Some of us are happy curling up with a good book or watching a
video on TV. Others get their jollies by snowboarding off of
precipices, free climbing virgin granite walls in Patagonia,
getting serious air on their mountain bikes, or by doing gravity
defying tricks on a skateboard. The library has books and videos
that appeal to both the daredevils and those of us who would rather
just watch or read about their exploits.
Some of us are happy curling up with a good book or watching a video on TV. Others get their jollies by snowboarding off of precipices, free climbing virgin granite walls in Patagonia, getting serious air on their mountain bikes, or by doing gravity defying tricks on a skateboard. The library has books and videos that appeal to both the daredevils and those of us who would rather just watch or read about their exploits.
We have quite a few DVDs and VHS videos of extreme sports. You will watch in wonder as skateboarders, motocross racers, surfers and BMX bike jumpers do astounding tricks on the video Greatest Extreme Tricks.
There are several videos in the Gravity Games series including some terrific skiing and snowboarding competitions that are sure to get the adrenaline pumping. The DVD ski film Propaganda combines amazing ski footage with energy-pumping alternative rock music.
Tired of watching and want to try some tricks? Skateboarding superman Tony Hawk has a series of how-to videos to instruct would be truck grinders. Bill Gutman’s nicely illustrated book Skateboarding to the Extreme will give the aspiring skateboarder plenty to think about and offers plenty of tips on learning tricks. The book Extreme Mountain Biking offers radical bikers a good overview and details of that sport.
Not all travelers stay at hotels with all of the amenities, some go out of their ways and off the maps to have one of a kind, intense experiences. Luckily for us the ones who survive their journeys often write books. Kevin Kertscher writes about his journey across the Sahara, Sahel, and Congo in his book Africa Solo.
Stacy Allison was the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Read about her quest in Beyond the Limits.
P.J. O’Rourke’s classic book Holidays in Hell finds the humorist traveling to trouble spots around the world and exploring the line between fear and fun. In We Swam the Grand Canyon, Bill Beer describes a “cheap vacation that got a little out of hand.”
You’ll find humor and gain from the experiences of the wayward wayfarers who contributed to The Unsavvy Traveler: Women’s Comic Tales of Catastrophe, or shiver at the grim realities detailed in Robert Young Pelton’s guidebook: The Worlds Most Dangerous Places.
You will be happy to be safe and warm as you read The Greatest Survival Stories Ever Told, and marvel at the true stories of adventures in the National Geographic Expedition Atlas.
The library is a pretty sedate place and yet, at the same time, it is full of adventure. The next time you are out for a thrill remember the library.
Questions and suggested topics for At the Library, which appears in Tuesday editions, should be directed to Nancy Howe, community librarian, at nh***@**********************ca.us or by calling 779-3196. The Morgan Hill Library, located at the corner of Peak and West Main avenues next to City Hall, is open every day but Sunday.
