The Flame of Adventure

As humans we have evolved over millions of years to live with uncertainty and danger. Indeed, it has been our ability to change and adapt to differing circumstances that has made us so successful. In the past most people’s lives were hazardous; it was an adventure to survive. Then, as wealth increased, European adventurers set out to explore the world. It was this exploration, and the trade that resulted from it, which started the rapid economic development we continue to enjoy to this day. In this sense, the very foundations of our modern society were laid by adventurers. In the developed world we are wealthier than ever. This wealth allows us to do many amazing things and gives us increasing control of our own lives and the environment around us. Yet often people feel their lives lack real excitement. Having grown accustomed to the comfort and security our increased wealth provides, have we lost some of our identity in the process? Are we now neglecting our ability to change and adapt, our ability as adventurers? Simon Yates explores these and other questions in an autobiographical narrative following numerous mountaineering expeditions and looks at the role adventure plays in our lives and the effect it has on them. Mountaineer Simon Yates is very familiar with the subject of this, his second book. He has devoted much of his adult life to pursuing adventures through mountaineering and travel, living at times on the margins of physical and material existence. These experiences have provided what he hopes is a unique view of adventure and the role it plays in all our lives