Extreme Expeditions

A PASSION FOR CRYPTOZOOLOGY Does a dinosaur exist in the Congo? Does a Yeti-like creature live in the jungles of Sumatra? Does a fearsome Death Worm inhabit the deserts of Mongolia? Explorer Adam Davies has traveled some of the most dangerous places in the world in search of these and other supposedly mythical beasts. In this fascinating account of his adventures, you'll read how he was shot at in the Congo, arrested and interrogated by the Mongolian Army in the Gobi Desert, filmed Norway's Nessie as it charged across a lake, and made world news when leading scientists backed his claims that a "jungle Yeti" exists! When not on expedition, Davies is a mildmannered Civil Servant living in Manchester in the United Kingdom. He spends most of his spare time and all of his money searching for mysterious creatures. Both his quests and successes have made headlines around the world. FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY: Foul language, excessive drinking, sexual situations, and encounters with some creatures of the natural world that would scare young children and more than a few adults as well.

In response to the rise of various forms of the extreme in economies, organizations and societies (such as disruptive innovation, climate emergency, financial crisis, high-risk sport, etc.), an ambitious 21st century program sets the agenda of management sciences around the unknown, disruption, uncertainty and risk. Management of Extreme Situations presents the research results from the conference organized at the Cerisy-la-Salle International Cultural Center, France, in 2016. It testifies to the existence of an international community that brings together, around management sciences, various disciplines studying the management concept of extreme situations. Through the analysis of varied contexts (polar and mountain expeditions, fire rescue services, exploration projects in the military field, creative industries, etc.), this book offers an initial grammar of the extreme. It presents a heuristic for the management of these situations – particularly in terms of sensemaking, ambidexterity and knowledge expansion.

Why do some people risk their lives regularly by placing themselves in extreme and challenging situations? For some, such as astronauts, the extreme environments are part of the job. For others, they involve the thrill and competition of extreme sports, or the achievement of goals such as being the first to reach the South Pole or climb Everest. Whether for sport or employment, all these people have made the personal choice to put themselves in environments in which there is significant risk. What drives such people? And what skills and personality traits enable the best to succeed? What abilities are shared by the successful mountaineer, astronaut, caver, or long-distance solo sailer? And are there lessons the rest of us can learn from them? The psychology of those who have to cope with extreme conditions has been a matter of much research. It is important, for example to those planning manned space programmes or the makeup of teams who will spend months in an isolated or hostile environment such as Antarctica, to understand the psychological pressures involved, and to recognize those best equipped to handle them. In Extreme, Emma Barrett and Paul Martin explore the challenges that people in extreme environments face, including pain, physical hardship, loneliness, and friction between individuals, and the approaches taken to overcome them. Using many fascinating examples and personal accounts, they argue that we can all benefit from the insights gained.

The growing complexity of projects today, as well as the uncertainty inherent in innovative projects, is making obsolete traditional project management practices and procedures, which are based on the notion that much about a project is known at its start. The current high level of change and complexity confronting organizational leaders and managers requires a new approach to projects so they can be managed flexibly to embrace and exploit change. What once used to be considered extreme uncertainty is now the norm, and managing planned projects is being replaced by managing projects as they evolve. Successfully managing projects in extreme situations, such as polar and military expeditions, shows how to manage successfully projects in today’s turbulent environment. Executed under the harshest and most unpredictable conditions, these projects are great sources for learning about how to manage unexpected and unforeseen situations as they occur. This book presents multiple case studies of managing extreme events as they happened during polar, mountain climbing, military, and rescue expeditions. A boat accident in the Artic is a lesson on how an effective project manager must be ambidextrous: on one hand able to follow plans and on the other hand able to abandon those plans when disaster strikes and improvise new ones in response. Polar expeditions also illustrate how a team can use "weak links" to go beyond its usual information network to acquire strategic information. Fire and rescues operations illustrate how one team member’s knowledge can be transferred to the entire team. Military operations provide case material on how teams coordinate and make use of both individual and collective competencies. This groundbreaking work pushes the definitions of a project and project management to reveal new insight that benefits researchers, academics, and the practitioners managing projects in today’s challenging and uncertain times.

The true story of three enthusiastic (but inexperienced) adventurers who attempt to become the first team to raft the entire length of the Amazon River–all 4,007 miles--and (barely) live to tell about it. To a trio of twenty-something adrenaline junkies, it sounded like an irresistible challenge: tackle the Amazon with nothing more than a rubber raft between them and fate. But when Colin Angus, Ben Kozel, and Scott Borthwick embarked on their fantastic voyage in September 1999, just climbing to the river’s source nearly killed them. Beginning with the dehydration that nearly did the adventurers in as they hiked the Andes to the river's source, Amazon Extreme is a breathtaking account of the daily challenges, dangers, and triumphs experienced over the course of this five-month expedition. With no money to speak of and inaccurate, fifty-year-old maps to guide them, this intrepid trio manages to persevere through violent rapids, guerilla gunfire, mosquito-infested drinking water, and numerous bouts of sickness. But in spite of several near-death experiences, including one particularly terrifying moment when their raft is toppled in the raging white water, Angus's crew finds a reverence for the compelling beauty that makes this region so renowned. Amidst the hardship are moments of pure pleasure, from graceful dolphins and lush forests to the intriguing, gracious people who’ve made their homes along the riverbank. An inspiring tale of courage and exploration, this is the story of three guys who truly went off the deep end, and one who came back to write a riveting recollection of it.

The first major study to explore the relationship between clothing made for survival in the most inhospitable environments on earth and beyond, and the high fashion it has inspired Today— from haute couture to ready- to- wear— parkas, puffer coats, and backpacks, as well as garments made of neoprene and Mylar are everywhere. But the roots of these ubiquitous items of dress and cutting- edge textiles are rarely acknowledged or understood. Inspired by the so-called “heroic era” of polar navigation (1890– 1922), extreme mountain climbing, deep sea exploration, and journeys to outer space, Expedition explores how garments made for the most inhospitable environments on earth and beyond have inspired more than sixty years of fantastical, otherworldly fashions. Lavishly illustrated, this publication features approximately 150 color photographs. The images include high fashion magazine editorials by Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and others; museum objects from the permanent collections of The Museum at FIT and the American Museum of Natural History; and unpublished photographs of early expeditions in the archives of the Explorer’s Club in New York.

This book provides an in sight into my lifetime experiences from birth to the present day. It also concentrates thoroughly on defining the qualities desired of an SAS military leader. In terms of personal experiences of leadership I would say that the military provided me with a blueprint of acceptable leadership behaviours. Looking at the training I went through with Special Forces reveals some of the unique qualities that are required to fulfil this role. I would say that conventional military regiments differed somewhat to the democratic, even abdicratic approach of Special Forces units such as the SBS, SAS and 2REP French Foreign Legion. While I was serving with the Marines I wanted to transfer to a Special Forces unit but was refused entry to the organisation because of my commitment to the Marines. This was a great issue at the time but I eventually rejoined the SAS regiment anyway after resigning from the Marines. My first period of SAS training followed passing of the usual Battle Fitness Test (BFT) that was completed while at a barracks off the King's Road in Chelsea. I can explain that my first thoughts about joining the SAS occurred in 1976 when I was serving as a junior guardsman at Pirbright in Surrey. The inspiration came from my platoon commander who had previously been a member of the Guards Independent Parachute Brigade. This was a unit that largely preceded G Squadron of the SAS Regiment. Later actions then included the Iranian embassy incident under direction of the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) team and patrols in areas of Northern Ireland that were subject to violent terrorist actions. I served also with 23 and 21 between 1985 and 1992 and the Scots Guards and French Foreign Legion experiences came early in my career.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.... These immortal lines of Charles Dickens perhaps aptly describe everything Yuva Bharat reflects. In an uncanny reflection of the times we are living in while this book is being released, it talks about what the world needs to read right now. For these are the times of COVID-19. These are the times when 'normal' has been redefined. Author Devir traces the journey of 69 young men and women who defined their own 'new normal'. He talks about people whose worlds collapsed way before COVID-19 had hit us and who emerged victorious against undefinable odds-people of sheer grit who did not need legs to win races; people who vested their faith in the unseen; or people who rose from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix. Some of the remarkable stories include the struggles, learnings and indomitable passions of Rajkummar Rao, Kiren Rijiju, Aditi Rao Hydari, Remo D'souza, Abhinav Bindra and Chitrangada Singh, among many others, who each went on to excel in their own craft. Yuva Bharat encompasses these tales of overcoming all odds and achieving success eventually. A compelling narrative, it takes us through life journeys and inspires us to get up in this instant and take charge of our lives. A straight shot of adrenaline, Devir gives us our carpe diem moment!