Read the featured book below. Watch the video interview with the author. Watch the survival-themed featured video. Jumpstart your group conversation with our discussion questions. Pick a new themed topic, and repeat! |
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Arctic Drift
In Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler keeps readers transfixed while weaving marine methodologies into a high-stakes adventure. The book’s heroes fight for their lives, trying to keep world-changing (read more)
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Clive Cusssler Would you like a peek into Clive Cussler’s creative mind? Cussler’s own history writing advertising and his passion for marine archeology both influence his writing. In this interview he describes some … (read more) |
Pushing the Limits of Survival In this 10-minute story, you’ll come to know — and cheer for — a young couple pushing their personal limits of SURVIVAL. They work endless hours to keep the...
(read more)
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Consider using these other suggested SURVIVAL books and media for future gatherings. Take a look at the other items below, curated for this theme. How do people push the limits of SURVIVAL in each book or video? The joy is in the discovery! Making those connections as you read will enrich your follow-up conversations.
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In 2002, the Colombian guerrilla movement known as the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt in the middle of her presidential... (read more)
A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested... (read more)
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In this award-winning story, a 13-year-old boy crash-lands a plane in the forest. And his world only gets worse from there. He endures a constant barrage... (read more)
Maybe you’ve seen the major motion picture based on this book. Trapper and tracker, Hugh Glass, is mauled by a bear. Against all odds, he rallies and drags himself through hundreds of wilderness miles to seek... (read more)
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In the days before anyone thought much about race car driver safety, competitors fought to win — and to stay alive. Without roll bars or seat belts, one California mechanic would become... (read more)
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Author Gabriela Wiener discovered an “emotional black hole” opened up when she first discovered she was going to be a mother. She chronicled her journey through pregnancy and her fight for her own understanding and doubts about maternal love, and why we continue –as individuals and as a species–to seek survival. Now in an updated... (read more)
Did you know that Moby Dick was inspired by a true story? In 1820, a sperm whale willfully rammed and sank the whaleship Essex... (read more)
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Rebellious teens hijack a van filled with rafting gear. Trying to navigate treacherous rapids at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, they face life-threatening tests of both their mental and physical... (read more)
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The Horror Writers Association named this book The Vampire Novel of the Century. Every night, Robert Neville fends off the blood-sucking creatures trying to break down his door. Come daylight, he... (read more)
Above the People
This collection of stories features characters whose lives lack heroism, and yet who continue to rebel against their challenges and find ways to survive. Long-listed for the National Book Award, these deeply human stories of treacherous... (read more) spacerline
Eighty percent of the world's biodiversity is within Indigenous territories, yet these communities often don't have a say when it comes to protecting the lands they inhabit. Environmental... (read more)
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ARCTIC DRIFT
In Arctic Drift, Clive Cussler keeps readers transfixed while weaving marine methodologies into a high-stakes adventure. The book’s heroes fight for their lives, trying to keep world-changing technology out of the hands of the bad guys. The consequences of their actions could determine the very survival of humankind! Fans know Clive Cussler’s character Dirk Pitt as a seagoing engineer and adventurer. What they may not know is that Cussler is a real-life marine archeologist. His works often put his heroes into extreme conditions, like being stranded on an arctic ice flow or trapped in a sunken shipwreck. Intensifying that experience, Cussler uses his scientific knowledge to add a level of detail that rivets readers to the story. PUSHING THE LIMITS OF SURVIVAL
In this 10-minute story, you’ll come to know — and cheer for — a young couple pushing their personal limits of SURVIVAL. They work endless hours to keep the family farm from fading into history, competing for water in an increasingly dry region. And in their limited time-off, they also work side-by side, competing in a crazy, combative competition to be driving the last piece of giant farm equipment left standing in the annual Combine Demolition Derby. DOWN RIVER
Rebellious teens hijack a van filled with rafting gear. Trying to navigate treacherous rapids at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, they face life-threatening tests of both their mental and physical fitness. No adults, no permit, no river map. Just some "borrowed" gear from Discovery Unlimited, the outdoor education program Jessie and her new companions have just ditched. Jessie and the others are having the time of their lives floating beneath sheer red walls, exploring unknown caves and dangerous waterfalls, and plunging through the Grand Canyon's roaring rapids. No one, including Troy, who emerges as the group's magnetic and ultimately frightening leader, can foresee the challenges and conflicts. What will be the consequences of their reckless adventure? (Goodreads.com) [Will Hobbs - Fiction; Teen and Young Adult] NUEVE LUNAS
Author Gabriela Wiener discovered an “emotional black hole” opened up when she first discovered she was going to be a mother. She chronicled her journey through pregnancy and her fight for her own understanding and doubts about maternal love, and why we continue–as individuals and as a species–to seek survival. Now in an updated and expanded publication, the book includes a letter from the author to her daughters, recounting how much everything has changed and yet how many things have not. [Gabriela Wiener - Nonfiction] INTO THE HEART OF THE SEA: THE TRAGEDY OF THE WHALESHIP ESSEX
Did you know that Moby Dick was inspired by a true story? In 1820, a sperm whale willfully rammed and sank the whaleship Essex. The surviving crew members drifted for months in tiny boats, forced to do the unthinkable to survive. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little–known documents-including a long–lost account written by the ship’s cabin boy-and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon. (Nathanielphilbricl.com) [Nathaniel Philbrick - Nonfiction] AN INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE ON HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL ON EARTH
Eighty percent of the world's biodiversity is within Indigenous territories, yet these communities often don't have a say when it comes to protecting the lands they inhabit. Environmental activist Jupta Itoewaki explains why Indigenous peoples are best positioned to lead the world's efforts to preserve nature and maintain a habitable planet -- and reminds us of their outsized importance in charting a sustainable future. Speaker Jupta Itoewaki works in the field of environmental protection, helping bring sustainable development to the Wayana People of Suriname. AUTHOR INTERVIEW: CLIVE CUSSLER
Would you like a peek into Clive Cussler’s creative mind? Cussler’s own history writing advertising and his passion for marine archeology both influence his writing. In this interview, he describes some of the secrets behind his writing success — including how he dreamed up some of the plot twists in Arctic Drift. Cussler was the founder the National Underwater & Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization that dedicates itself to American maritime and naval history. Cussler and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered over 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites. After verifying their finds, NUMA turns the rights to the artifacts over to non-profits, universities, or government entities all over the world. (CliveCusslerShipwrecks.com) |
SIX YEARS IN CAPTIVITY
In 2002, the Colombian guerrilla movement known as the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt in the middle of her presidential campaign. For the next six years, Betancourt was held hostage in jungle prison camps where she was ravaged by malaria, fleas, hunger and human cruelty until her rescue by the Colombian government. In this deeply personal talk, the politician turned writer explains what it's like to live in a perpetual state of fear -- and how her faith sustained her. (TED Talk) THE LIMIT: LIFE AND DEATH ON THE 1961 GRAND PRIX
In the days before anyone thought much about race car driver safety, competitors fought to win — and to stay alive. Without roll bars or seat belts, one California driver would become the first American-born driver to win the Grand Prix. This story charts the journey that brought car mechanic Phil Hill from dusty California lots racing midget cars into the ranks of a singular breed of men, competing with daredevils for glory on Grand Prix tracks across Europe. Facing death at every turn, these men rounded circuits at well over 150 mph in an era before seat belts or roll bars-an era when drivers were "crushed, burned, and beheaded with unnerving regularity." … Race by race, The Limit carries readers to its riveting and startling climax-the final contest that would decide it all, one of the deadliest in Grand Prix history. (Barnesandnoble.com) [Michael Cannell - Nonfiction] INTO THIN AIR: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MT. EVEREST DISASTER
A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster”. (Goodreads.com) In this harrowing true story Krakauer explores why people risk — and sometimes lose — everything in a push for the summit. [Jon Krakauer - Nonfiction] I AM LEGEND
The Horror Writers Association named this book The Vampire Novel of the Century. Every night, Robert Neville fends off the blood-sucking creatures trying to break down his door. Come daylight, he refortifies his house, hoping to withstand the next siege. As months of scavenging and hiding to to years marked by depression and alcoholism, Robert spends his days hunting his tormentors and researching the cause of their affliction. But the more he discovers about the vampires around him, the more he sees te unsettling truth of who is–ad who is not–a monster (Amazon.com) [Richard Matheson - Fiction] THE KING IS ALWAYS ABOVE THE PEOPLE
This collection of stories features characters whose lives lack heroism, and yet who continue to rebel against their challenges and find ways to survive. Long-listed for the National Book Award, these deeply human stories of treacherous migration, heartbreaking betrayal, doomed love and dark family secrets reveal the strength of hope through richly drawn and unforgettable characters. [Daniel Alarcón - Fiction] THE REVENANT: A NOVEL OF REVENGE
Maybe you’ve seen the major motion picture based on this book. Trapper and tracker, Hugh Glass, is mauled by a bear. Against all odds, he rallies and drags himself through hundreds of wilderness miles to seek revenge on the men who left him there to die. With shocking grit and determination, Glass sets out, crawling at first, across hundreds of miles of uncharted American frontier. Based on a true story, The Revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession, the human will stretched to its limits, and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution. (Amazon.com) [Michael Punke - Fiction] HATCHET
In this award-winning heart-stopping adventure story, a 13-year-old boy is left the only survivor after his plane crash-lands in a forest. And his world only gets worse from there. He endures a constant barrage of nature’s fury with only a hatchet to keep him alive. At first consumed by despair and self-pity, Brian slowly learns survival skills—how to make a shelter for himself, how to hunt and fish and forage for food, how to make a fire—and even finds the courage to start over from scratch when a tornado ravages his campsite. When Brian is finally rescued after fifty-four days in the wild, he emerges from his ordeal with new patience and maturity, and a greater understanding of himself and his parents. (Amazon.com) [Gary Paulsen - Fiction; Teen and Young Adult] |
Author Interview
SCIENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
SIX YEARS IN CAPTIVITY
AN INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE ON HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL ON EARTH
https://www.ted.com
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AN INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE ON HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL ON EARTH
https://www.ted.com