The Accidental Adventurer

Description

The weird and wonderful true story of a national treasure in the making Ben Fogle's life has been action-packed to say the least. He has rowed across the Atlantic, walked to the South Pole, run the Sahara and ice-skated across Sweden. He has encountered isolated tribes in deepest Papua New Guinea, caused a Boeing 747 to dump e100k of fuel before making an emergency landing in Sao Paolo, and frequently been mistaken for Prince William along the way. So how did a cripplingly shy, geeky, perennially homesick boy end up doing all this? Ben's still not entirely sure himself, but this wonderful book tells his story and will strike a chord with anyone puzzling about life, and how to live it differently. This is a book about defying expectations, conquering fears, battling laziness and, just occasionally, winning.

Ben Fogle shot to fame as the star of the BBC's first attempt at reality television, Castaway, in 2000. The son of actress Julia Foster and vet Bruce Fogle, his life has never been exactly ordinary. As well as taking part in many of the toughest physical challenges on earth, he has found himself competing in the World Championships of morris dancing, stinging-nettle-eating and crabbing. He is a Knight of the Principality of Sealand and President of the Hedgehog Preservation Society. Ben has presented numerous programmes including the BBC's Animal Park, Countryfile, Wild in Africa, Wild on the West Coast, Crufts, One Man and His Dog, The Secret of Scott's Hut and three series of the hit adventure show Extreme Dreams. He is a special correspondent for NBC, an ambassador for WWF, Medecins Sans Fronti res and Tusk, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the President of the Campaign for National Parks. He lives in London with his wife Marina, their two children Ludo and Iona, and their dogs Maggi and Inca.

Funny, entertaining and really rather inspiring, too * Daily Mail * A fun and inspiring read * Choice *