Amazing and fascinating stories of people overcoming adversity and surviving against the odds and the demons of the unknown.


The Martian. Poster of the 2015 movie and cover of the 2012 book
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The Martian
Andy Weir, 2012
movie vs book
Ridley Scott, 2015

In 2035, the crew of the Ares III mission to Mars is exploring Acidalia Planitia on Martian solar day ( sol ) 18 of their 31-sol expedition. The mission is scrubbed, but as the crew evacuates, astronaut Mark Watney is struck by debris and lost in the storm.


The Revenant. Poster of the 2015 movie and cover of the 2002 book
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The Revenant
Michael Punke, 2002
movie vs book
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 2015

In late 1823, Hugh Glass guides Captain Andrew Henry’s trappers through the territory of the present-day Dakotas. Guided by Glass, the survivors travel on foot to Fort Kiowa, because he believes that traveling downriver will make them vulnerable.


Life of Pi. Poster of the 2012 movie and cover of the 2001 book
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Life of Pi
Yann Martel, 2001
movie vs book
Ang Lee, 2012

Pi Patel tells the story of his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner decided to move to Canada, where the animals the family owns would also be sold. They board on a Japanese cargo ship with the animals, there is a storm, followed by a shipwrecking. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger.


127 Hours. Poster of the 2010 movie and cover of the 2004 book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Aron Ralston, 2004
movie vs book
Danny Boyle, 2010

In April 2003, avid mountaineer Aron Ralston goes hiking at Utah’s Canyonlands National Park; he did not tell anyone where he was going. He shortly begins recording a video diary using his camcorder to maintain morale, as he chips away parts of the boulder with a pocket knife.


The Grey. Poster of the 2011 movie and cover of the 2012 book
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The Grey
Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, 2012
movie vs book
Joe Carnahan, 2011

John Ottway is a marksman for an oil company in Alaska, killing grey wolves that threaten the drillers. The next day, Ottway survives a plane crash with fellow oil workers, watching helplessly as Lewenden dies of his injuries. Ottway takes charge of the survivors and is attacked by a wolf and rescued by the group; they realize they are in the wolves’ territory and take turns keeping watch.


Everest. Poster of the 2015 movie and cover of the 1997 book, Into Thin Air
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Into Thin Air
Jon Krakauer, 1997
movie vs book
Baltasar Kormákur, 2015

In May 1996, several commercial expeditions at the base camp of Mount Everest prepare to climb to the summit. Rob Hall, who popularized commercial Everest missions, leads Adventure Consultants; Scott Fischer is the chief guide for its rival, Mountain Madness. A month earlier in New Zealand, Rob says goodbye to his pregnant wife, Jan, and promises that he will be home for the birth.


The Mountain Between Us. Poster of the 2017 movie and cover of the 2010 book
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The Mountain Between Us
Charles Martin, 2010
movie vs book
Hany Abu-Assad, 2017

After their flight is canceled due to stormy weather, neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Bass and photojournalist Alex Martin hire private pilot Walter to get them from Utah to Denver for connecting flights to Alex’s wedding in New York and Ben’s emergency surgery appointment in Baltimore. Stranded for days with dwindling supplies, Alex grows skeptical that they will be rescued, although Ben wants to wait for help with the plane’s wreckage.


Alive. Poster of the 1993 movie and cover of the 1974 book
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Alive
Piers Paul Read, 1974
movie vs book
Frank Marshall, 1993

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 flies over the Andes on October 13, 1972. The raucous rugby players and a few of their relatives and friends are eagerly looking forward to an upcoming match in Chile. Upon emerging from clouds, the plane encounters turbulence and collides with a mountain. Stranded in the snow swept Andes, the survivors are forced to use desperate measures to survive after a plane crash.


Jungle. Poster of the 2017 movie and cover of the 1996 book
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Jungle
Yossi Ghinsberg, 1996
movie vs book
Greg McLean, 2017

In early 1980s, an Israeli adventurer named Yossi Ghinsberg travels to Bolivia planning to journey into the heart of the Amazon rainforest. During conversation the Austrian stranger, Karl Ruprechter, claims the existence of an Indigenous tribe in the jungle that they should go see.


Adrift. Poster of the 2018 movie and cover of the 1998 book, Red Sky in Mourning
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Red Sky in Mourning
Tami Oldham Ashcraft, Susea McGearhart, 1998
movie vs book
Baltasar Kormákur, 2018

Five months before the hurricane, Tami Oldham arrives in Tahiti on board the schooner Sofia and meets Richard Sharp, a British sailor. Richard invites Tami for dinner aboard his boat Mayaluga. The two of them spend more time together and begin to plan a trip to sail to Japan. While downtown one day, Tami and Richard bump into Peter and Christine Crompton, owners of the Hazaña, a luxury Trintella 44 yacht.


The Terror. Poster of the 2018 TV series and cover of the 2007 book
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The Terror
Dan Simmons, 2007
TV series vs book
David Kajganich, Max Borenstein, Alexander Woo, 2018-2019

The series’ first season begins with the Royal Navy’s polar explorer ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror having recently left Beechey Island, heading south toward King William Island into uncharted territory, seeking the Northwest Passage. The ships are soon stuck, frozen and isolated, and those aboard must survive the harsh weather conditions and each other, while being stalked by an elusive menace.


Touching the Void. Poster of the 2003 movie and cover of the 1988 book
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Touching the Void
Joe Simpson, 1988
movie vs book
Kevin Macdonald, 2003

In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, both experienced mountaineers, set out to ascend the previously unclimbed West Face of Siula Grande in Peru. Though they reach the summit, a powerful storm develops and Simpson suffers a badly broken leg in a fall during the descent. Unable to pull Simpson back over the cliff Yates decides to cut the rope connecting him with Simpson.

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“There are things in the book you could never do in a movie.”

NOAH HATHAWAY (Actor)