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Four men in a lifeboat. Two weeks without food. One impossible choice that would reshape the boundaries between survival and murder. Perfect for readers of David Grann’s The Wager and Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea, this pulse-pounding true story has become a real-life example of one of life’s greatest moral dilemmas.
Rich with narrative detail and real-life courtroom twists, Captain’s Dinner strikes at the heart of a question that haunts us all: When does survival justify murder?
“Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, starred review
“Drama abounds. . . gripping.” —Publishers Weekly
Survival stories have always been a popular genre for a reason. What that reason is varies according to the reader. Perhaps it’s about the satisfaction of beating the odds or the vicarious thrill of facing danger, whether it’s natural or human-made. Or maybe it’s about admiring the depths of human resilience, which we all have but hope not to have cause to explore. Whatever the reason, true survival stories continue to become bestsellers.
The six survival stories included in this list are among the best of the genre, and they show the breadth and scope of it. There are adult and middle grade books, books about surviving the wilderness and books about surviving the Holocaust. They may be about one person’s survival (I see you, Salvador Alvarenga) or a group of people’s (shoutout to the incredible resilience of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach). In short: there’s something for everyone.
Enjoy, and please receive my sincerest wishes that you never find yourself in a situation where you have to become the main character of your own true survival story.
The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea
In May 2001, twenty-six men tried to cross the border into the United States through The Devil’s Highway, a brutally dangerous desert. Only twelve of them survived. The book explores how these men managed to live through a lethal desert and a deep betrayal to reach Southern Arizona.
Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
Mount Everest seems tailor-made for survival stories… that is, if you survive it. That’s what John Krakauer did, barely, when a deadly snowstorm unleashed during his descent. One of the only two survivors, this book explores the allure of such a lethal mountain, on top of recounting Krakauer’s story.
Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza and Steve Erwin
In 1994, when the Rwandan genocide began, Immaculée Ilibagiza’s life took a horrifying turn. All of her family was murdered, leaving her as the sole survivor. For three months, she and seven other women hid in a local pastor’s bathroom, hoping to survive the massacre.
But Immaculée walked away from genocide with something precious to her: a relationship with God that saw her through days of unspeakable horror.
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado and Vince Rause
When the plane carrying Nando Parrado, his rugby team, and his mother and sister, crashed, he found himself struggling for survival in the depths of the Andes. Unwilling to surrender to death, he led the few survivors on a terrifying climb up the mountain and across 45 miles of wilderness.
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
This middle grade book tells the story of a kids’ soccer team and their coach as they attempted to survive seventeen days trapped in a cave. While a rescue operation took place, the children and their coach underwent harrowing conditions that would’ve broken many… but they never gave, displaying incredible resilience in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
Night by Elie Wiesel, translated by Marion Wiesel
Auschwitz, 1944. That’s where a teenage Elie Wiesel and his family found themselves, before being shipped off to Buchenwald. Elie survived the loss of his family, the inhumane conditions of a concentration camp, and the knowledge of the human capacity for evil. This book tells his story throughout it all.
Lost at Windy River by Trina Rathgeber, Jillan Dolan, and Alina Pete
This middle grade book chronicles the struggles of Ilse Schwedder, a thirteen-year-old Indigenous girl who got lost and separated from her family during a snowstorm in northern Canada. Her traditional Indigenous knowledge enabled her to survive the terrifying challenges of a barren landscape, complete with dangerous animals.
438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea by Jonathan Franklin
Boat captain Salvador Alvarenga and his crewmate attempted to reach port during a terrible storm. It took more than a year lost at sea for Salvador to reach safety, which he did in 2014, unable to walk and barely able to speak. Franklin pieced together a multitude of sources to tell his story.
If you can’t get enough of survival stories, may I suggest 10 of the best survival books for when things fall apart? Or perhaps you’re in the mood for 10 survival thrillers that test human endurance instead?
