The Accidental Adventurer

Oct 6, 2024 8:24 PM

Author:Ben Fogle

Ben Fogle's life has been action-packed to say the least. He has rowed across the Atlantic, walked to the South Pole, run the Sahara and ice-skated across Sweden. He has encountered isolated tribes in deepest Papua New Guinea, caused a Boeing 747 to dump £100k of fuel before making an emergency landing in Sao Paolo, and frequently been mistaken for Prince William along the way.

So how did a cripplingly shy, geeky, perennially homesick boy end up doing all this? Ben's still not entirely sure himself, but this wonderful book tells his story and will strike a chord with anyone puzzling about life, and how to live it differently.

This is a book about defying expectations, conquering fears, battling laziness and, just occasionally, winning.

Reviews

Funny, entertaining and really rather inspiring, too

—— Daily Mail

A fun and inspiring read

—— Choice

It's a tale of slavish fandom, the highs and lows of which are illustrated with dexterity... It's not only cricket fans and journalists who'll appreciate this yarn - it's a tale for lovers in the wider sense, and of the boundaries they'll cross

—— Independent

His tribute to the simple pleasures of fandom is a touching one

—— Guardian

Delightful and full of selfmockery

—— Mail on Sunday

Thomson undertakes a 400-mile journey coast-to-coast along drover paths, bramble-filled ditches and half-forgotten tracks, discovering remnants of forgotten cultures in this celebration of old England and its heritage.

—— Daily Mail

Thomson provides a solid sense of place and the reader gets to know the route and its distinctive features.

—— Times Literary Supplement

This sparky account of a walk from Dorset to Norfolk had this reader nodding about the "strikingly neurotic behaviour… that often lies beneath the English skin" in the characters of Wind in the Willows, applauding the recognition that "Empire didn't suit us. It brought out the bossy, inflexible, hierarchical side" and whooping at Thomson's use of tie and clipboard to enter the officially imposed sanctum sanctorum of Stonehenge.

—— Independent

Gently told, with rich humour and an enjoyable sense of inquiry.

—— The Times

The tale of the spectator Lemond-Hinault rivalry over the roads of the 'greatest ever' Tour de France in 1986 is hardly unknown for most cycling fan - and yet Moore magnificently offers a fresh perspective, bringing alive this supreme tussle by resorting to some vintage toilet humour... His book is a gripping read

—— UK.eurosport.yahoo.com/blog/blazin-saddles

[Moore] entertainingly unravels the complexities of the relationships within the peloton

—— Richard Williams , Guardian

One of Bike Radar’s favourite books of the past 12 months

—— Bike Radar

Moore unearths a dazzling array of detail through interviews and anecdotes, telling a tale that holds suspense even for those who know the ultimate outcome of this epic battle. As racing books go, Moore’s book just might be “the greatest ever"

—— Kent Petersen , Outside Magazine

The measure of a great book is a great start.Richard Moore’s introductory anecdote in Slaying the Badger set a new standard in cycling literature

—— Cycle Sport

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