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Will to Live
by
Les Stroud
In a survival situation, a wrong decision could spell the difference between life and death.No one knows this better than Les Stroud, who has survived everywhere from the sun-scorched sands of the Kalahari to the snake-infested jungles of the Amazon. In Will to Live, Les examines many incredible true life survival stories—explaining what happened and why, and offering valu...more
ebook, 240 pages
Published
February 1st 2011
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published October 19th 2010)
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Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
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238)
Apr 29, 2012
Virginia
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012books,
nonfiction
I love the Survivorman show, and I have read an awful lot of survival stories – particularly about Arctic and Antarctic explorers. So I thought I would read this and see how it was.
Couple of things.
This was written with the help of a ghostwriter – it would have been MUCH better if they just let Les write it like a series of blog entries or essays. A lot of what makes Survivorman interesting to watch is his personality, and this book did not really have much of that in it. It was nice to have we...more
Couple of things.
This was written with the help of a ghostwriter – it would have been MUCH better if they just let Les write it like a series of blog entries or essays. A lot of what makes Survivorman interesting to watch is his personality, and this book did not really have much of that in it. It was nice to have we...more
'Will to Live' is fulled with chilling, true tales of survival in many places and many times. I love how as Les tells a little bit of the story he also lets the reader know what he would do if he were in that situitation and how that certain person went wrong. I also love the way the novel is set up. For example; at the end of each story Les has a little box giving the man or women a mark on surivival and his or her, "Will to Live". After all he is the king of surivival! Les should know best!
A f...more
A f...more
Will to Live: Dispatches from the Edge of Survival","Les Stroud",
"Les Stroud is best known as a survivor expert on the Discovery channel for such series as Survivorman and Beyond Survival. He gets himself stranded in some of the most hazardous locations on earth. He does his own camera work and describes how to get out of the dangers he encounters. He also teachers courses in outdoors survival. In this book he describes and summarizes some of the most famous survival stories of the 20th century...more
"Les Stroud is best known as a survivor expert on the Discovery channel for such series as Survivorman and Beyond Survival. He gets himself stranded in some of the most hazardous locations on earth. He does his own camera work and describes how to get out of the dangers he encounters. He also teachers courses in outdoors survival. In this book he describes and summarizes some of the most famous survival stories of the 20th century...more
I really like Les Stroud and I love his TV show Survivorman, so I was very interested to read this book. Les tells the stories of a few famous cases of survival. I already knew 3 of the stories, but in each one I learned things I didn't know before. With each story Les tells the story of survival and also comments on things that the people either did right or wrong and how it impacted them. Of course in the moment and with no survival training all these people did the best they could and hindsig...more
Hailee Christman
Stroud, L., & Vlessides, M. (2011). Will to live: Dispatches from the edge of survival. New York: Harper.
Informational
Selection process: Reviewed in Booklist, February 1, 2011, retrieved from www.booklistonline.com
Television's Survivorman, Les Stroud compiles an engaging and fascinating collection of twelve stories of survival from around the world. Some well known, such as Chris McCandless, who's story inspired the book and subsequent movie Into the Wild and the plane crash...more
Stroud, L., & Vlessides, M. (2011). Will to live: Dispatches from the edge of survival. New York: Harper.
Informational
Selection process: Reviewed in Booklist, February 1, 2011, retrieved from www.booklistonline.com
Television's Survivorman, Les Stroud compiles an engaging and fascinating collection of twelve stories of survival from around the world. Some well known, such as Chris McCandless, who's story inspired the book and subsequent movie Into the Wild and the plane crash...more
I really, really, really wanted to rate this book higher. I loved the stories and got caught up in how the people managed to survive. Unfortunately, I really hated Les Stroud and couldn't stand his attitude towards the survivors.
Ultimately, I would give the stories themselves 5/5 and Les Stroud's commentary on the stories 1/5. Stroud comes off as an arrogant asshole and I just couldn't stand it.
Ultimately, I would give the stories themselves 5/5 and Les Stroud's commentary on the stories 1/5. Stroud comes off as an arrogant asshole and I just couldn't stand it.
This was a fascinating and horrifying read. The only story I knew of in this collection was McCandless, so I enjoyed hearing about all this stories of survival I didn't know about before. Stroud looks at their choices in a realistic way, but doesn't shy from giving you the brunt facts of what happened. I cringed more than a few times, and gaped in horror at other times, as he went into detail about what these people went through to live.
I also enjoyed his own chapters about himself put in. I fou...more
I also enjoyed his own chapters about himself put in. I fou...more
Many people of heard of Ernest Shackleton, but few know of the Australian explorer Douglas Mawson, whose will to live is all that kept him alive on a terrible Antarctic quest gone awry. Stroud's book chronicles his story, as well as more familiar tales, in recounting how human beings have faced survival situations.
Decent. Interesting. My problem was that I had heard of at least half of the survival stories and so the book lost some of it's 'freshness' so to speak. Had Stroud researched and 'retold' more lessor known stories - the book would have been more enjoyable.
Nov 10, 2012
Mario Polytaridis
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
politics-history
Excellent. Nothing allows man to reach deeper and achieve greater than that insatiable will to live. The stories in this book demonstrate that, while training and tools are greatly useful, ultimately it is the will that actually makes the difference.
Some of the survival stories in this book are already very well-known so for someone who is an avid reader of survival tales (which I am not) the interest level in this book may rank lower. For me, the stories themselves were fascinating and inspiring. The author's commentary throughout recounting the stories was pedantic and somewhat repetitive. Overall, an interesting read.
Easy and fascinating read about survival in the elements with unique film maker Les Stroud's view to the fittest. It proves that any challenge, be it emotional or physical, depends heavily on attitude and a nice dose of luck.
I enjoyed Les's view on each survival situation. I wish he would have focused on little known survival stories instead of highly published ones that unfortunately I had already heard of.
Apr 29, 2011
Mona
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those interested in survival stories
This is a great book in which Les Stroud tells others' survival stories and comments on their ordeals. It was an interesting read, and Les' knowledge of survival situations is clearly evident.
I really liked Les' retelling of these survival stories in his own voice and what he thought of how the people coped. It does make me want to read the full length stories by the people that were affected.
Fun and easy read. Not really going to teach you how to survive. But the true life stories are pretty amazing. Les' comments are on-point.
I really wanted to like this book. It felt kind of preachy started to win me back again about halfway through but just not enough.
Loved it! Provided a lot to think about and a good description of what makes a person be a "survivor".
Diverse mixture of incredible survival stories with a lot of his thoughts on the ordeals and personal experiences included. A great read, really enjoyed it!
Actually finished this book on the flight home from Munich. Perfect for reading on an airplane while passing over the frozen tundra of Canada and imagining possible survival scenerios if the aircraft crashed into the snow and ice.
Inspiring and entertaining real life stories of people who survived (or didn't) various adventures. Very enjoyable book.
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