Heat: Extreme Adventures at the Highest Temperatures on Earth

by Ranulph Fiennes

Ranulph Fiennes, the world's greatest living explorer, has travelled to some of the most remote, dangerous parts of the globe. Well-known for his experiences at the poles and climbing Everest, he has also endured some of the hottest conditions on the planet, where temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees and, without water and shelter, death is inevitable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, Autobiography, Africa, Biography

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 8, 2015

About the author

Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE, better known as Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records.

Fiennes has written books about his army service and his expeditions as well as a book defending Robert Falcon Scott from modern revisionists. In May 2009, aged 65, he climbed to the summit of Mount Everest. According to the Guinness Book of World Records he is the world's greatest living adventurer.

Reviews

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book! Yes, I'm sure if I had read it in printed form, I might have been more put off by Fiennes' tendency to jump around. But as it was, listening to it, I had a great time. Funnily enough, it was actually the military/memoir stuff, and even some of the basic travelogue elements, that I found slightly less enjoyable. My favourite parts were, unpopularly, when Fiennes acts like "how dare you think I'm just a guy who goes places" and puts out some very interesting historical writing about the countries, regions and people included in the broad spectrum of fucking hot places.

And extra points for scratching so many particular itches of mine. Stupid and annoying phrase, I know, and with an off-putting image. Nobody likes itches - they suck. But I have a few persistent ones just out of reach, goddammit, and Mr Fiennes was happy to assist in scourging off that shit by, at various times, giving attention to the snakes and crocodiles, Islam in its various forms, and the country of Oman.

Having never heard before of this guy whose name sounds like the bloke who played Voldemort, I have not a single doubt in my mind, that I will happily read another Fiennes book in the future sometime.

[Chris Steeden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be about one of Fiennes expeditions or treks like the Marathon des Sables (at 71 years of age he begins training for the Marathon des Sables (156 mile race). Raised £2 million for Marie Curie) but it was a potted autobiography of times he spent in hot places.

Starting from his up-bringing in South Africa to joining the Sultan's Armed forces in Oman, to looking for the lost city of Ubar. There were the really interesting trips like the one up the Nile while exhibiting hovercrafts to the masses and running one marathon on each of the seven continents over seven consecutive days.

It was all a bit of a struggle to get through. There was nothing you could get your teeth into and seemed an odd premise for a book when, I am sure, he has written about most of this before. Maybe it's just publishers thinking of different ways of getting money out of Fiennes stories.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history lesson on the side of his tales of how he ended up travelling the world, working for the army and doing personal expeditions. I found it somewhat confusing the way it jumped around in time, but overall it is interesting to get a glimpse to the mind of someone who loves the extreme heat of the deserts.

[Emma Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting facts, but very dry writing -reads very much like field notes. Disjointed.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is one tough dude. The book was more of a history lesson than I expected but once I accepted that I enjoyed it. Rather him than me.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a mish-mash of a book; part memoir, part history, part treatise on the effects of heat on the body, it never really knows what it's trying to say, and suffers a bit from that. It does have interesting bits to it, but mostly seems to say that Ranulph Fiennes is a bit of a liability, whilst being exceptionally determined, stubborn and gritty - not to mention, frankly, a bit idiotic. He also doesn't actually come across as very likeable (I'm sure he'll be distraught to read that), but given the things he has achieved one gets the sense that only someone with a touch of the sociopath about them would be able to do them.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping to read a lot more about the author's Marathon des Sables experience considering how quickly this came out around the time he completed it, but found that write up a little disappointing and short. Generally an OK read so I wouldn't discount it, but perhaps too much emphasis on one or two hot climate military expeditions. I was hoping for more on his experiences/medical science around actually being in hot climates. Definitely of interest though.

[Skuldintape · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more about middle Eastern politics and his platoons manoeuvres than heat based expeditions, but I actually really enjoyed this unexpected part of it. It was however quote poorly edited/proof read. There were s number of repetitions (of stories, exact phrases in some cases) and a number of typos (hyperthermia instead of hypothermia being one memorable one, and a handful of spellings errors). It wasn't as good as "Cold" and ended very abruptly, but enjoyable for those interested in expedition stories all the same.

[Anne Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strangely written, very matter of fact, took some getting used to. Some amazing adventures, the search for Ubar and for the source of the Nike were highlights for me. A hotch-potch of stories from hot places. Fascinating, and the subject and experiences keeps you reading, despite the puzzling arrangement of the stories and the seeming lack of any attempt to engage the reader. Almost like someone’s musings, but the life of the man is so extraordinary I just had to keep on reading.

[Nigel Street · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Cold which was the inspiration to read this. Struck me as more of a collection of musings and experiences with some historical perspectives thrown in. The explorers of the region and their associated stories didn’t grab the imagination in the same manner as Cold which was one of the disappointments. This, along with lots of army stories detracted from the overall experience. It’s probably a reflection of how good Cold was rather than how lacklustre Heat has been for me.

[Rob Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventurous life thats for sure. I did skip the history lessons and focus more on his adventures. You gotta respect a guy who in his 70's runs one of the hardest races, through a desert, and finishes. So an interesting book about adventuring in hot places (hense Heat). A good read for the armchair adventurer.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting memoir of heat related challenges

Whilst this book had a good selection of stories from Ran's various adventures, the writing seemed a bit rushed and less involved than his earlier books.

[Robert Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping read, very entertaining, Ranulph has a great voice and incredible stories. Somewhat rambling and meandering in places, but undeniably brilliant. A difficult book to come away from uninspired. It has certainly made me a little more reckless.

[Neil Cake · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's ultimately a bit bitty, and the most cohesive and interesting part is where Fiennes is in the Sultan of Oman's army, but I just enjoyed reading it - and there is quite a lot of interesting historical, geographical and wildlife information - so 4 stars.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oman was interesting, but it was the Nile and the MdS that intrigued me most, yet sadly detailed exploits of these were lacking.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish this book as it was sooo boring

[Holzy Bartolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really detailed but wish was more in depth about the explorations and not just the army

[Stephen Porter · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you have never read a book before then you might like this

[Stanislav Stoev · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always with Ranulph's books - inspiring and educational

[Stan]

Page 219 has an interesting discovery, that the Congo (Lualaba) River proved that it flowed into the Pacific Ocean and not the Nile.
It is a fine book , from a soldiering and facts point of view. I do like the learning from natives and understanding them especially in a cultural sense. I can understand that reporting on why he was there , and even the battles he was in , as that was what he was training and paid for . I feel it should be labeled war , military book , as well as adventure .

P.S. the Congo River may flow into the Atlantic Ocean , just in case you get lost. Shooting an editor is not a court martial offence.

Grand

[Alex Summerbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and bad

I found this a bit hard going, especially at the start. There's great; interesting stuff here. But it probably could have been 50 pages shorter.

[T.J. Gorton · Rating 2 out of 5]

pedestrian style, rehashed material: appears to be an exercise in fund-raising for some new boondoggle where he flies or sledges around having exciting fun and proving precisely nothing