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Wild Stories: The Best of Men's Journal
For the past decade, Men’s Journal has set the standard for travel and adventure writing by publishing the work of America’s finest authors and literary journalists.
Wild Stories
collects thirty-two of the best pieces to appear in the magazine, written by its most esteemed contributors, including Jim Harrison, Sebastian Junger, P. J. O’Rourke, Rick Bass, Thomas McGuane, George Plimpton, Hampton Sides, Doug Stanton, Tim Cahill, and Mark Bowden.
Each of the four chapters in Wild Stories showcases Men’s Journal’s diversity and taut storytelling power. “The Adventures” is a series of razor-sharp travel narratives, from a road trip across India on the perilous Grand Trunk Road to a search for grizzlies in Romania. “The Sporting Life” is a look into obscure corners of the sports world, where golf’s bush-league wannabes try to make it to the PGA and a group of cyclists out-suffer one another in pursuit of the mythic Hour Record. “Men’s Lives” includes profiles of singular adventurers such as Yvon Chouinard and Ned Gillette, and captures the rewards of such quintessentially male traditions as building a cabin on your own plot of land. And “The Reporting” collects definitive accounts of the most newsworthy disasters, as well as riveting dispatches from war zones in Somalia, Sudan, and Colombia, and from environmental hot spots in Alaska and Montana.
Commemorating Men’s Journal’s tenth anniversary, Wild Stories is a diverse and entertaining anthology that explores the magazine’s basic creed: Life is an adventure. From the first page to the last, these are stories you’ll never forget.
Each of the four chapters in Wild Stories showcases Men’s Journal’s diversity and taut storytelling power. “The Adventures” is a series of razor-sharp travel narratives, from a road trip across India on the perilous Grand Trunk Road to a search for grizzlies in Romania. “The Sporting Life” is a look into obscure corners of the sports world, where golf’s bush-league wannabes try to make it to the PGA and a group of cyclists out-suffer one another in pursuit of the mythic Hour Record. “Men’s Lives” includes profiles of singular adventurers such as Yvon Chouinard and Ned Gillette, and captures the rewards of such quintessentially male traditions as building a cabin on your own plot of land. And “The Reporting” collects definitive accounts of the most newsworthy disasters, as well as riveting dispatches from war zones in Somalia, Sudan, and Colombia, and from environmental hot spots in Alaska and Montana.
Commemorating Men’s Journal’s tenth anniversary, Wild Stories is a diverse and entertaining anthology that explores the magazine’s basic creed: Life is an adventure. From the first page to the last, these are stories you’ll never forget.
608 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2002
13 people are currently reading
325 people want to read
About the author
Jim Harrison
185 books1,488 followersJim Harrison was born in Grayling, Michigan, to Winfield Sprague Harrison, a county agricultural agent, and Norma Olivia (Wahlgren) Harrison, both avid readers. He married Linda King in 1959 with whom he has two daughters.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
His awards include National Academy of Arts grants (1967, 68, 69), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969-70), the Spirit of the West Award from the Mountain & Plains Booksellers Association, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007).
Much of Harrison's writing depicts sparsely populated regions of North America with many stories set in places such as Nebraska's Sand Hills, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Montana's mountains, and along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
His awards include National Academy of Arts grants (1967, 68, 69), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969-70), the Spirit of the West Award from the Mountain & Plains Booksellers Association, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007).
Much of Harrison's writing depicts sparsely populated regions of North America with many stories set in places such as Nebraska's Sand Hills, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Montana's mountains, and along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 1, 2018
Excellent. This is a collection of feature articles from the magazine "Men's Journal." It's an older book, so most of the stories were written about 20 years ago. Some stories are definitely more interesting than others, but all are well written. Despite being dated, these stories represent journalism at its best, and many of the stories are riveting, particularly the ones in the last section of the book, "The Reporting." Great for the male reader in your life--the writers are all men and the subjects fall into stereotypical male categories, such as hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, military exploits, etc. But also a good book for both men and women who love true adventure stories and for anyone who appreciates good non-fiction writing.
March 18, 2019
My 5 star rating should probably come with a disclaimer that I love essays and article-length reporting anyway...
Having said that, this is a great collection. These are Men's Journal articles, but that doesn't equate to low brow tales about cars and women. It's more like wilderness and war reporting for most of the 35 tales- and the main characters happen to be men. I enjoyed it as much as any essay collection I've read.
Having said that, this is a great collection. These are Men's Journal articles, but that doesn't equate to low brow tales about cars and women. It's more like wilderness and war reporting for most of the 35 tales- and the main characters happen to be men. I enjoyed it as much as any essay collection I've read.
August 16, 2018
This book starts out as pretty much any collection of short stories (experiences/non-fiction)
There are interesting and amusing stories, but it is not until you get to the section that starts on page 300, that we get to the section called “The Reporting”, where the book really gets good. There is some serious reporting here, well worth reading and recalling. I say “recalling” because these stories are concerning stories that I am sure that you are familiar with.
The Death Zone” concerning the deadly Everest accent of the May 1996 climbs of the Rob Hall and Scot Fischer teams, is simply the most clearly told account of those final days. I would say that it was even better that Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into Thin Air”. “Buried at Sea” is a moving and up close testimony of the sinking of the Russian sub “Kursk”,. Sunk is a clear account of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of WWII. “Rebels of the Apocalypse “ explains the long turn divisions in the Sudan. The book finishes with an excerpt from Mark Bowden’s “Black Hawk Down” and some experiences from the NYC firefighters on duty on 9/11. This last section of this book is what makes this a worthwhile read.
There are interesting and amusing stories, but it is not until you get to the section that starts on page 300, that we get to the section called “The Reporting”, where the book really gets good. There is some serious reporting here, well worth reading and recalling. I say “recalling” because these stories are concerning stories that I am sure that you are familiar with.
The Death Zone” concerning the deadly Everest accent of the May 1996 climbs of the Rob Hall and Scot Fischer teams, is simply the most clearly told account of those final days. I would say that it was even better that Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into Thin Air”. “Buried at Sea” is a moving and up close testimony of the sinking of the Russian sub “Kursk”,. Sunk is a clear account of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis at the end of WWII. “Rebels of the Apocalypse “ explains the long turn divisions in the Sudan. The book finishes with an excerpt from Mark Bowden’s “Black Hawk Down” and some experiences from the NYC firefighters on duty on 9/11. This last section of this book is what makes this a worthwhile read.
July 13, 2012
This anthology has 10 years worth of "great" adventure writing in the Men's Journal. That covers 35 essays, including P.J. O'Rourke's crazy road trip across India, and George Plimpton's escapades at a porn convention in Las Vegas.
For me, by far the most moving essay was "The Survivors" by Hampton Sides, collecting many stories of people in and around the twin towers on 9/11. Some died, many lived through a horrific experience.
For me, by far the most moving essay was "The Survivors" by Hampton Sides, collecting many stories of people in and around the twin towers on 9/11. Some died, many lived through a horrific experience.
February 2, 2013
For armchair travelers and adventurers alike, this is a fantastic collection of essays from Men's Journal (from some of the best travel writers they've ever had). The experiences chronicled on the pages inspire every emotion a reader could want: fear, desire, sadness, joy, and heart-stopping, breath-holding anticipation.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Currently reading
November 11, 2008I'm jumping around between stories and getting a kick from some of my favorite authors: Sebastian Junger, Mark Bowden, Peter Wilkinson, Tim Cahill. Adventure stories and reporting are two of my favorite writing to read and this book and both.
June 12, 2010
Great collection of articles from the magazine. The one about the Exxon Valdez is deja vu all over again sad to say.
June 7, 2011
Love this one. Have read it several times.
October 23, 2011
exellent
July 19, 2013
Terrific book for guys to read over the summer. Short stories do if you dont like one, you can skip it and move to the next one. 80% or more are great. With I could find another book like this.
June 23, 2014
One of my favorite Travel / Adventure books EVER. This is a top notch collection of essays that will keep you turning the page feeling like an arm chair traveler.
April 9, 2015
A well-written collection of adventure and travel essays. I really enjoyed almost every one. Highly recommend this collection!
did-not-finish
March 5, 2023Tried the first few articles and could not get into the book. they were too maybe extreme or just out there.
Maybe another try at a later time.
Maybe another try at a later time.
Want to read
July 7, 20187/7/18 Was looking for most recent Sebastian Junger book and found this
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews