters is a true story written by Jason Lewis, who is recognized as the first person to circumnavigate the globe via man power only. Not only is the story of the journey amazing, the book is a great read; sometimes funny, always insightful - highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews