Overview

Fewer people have rowed across the Atlantic Ocean than have climbed Mount Everest. Adam Rackley is among them. For seventy days, he and his rowing partner ate, slept, and rowed in a boat seven meters long and two meters wide, in one of the world's most extreme environments. This is his story of adventure, endurance, and self-discovery. They were following in the wake of pioneers. In 1896, a pair of Norwegian fisherman crossed the 2,500 miles in a wooden fishing dory--and their record stood for 114 years. John Fairfax, a smuggler, gambler, and shark hunter, was the first to complete the feat single-handedly in 1969. Others have followed; some have not survived the attempt. This is their story, too.

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"Incredible true stories from the limits of endurance, written by a man who's been there.-- ""Sir Ranulph Fiennes, author and adventurer"" ""An ode to eating jelly beans isn't the opening you'd expect from Adam Rackley's account of his seventy-six-day Atlantic row. Still, it shines a light on the simple pleasures of everyday life in a rowboat, especially as delivered by narrator Ralph Lister. The opening is intriguing enough to involve listeners immediately...[and] the stories are fascinating. With Lister's emotional narration, listeners will feel everything from the gradual adjustment to the sea to the astonishment of accomplishment. Even listeners who would never try an ocean crossing could find themselves feeling more energetic."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Incredible true stories from the limits of endurance, written by a man who's been there."" -- ""Sir Ranulph Fiennes, English adventurer"" ""Makes for fascinating reading. Vercdict: Told in an earnest and captivating style by first-time author Rackley, it will delight both armchair enthusiasts and real-life adventurers when they discover another sport for their dreams."" -- ""Library Journal (starred review)"" ""Offers not only a fascinating, often disarming first-hand account of their great oceanic achievement; he also describes and pays tribute to those who had gone before, not all of whom survived...One astonishing read."" -- ""Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review"" ""Rackley does a good job with the researching and reporting, achieving an effective balance between personal experience and historical context...Readers will learn almost as much about long-distance rowing as the author did--without the chapping and blistering."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Rackley's no-holds-barred portrayal of his own harrowing journey from Spain to Antigua...By alternating between his own story and those of ocean-rowing pioneers, he effortlessly builds suspense and humor into what could have been a dry retelling of monotonous days at sea...Rackley writes with brutal candor and a storyteller's flair--providing readers memorable on-board views of a world most will never see."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Straightforward and engaging--relentless as the sharks encountered."" -- ""Sports Illustrated"" ""We need the people who climb mountains, cross oceans, voyage to the moon, to tell us who we are. Adam Rackley is one of the very few who has both the literary skill and the sensory intelligence to make the rest of us understand what exactly is out there, and why. In this gripping and superior book he is both seaman and historian, telling the story of his own voyage and the rowers who have gone before him."" -- ""Peter Nichols, author of A Voyage for Madmen"""

Author Information

Adam Rackley was born in the Netherlands in 1981. He studied PPE at the University of York before completing an MSc from the University of London in finance and financial law. He has worked as a fund manager at Montanaro Asset Management and a finance lecturer at BPP Business School, and he was previously a platoon commander with the Black Watch at Fort George. Adam lives in South London with his wife, Alice. Ralph Lister is an actor, voice actor, and AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator. He spent fifteen years in London theater before moving to the United States to focus on film and television. He has held numerous roles in Shakespeare and modern dramas, as well as starring roles in independent films. His voice and character work can be heard in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearland 13 Going On 30. He lives in Los Angeles.

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