Escape from Kabul: The Inside Story
'An important account of one of the defining moments of the modern world' PETER FRANKOPAN
The evacuation of Kabul in August 2021 will go down in military history as one of the most unexpected events in modern times. In an eerie replay of the disastrous British retreat from Kabul in 1842, coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan after twenty years of military campaigning. The subsequent collapse of the Afghan government and its army shocked the world, as a resurgent Taliban gathered its forces and swept across the country. Thousands of Afghans who had worked with the allies were left to the meagre mercy of the Taliban.
As the Taliban went door to door to execute 'collaborators', a small international task force set out on a daring mission to evacuate as many Afghans and their families as possible.
Drawing on a wide range of first-hand accounts - the politicians and officers who planned the trans-continental rescue, the young soldiers who were faced with the unenviable task of keeping a crowd of thousands of desperate people at bay, former interpreters and soldiers of the Afghan Special Forces who made it out - Escape from Kabul is the harrowing true story of Operation Pitting and the Kabul airlift.
Endurance: 100 Tales of Survival, Adventure and Exploration
100 of the most astonishing stories of human survival, adventure and exploration, chosen by Levison Wood.
We are always captivated by tales of courage and bravery, of world-firsts and death-defying experiences. In this anthology, explorer and bestselling author Levison Wood has gathered 100 of the most fascinating accounts of human endurance throughout history. From the heroism of Antarctic explorers to pioneering women in the Middle East; from record-breaking athletes to survivors of war and torture, this wide-ranging collection embraces both classics of the genre, as well as new and neglected voices.
Endurance is packed full of you-couldn't-make-it-up true stories and adventure fiction classics, from the high seas to the poles, from inhospitable jungles and deserts to the unknown realms of space, through physical and mental despair to euphoric highs. Yet all of these extraordinary stories celebrate the enduring nature of the human spirit, and show the mental and physical determination it sometimes takes to achieve one's aims.
Includes extracts about and by Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, Amelia Earhart, Marie Colvin, John Krakauer, Solomon Northrup, Ella Maillart, Freya Stark, Ed Stafford, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Aron Lee Ralston, María Elena Moyano, Gertrude Bell, Isabelle Eberhart, Nellie Bly, Alex Honnold, Nelson Mandela, David Nott, Jules Verne, Neil Armstrong and Scott Kelly.
The Art of Exploration: Lessons in Curiosity, Leadership and Getting Things Done
'Forget routine; now is the time to embrace the unknown, step out of your comfort zone and open the gateway to the Art of Exploration.'
'Britain's best loved adventurer' (The Times) talks about his secrets of discovery for the first time in this revealing manual of what it means to be an explorer in the modern age. The man who has walked the Nile, the Himalayas and the Americas discusses his lessons from a life on the road, how he managed to turn a passion into a lifestyle, and what inspired and motivated him along the way. Wood explains how he and other explorers face up to life's challenges, often in extraordinary circumstances and demonstrate resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. He shares examples of pioneers in many fields, using their work to show how we can all develop our own explorers mindset and how these lessons can be applied in daily life.
With chapters on curiosity, teamwork, resilience and positivity this is a book that provides a tool kit - no matter your age or profession. As Levison says, 'these lessons can help you to fulfil your potential for living a happy life, regardless of your circumstances'.
Encounters: A Photographic Journey Hardcover
Embark on a voyage of adventure with Sunday Times bestselling author, award-winning explorer and photographer Levison Wood, as he shares photographs and stories of the extraordinary people he has met and places he has seen on his breath-taking journeys around the globe.
Encounters brings together 15 years of Levison Wood’s photography for the first time, telling the incredible stories of the world’s most remote places and the people who live there.
Through chapters covering Frontiers, Conflict, Heritage, and Community, this collection showcases the breadth of experience across human communities and humanity's relationship with its environment.
With his unique experiences in extraordinary locations, and his eye for compelling compositions, Levison has created a memorable and powerful collection of images that shows the true stories of his adventures from ground level.
The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant
The Last Giants explores the rapid decline of one of the world's favourite animals and the measures required to halt their extinction, through Levison Wood's time spent with elephants in Africa.
This book comes at a critical time. Fifty years ago, Africa was home to just over 1.3 million elephants, but by 1990 the number had halved. Meanwhile in the span of a lifetime, the human population has more than doubled.
In Levison Wood's The Last Giants, he explores the rapid decline of one of the world's favourite animals. Filled with stories from his own time spent travelling with elephants in Africa, the book is a passionate wake-up call for this endangered species we take for granted. The Last Giants was written to inspire us all to act - to learn more and help save the species from permanent extinction.
Incredible Journeys: Discovery, Adventure, Danger, Endurance
Alongside real-life explorer Levison Wood, travel around the world, meet some of history's most daring pioneers, and be inspired to go on your very own adventures!
Embark on 20 epic expeditions alongside Levison Wood, from the Silk Road and medieval pilgrimages to the Holy Land to Nellie Bly's trip around the world, and recent missions to the Moon and the Mariana Trench. Along the way, Levison Wood shares his own insights into adventuring, telling you what it's REALLY like to follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great.
Beautifully illustrated with maps showing the routes and filled with detail bringing the cultures of each region to life, this is a lavish gift book to treasure from one of our greatest living explorers.
Arabia: A Journey Through The Heart of the Middle East
Following in the footsteps of great explorers such as Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, Arabia is Levison Wood's account of his most complex expedition yet: circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula.
Following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, Arabia is an insight into Levison Wood's most complex and daring expedition yet: an epic and unprecedented 5000-mile journey through 13 countries, circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula.
Honest, reflective and poignant, Arabia is a historical, religious and spiritual journey, through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on Earth. Exploring the Middle East through the lives, hearts and hopes of its people, Levison Wood challenges the perceptions of an often misunderstood part of the world, seeing how the region has changed and examining the stories we don't often hear about in the media.
Eastern Horizons was published by Hodder & Stoughton in November 2017. Available to purchase here.
Eastern Horizons
Award-winning TV adventurer and travel writer's enthralling account of his youthful expedition to Central Asia.
Shortlisted for the 2018 Edward Stanford Award
Inspired by advice he received in a letter from Lieutenant James Whitehurst of the Royal Artillery - after Wood found and returned his wallet - 22-year-old Levison Wood decided to hitch-hike from England to India through Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but he wasn't the conventional follower of the hippy trail.
A fascination with the deeds of the early explorers, a history degree in the bag, an army career already planned and a shoestring budget of £750 - including for the flight home - he was determined to find out more about the countries of the Caucasus and beyond - and meet the people who lived and worked there.
Walking The Americas was published by Hodder & Stoughton in February 2017. Available to purchase here.
Walking the Americas
Walking the Americas chronicles Levison Wood's 1,800 mile trek along the spine of the Americas, through eight countries, from Mexico to Colombia, experiencing some of the world's most diverse, beautiful and unpredictable places.
His journey took him from violent and dangerous cities to ancient Mayan ruins lying still unexplored in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala. He encountered members of indigenous tribes, migrants heading towards the US border and proud Nicaraguan revolutionaries on his travels, where at the end of it all, he attempted to cross one of the most impenetrable borders on earth: the Darien Gap route from Panama into South America.
This trek required every ounce of Levison Wood's guile, tact, strength and resilience in one of the most raw, real and exciting journeys of his life.
"Levison Wood has breathed new life into adventure travel." - Michael Palin
"Usually tie-ins with TV travel series are to be avoided, but Wood is an exception. The ex-soldier's books come with a sense of unpolished authenticity." - Financial Times
Walking The Himalayas was published by Hodder & Stoughton in January 2016. Available to purchase here.
Walking the Himalayas: An adventure of survival and endurance
From the bestselling author of Walking the Nile, explorer Levison Wood begins his next challenging adventure - walking the length of the Himalayas.
Following in in the footsteps of the great explorers, WALKING THE HIMALAYAS is Levison Wood's enthralling account of crossing the Himalayas on foot. His journey of discovery along the path of the ancient trade route of the Silk Road to the forgotten kingdom of Bhutan led him beyond the safety of the tourist trail.
There lies the real world of the Himalayas, where ex-paratrooper Levison Wood encountered natural disasters, extremists, nomadic goat herders, shamans (and the Dalai Lama) in his 1,700-mile trek across the roof of the world. WALKING THE HIMALAYAS is a tale of courage, stamina and the kindness of strangers that will appeal to the adventurer in us all.
WINNER OF THE 2016 EDWARD STANFORD ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
'Levison Wood has breathed new life into adventure travel.' - Michael Palin
'Levison Wood is a great adventurer and a wonderful storyteller.' - Sir Ranulph Fiennes
'Britain's best-loved adventurer... he looks like a man who will stare danger in the face and soak up a lot of pain without complaint.' - The Times
Walking The Nile, published by Simon & Schuster, available in paperback here.
Walking the Nile
His journey is 4,250 miles long. He is passing through rainforest, savannah, swamp, desert and lush delta oasis.
He will cross seven, very different countries.
No one has ever made this journey on foot.
A major Channel 4 series and a Sunday Times bestseller
In this detailed, thoughtful, inspiring and dramatic book, recounting Levison Wood's walk the length of the Nile, he will uncover the history of the Nile, yet through the people he meets and who will help him with his journey, he will come face-to-face with the great story of a modern Africa emerging out of the past.
Exploration and Africa are two of his great passions - they motivate his inquisitiveness and resolution not to fail, yet the challenges of the terrain, the climate, the animals, the people and his own psychological resolution will throw at him are immense.
The dangers are very real, but so is the motivation for this ex-army officer. If he can overcome the mental and physical challenges, he will be walking into history...
