The phemenal successes of Into Thin Air and A Perfect Storm opened the floodgates for a whole new generation of writers and journalists to publish pulse-pounding accounts rich in suspense, heartbreak and against-the-odds triumph. Adventure titles, many of them heavily publicized and critically acclaimed, are w among the most popular in bookstores around the world. With Adrenaline Books' continuing success collecting the best writing on everything from climbing to exploration, w comes the first annual devoted to the year's best adventure writing. Included are exotic stories from Neil Hanson, who offers a riveting description of a desperate crew's resort to cannibalism; Edward Marriott, who hunts bull shark off Nicaragua's Miskito Coast; and Sy Montgomery, who details her search for a rare breed of pink river dolphin and the lethal creatures with whom she lives in the Amazon: tarantulas, vampire bats, and ship scorpions. Finally, here's a volume that gives armchair explorers what they want: the strongest, most gripping adventure stories published that year, assembled in one electrifying, must-have title.