Book excerpt: Few people would want to test their mettle in an ice-encrusted boat with Ernest Shackleton, sail the Straits of Magellan with Joshua Slocum, or watch with Owen Chase as an angry whale sends his ship to the bottom, thousands of miles from the nearest land. But it's quite another thing to read these true accounts while settled into a favorite chair. Shackleton and Chase persevered in the face of travails that would have given even Job pause. Their stoic accounts are stronger and more dramatic for their total lack of affection, their frankness, and their lack of ego. Their gripping stories are custom made for the imaginative reader who seeks adventure in a more controlled environment, safe and warm, and well fed. Civilized readers with their armchairs anchored firmly to the living room floor. Rich in drama and history, here are fifteen stories that will entertain, inform, and inspire--enduring stories that have attracted generations of readers. With contributions from: William Shakespeare Aaron Smith Joseph Conrad Erskine Childers Joshua Slocum James Fenimore Cooper Herman Melville Richard Henry Dana Jerome K. Jerome Edgar Allan Poe Richard Hakluyt Robert Louis Stevenson Owen Chase Ernest Shackleton