Books that shaped your outlook on adventure or manhood.

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Shane Limbeck

Shane Limbeck

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FE Staff
Every man has a few that left a mark. The books that taught you something real about risk, grit, loyalty, or what it means to live on your own terms.

What are the ones that stuck with you?
Could be Hemingway or Ruark, McCarthy or London, or something no one else has heard of.

Drop the titles and tell us why they matter.
 
Catcher in the Rye was the first book I actually enjoyed as assigned reading in school and it was also the first book that made me mad when I finished because I wanted it to be longer.
As a hunter, Green Hills of Africa was a great read as a primer for a first safari. It was also surprising to read Hemingway's humility in talking about missing/making bad shots and the anxiety that follows. That kind of candidness is rare in today's nauseating world of shameless, self-promoting influencers.
The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker also deserves a mention. The through line is that humans have an innate sense that allows us to detect volatility/danger in situations and in people, but, largely due to political correctness, many modern humans have stifled that sense in order to not appear bigoted or sexist or racist or something-ist. Bottom line: trust your gut and act accordingly.
 
Agree with all you guys plugging Hemingway, I really enjoyed his memoir A Movable Feast. It captures a lot of the universal struggles of figuring out life when you’re young. I tend to think of Hemingway as a bearded old adventurer on safari or captaining his boat the Pilar so it’s refreshing to consider his early life as an insecure hipster.

Other books that I have read recently and enjoyed:
Shibumi by Trevanian- A great beach read thriller
Charlie Wilson’s War by George Crile- Awesome nonfiction prose, interesting story of how one man changed the course of history
Ride The Tiger by Julius Evola - Great insights for old souls on how to deal with the modern world.
Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq - Dark and provocative in a way only a French author could be
 
Lord of the Flies - Golding
The Old Man and the Sea & In Our Time - Hemingway
The Sound and the Fury - Faulkner
Macbeth - Shakespeare
1984 - Orwell

All of thses works, with the exception of In Our Time, were assigned reading in junior high and high school. The only male teacher at my little country school was my English teacher, Mr. Smith, and he would be our English teacher from 8th to 12th grade.

The first novel he assigned to our class in junior high was Lord of the Flies. That allegory change the way I read and thought about books and stories. From that point on, we trusted Mr. Smith whenever he assign a short story or novel for us to read.
 
We've all read Hemingway, Ruark, and Steinbeck. I can't read Faulkner, it's written in a weird, boring language that I don't understand.

The author who helped me was Hunter S. Thompson, and I'll tell you why, not because of the drugs and booze, but for his ability to step outside of his experience and describe it with humor. He reminds us to grab every moment by the neck and squeeze as much as possible from it. He can take something as dull as the Honolulu marathon and make it the most funny and exciting thing you've ever read, and teach you something along the way.
 
Andrew Wilson said:
We've all read Hemingway, Ruark, and Steinbeck. I can't read Faulkner, it's written in a weird, boring language that I don't understand.

The author who helped me was Hunter S. Thompson, and I'll tell you why, not because of the drugs and booze, but for his ability to step outside of his experience and describe it with humor. He reminds us to grab every moment by the neck and squeeze as much as possible from it. He can take something as dull as the Honolulu marathon and make it the most funny and exciting thing you've ever read, and teach you something along the way.
Click to expand...
"...weird, boring language..."?! Come on, AW! :LOL:
 
Andrew Wilson said:
We've all read Hemingway, Ruark, and Steinbeck. I can't read Faulkner, it's written in a weird, boring language that I don't understand.

The author who helped me was Hunter S. Thompson, and I'll tell you why, not because of the drugs and booze, but for his ability to step outside of his experience and describe it with humor. He reminds us to grab every moment by the neck and squeeze as much as possible from it. He can take something as dull as the Honolulu marathon and make it the most funny and exciting thing you've ever read, and teach you something along the way.
Click to expand...
Agree 100 percent, especially regarding Faulkner.
 
Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen

It shows how perception and reputation can be manipulated and used for good or evil especially for a man who wants to live on the edge of what society expects of him.
 
I've been reminded by Bill Watterson, with some inspiration from Tom Brown Jr., and Charles M. Russell. I must strive for the insight of Gary Larson. Others mentioned in this thread are not to be neglected though. Expolitory motivation and perspective at its finest
 
Hatcher, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return and Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen. I remember reading that series with my dad and brother when I was a little kid.

One Man’s Wilderness by Richard Proenneke and Sam Keith. Awesome story about living off the land in Alaska and being self reliant.

The Lord of The Rings Series. So many life principles by JRR Tolkien.
 
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