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QUESTION: Does the protagonist have to survive for this to be a story of survival....If not, Scott's Last Expedition is easily the greatest survival story of them all, n'est-ce pas ?

Thom wrote: "QUESTION: Does the protagonist have to survive for this to be a story of survival....If not, Scott's Last Expedition is easily the greatest survival story of them all, n'est-ce pas ?"

Like you, I'm torn: the story survives, triumphantly, but those poor blokes...

Have you read MAWSON'S WILL, aka THIS ACCURSED LAND? An account of Douglas Mawson's absolutely eyepopping feat of endurance in Antarctica. Despite the loss of his companions and huskies (in traumatic circumstances), half-poisoned through the consumption of dog-liver and half-starved on tiny amounts of food, the man ignored his ongoing physical breakdown and trudged on for a hundred miles alone. Just finished it today; wow.

Bibliotheque wrote: "Thom wrote: "QUESTION: Does the protagonist have to survive for this to be a story of survival....If not, Scott's Last Expedition is easily the greatest survival story of them all, n'est-ce pas ?"
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Thanks for the tip. Sounds much like St.Exupery's Story of Guillaumet in Wind, Sand, and Stars. Breathtaking prose.

This list is a mess! The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe?!! Come on people!

The only thing to be said is that this list has mostly been compiled by people who have never read a true survival tale.

Nuff said.

Well, Anne Frank did not survive, she was sort of trying to, but she did not succeed.

I agree Ian. Many of these books have little to do with the struggle to survive. There are a few that are really about the human fight for life. Search them out. They are truly amazing stories that place our day to day struggles in perspective.

The argument could be made that Frank's family lived for 3 years than they would've without ingenuity and friends to help them. I chose not to vote for it, and went with Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom first (since Mandela saved the lives of so many others with his victory) and Night as #2. It's really hard to combine fiction and nonfiction here, and ultimately, real people who survived real hardship (Mumia Abu-Jamal got my #3 slot) won out over the very best literature. Nice that we can have so many votes, so at least I got to vote for all of my favorites in both categories.

I don't like this list. "Surviving" hardship is a metaphorical use of the word. Actual survival requires finding or generating food, shelter and fresh water. While Anne Frank's story does touch the heart, she never had to desalinize seawater or build her own house.

Dawn wrote: "Actual survival requires finding or generating food, shelter and fresh water."
Actually Dawn, "actual survival" requires continuing to live. In many cases, it may entail procuring water, food and/or shelter, and in other cases it may involve concealment from Nazi soldiers that want to send the protagonist to a concentration camp to most likely die (and in the case of Anne Frank, where she eventually DID die. Anne Frank's diary, Wiesel's Night and other holocaust survival books are just as much about survival as any other book on this list.

M/Ðɑηηɑ wrote: "Well, Anne Frank did not survive, she was sort of trying to, but she did not succeed."

She managed to stay concealed for 2 years before she was sent to a concentration camp. That may very well have kept her alive 2 extra years. NOONE survives forever!

I also agree with Ian. And Harry Potter? Really people? I mean, I adore Harry Potter, but it is NOT about survival in the way this list was intended.

The Diary of a Young Girl (#7) is not a survival story...

Ian wrote: "This list is a mess! The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe?!! Come on people!

The only thing to be said is that this list has mostly been compiled by people who have never read a true survival tale...."

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You are so right and what about the stories on this list where THEY DO NOT SURVIVE? like Into the Wild (didn't he freeze to death? and also there is another one here.

Ah, To Build a Fire is another case where he freezes to death. It should be removed.