'An important account of one of the defining moments of the modern world' PETER FRANKOPAN

The evacuation of Kabul in August 2021 will go down in military history as one of the most unexpected events in modern times. In an eerie replay of the disastrous British retreat from Kabul in 1842, coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan after twenty years of military campaigning. The subsequent collapse of the Afghan government and its army shocked the world, as a resurgent Taliban gathered its forces and swept across the country. Thousands of Afghans who had worked with the allies were left to the meagre mercy of the Taliban.

As the Taliban went door to door to execute 'collaborators', a small international task force set out on a daring mission to evacuate as many Afghans and their families as possible.

Drawing on a wide range of first-hand accounts - the politicians and officers who planned the trans-continental rescue, the young soldiers who were faced with the unenviable task of keeping a crowd of thousands of desperate people at bay, former interpreters and soldiers of the Afghan Special Forces who made it out - Escape from Kabul is the harrowing true story of Operation Pitting and the Kabul airlift.

The Nile, one of the world's great rivers, has long been an object of fascination and obsession. From Alexander the Great and Nero, to Victorian adventurers David Livingstone, John Hanning Speke, and Henry Morton Stanley, the river has enticed many into wild adventures. English writer, photographer, and explorer Levison Wood continues that tradition, and Walking the Nile is the captivating account of his remarkable and unparalleled Nile journey.

Starting in November 2013 in a forest in Rwanda, where a modest spring spouts a trickle of clear, cold water, Wood set forth on foot, aiming to become the first person to walk the entire length of the fabled river. He followed the Nile for nine months, over 4,000 miles, through six nations--Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, the Republic of Sudan, and Egypt--to the Mediterranean coast.

Like his predecessors, Wood camped in the wild, foraged for food, and trudged through rainforest, swamp, savannah, and desert, enduring life-threatening conditions at every turn. He traversed sandstorms, flash floods, minefields, and more, becoming a local celebrity in Uganda, where a popular rap song was written about him, and a potential enemy of the state in South Sudan, where he found himself caught in a civil war and detained by the secret police. As well as recounting his triumphs, like escaping a charging hippo and staving off wild crocodiles, Wood's gripping account recalls the loss of Matthew Power, a journalist who died suddenly from heat exhaustion during their trek. As Wood walks on, often joined by local guides who help him to navigate foreign languages and customs, Walking the Nile maps out African history and contemporary life.

An inimitable tale of survival, resilience, and sheer willpower, Walking the Nile is an inspiring chronicle of an epic journey down this lifeline of civilization.

Following his trek along the length of the Nile River, explorer Levison Wood takes on his greatest challenge yet: navigating the treacherous foothills of the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range.

Praised by Bear Grylls, Levison Wood has been called the toughest man on TV (The Times UK). Now, following in the footsteps of the great explorers, Levison recounts the beauty and danger he found along the Silk Road route of Afghanistan, the Line of Control between Pakistan and India, the disputed territories of Kashmir and the earth-quake ravaged lands of Nepal.

Over the course of six months, Wood and his trusted guides trek 1,700 gruelling miles across the roof of the world. Packed with action and emotion, Walking the Himalayas is the story of one intrepid man's travels in a world poised on the edge of tremendous change.

Following in the footsteps of famed explorers such as Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer Levison Wood brings us along on his most complex expedition yet: a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula.

Starting in September 2017 in a city in Northern Syria, a stone's throw away from Turkey and amidst the deadliest war of the twenty-first century, Wood set forth on a 5,000-mile trek through the most contested region on the planet. He moved through the Middle East for six months, from ISIS-occupied Iraq through Kuwait and along the jagged coastlines of the Emirates and Oman; across a civil-war-torn Yemen and on to Saudia Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, before ending on the shores of the Mediterranean in Lebanon. Like his predecessors, Wood travelled through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on earth, seeking to challenge our perceptions of this often-misunderstood part of the world. Through the relationships he forges along the way--and the personal histories and local mythologies that his companions share--Wood examines how the region has changed over thousands of years and reveals a side of the Middle East we don't often see in the media.

At once a thrilling personal journey and a skillful piece of cultural reportage, Arabia is a breathtaking chronicle of an epic journey through the land at the root of all civilization.

Levison Wood's famous walking expeditions have taken him from the length of the Nile River to the peaks of the Himalayas, and in Walking the Americas, Wood chronicles his latest exhilarating adventure: an 1,800-mile trek across the spine of the Americas, through eight countries, from Mexico to Colombia.

Beginning in the Yucat n--and moving south through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama--Wood's journey takes him from sleepy barrios to glamorous cities to Mayan ruins lying unexcavated in the wilderness. Wood encounters indigenous tribes in Mexico, revolutionaries in a Nicaraguan refugee camp, fellow explorers, and migrants heading toward the United States. The relationships he forges along the way are at the heart of his travels--and the personal histories, cultures, and popular legends he discovers paint a riveting history of Mexico and Central America. While contending with the region's natural obstacles like quicksand, flashfloods, and dangerous wildlife, he also partakes in family meals with local hosts, learns to build an emergency shelter, negotiates awkward run-ins with policemen, and witnesses the surreal beauty of Central America's landscapes, from cascading waterfalls and sunny beaches to the spectacular ridgelines of the Honduran highlands. Finally, Wood attempts to cross one of the world's most impenetrable borders: the Dari n Gap route from Panama into South America, a notorious smuggling passage and the wildest jungle he has ever navigated.

One of the rawest and most exciting journeys of his life, this expedition required every ounce of Wood's strength and guile to survive. Walking the Americas is a thrilling personal tale, an accomplished piece of cultural reportage, and a breathtaking journey across some of the most diverse and unpredictable regions on earth.

From award-winning explorer and bestselling author Levison Wood, The Last Giants is a comprehensive exploration of the fascinating past, difficult present, and imperiled future of the African elephant.

The Last Giants satisfies British explorer Levison Wood's lifelong desire to learn more about the majestic African elephant. These giants trek through some of Africa's most magnificent landscapes as they go in search of life-giving waters and pastures. El Nino's droughts and an insatiable ivory trade have cut African elephant numbers by a third in the last decade alone, and if elephants disappear entirely, Africa's entire ecosystem could collapse. But Botswana has become a safe haven, where one-sixth of the world's elephants now reside. Each year their numbers grow and an incredible migration takes place, which Wood witnesses and records. He teams up with local trackers to gain insight into how this iconic species survives, camps out in the wild, meets the people and tribes living on the migration's path, and joins the park rangers whose job it is to protect these land goliaths, equipped with his good eye for detail and better ear for dialogue (Wall Street Journal).

Following in the footsteps of famed explorers such as Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer Levison Wood brings us along on his most complex expedition yet: a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula.

Starting in September 2017 in a city in Northern Syria, a stone's throw away from Turkey and amidst the deadliest war of the twenty-first century, Wood set forth on a 5,000-mile trek through the most contested region on the planet. He moved through the Middle East for six months, from ISIS-occupied Iraq through Kuwait and along the jagged coastlines of the Emirates and Oman; across a civil-war-torn Yemen and on to Saudia Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, before ending on the shores of the Mediterranean in Lebanon. Like his predecessors, Wood travelled through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on earth, seeking to challenge our perceptions of this often-misunderstood part of the world. Through the relationships he forges along the way--and the personal histories and local mythologies that his companions share--Wood examines how the region has changed over thousands of years and reveals a side of the Middle East we don't often see in the media.

At once a thrilling personal journey and a skillful piece of cultural reportage, Arabia is a breathtaking chronicle of an epic journey through the land at the root of all civilization.

Throughout history there have been brave men and women who dared to go where few had gone before. They broke new ground by drawing on incredible reserves of courage, fortitude and intelligence in the face of terrible adversity. Their endeavors changed the world and inspired generations. Spanning several centuries and united by the common theme of the resilience of the human spirit, this is the ultimate collection of the stories of the intrepid explorers who forged new frontiers across land, sea, skies and space. The 50 incredible journeys include Tenzing and Hillary's conquest of Everest; Neil Armstrong's giant leap; Christopher Columbus' new world; Amelia Earhart flying the Atlantic; gold fever in the Yukon; and the hunt for a man-eating leopard in India. Great Expeditions includes not only some of the most famous journeys in history but also introduces many more that ought to be more widely recognized and celebrated.