Stories of thrills and terror

The Best Adventure and Survival Stories 2003; Edited by Nate Hardcastle; Thunder’s Mouth Press, $17.95

Adrenaline junkies and armchair voyagers, batten down the hatches for a jolting ride of close-call misadventures. This heart-racing anthology features 15 tall-but-true tales of folks in extremis, either because they went looking for trouble or because it found them. Legendary stunt pilot Kirby Chambliss cranks up the G’s in China as he shoots a 150-foot tunnel with 150,000 gawkers mere inches below his wings, while Peter Canby dodges gorillas and Gabon vipers on a central African walkabout.

Sought-for adventure stokes a big rush, but when terror strikes unbidden it ups the ante exponentially. Stumbling over body parts in the just-bombed Sari Club in Bali or following New York firefighters into the smoking World Trade Center is not for the faint-hearted. Nor is being buried under a freak avalanche or winding up a hostage in Colombia. Hang on with those white knuckles.

-- Susan Dworski