Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, Ranulph Fiennes
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A present from my lovely wife (big props on finding this one for me), Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know is Ranulph Fiennes’ (not Ralph, that’s his cousin) autobiography; he’s one of his generation’s preeminent polar explorers, he set a number of solo and team records for treks to both poles as well as his famous trans-global trek around the planet’s circumference in one calendar year. It also chronicles his various other expeditions, such as Everest attempts and climbs up the North Face of the Eiger, he really has lead an amazing life. Some of his exploits were enthralling, but what was really eye-popping was some of the pain and endurance stories he weaves into his travels; at one point he has to chop off frost-bitten fingertips with a hack saw to alleviate the pain. There’s one point where he and his teammate are crossing the Antarctic, slowly starving to death because their bodies are burning in excess of 11,000 calories a day while they can only physically consume around 8,000 calories of food. When it comes to adventure, this book doesn’t leave the reader wanting…