I Will Survive!

Contributed by Lissa Clark, Hive Overland Park

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We’re now in the dreary part of winter; gray days and unpredictable temperatures. But never fear, Spring is coming – and as Gloria Gaynor sings, “I will survive.”

These three books have in common people with ingenuity, courage and resourcefulness leading to adventure and, yes – survival - to inspire you!

The Wager by David Grann

I came upon this title after reading Grann’s excellent storytelling in Killers of the Flower Moon.

This book is the true story of the HMS Wager, an English ship commissioned in 1740 to travel with a convoy to the Western side of South America to intercept gold-laden Spanish Galleons. In order to accomplish this, the convoy had to traverse the treacherous Cape Horn. The weather and ocean did not cooperate and the Wager was wrecked on a small deserted island near the tip of Patagonia.

The sailors’ exploits as they tried to survive lead to a drama of leadership (good and bad), duty, ingenuity, survival, and mutiny – with an added touch of Lord of the Flies. All of this is carefully detailed by the author via the crew’s surviving logs, journals, and correspondence.

When survivors made it back to England, many were put on trial for mutiny by the Royal Navy. This portion of the book reads like a modern-day courtroom drama.

Grann carefully presents various points of view from the logs and journals without drawing a conclusion.

In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

This book presents the true story of an American expedition to the Arctic in 1879. The USS Jeannette left San Francisco on a mission to be the first to encounter the NorthPole.

The book begins with the interactions of prominent businessmen and newspaper tycoons eager to sponsor the ambitious expedition. At this time, it was popularly believed the Arctic region contained a temperate island beyond the icy floes.

Unfortunately, all the sailors encountered was endless pack ice. The Jeanette became locked into an ice flow which eventually crushed the hull; forcing the men to escape onto the ice with what provisions they could carry. Survivors walked, dog-sledded, and boated thousands of miles to reach Siberia.

This amazing story of survival and resourcefulness is pieced together by the author through the sailors’ journals and logs, as well as news reports of the time.

This book inspired me with the tenacity of these men, and their desire to survive without any of the modern conveniences of GPS, radios, or even complete maps.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This is a detective/thriller novel set in deep space by the author of The Martian.

The protagonist awakens on a spaceship after sleeping many years. All of his crew members have died along the way and to top it off, he has totally lost his memory.

Why was he on this spaceship? Where in the universe was he? Who is he? It’s up to him to uncover the purpose of his mission and his memory. Through his resourcefulness and science knowledge, he slowly brings to light the ultimate threat to the universe; and its fatal weakness. This was a fun read that tickled my inner science nerd!

Have you read any good "I will Survive" books?