A collection of narratives of people who find themselves in desperate and dire survival situations features contributions from such writers as Dougal Robertson, William Laird McKinlet, James D. Houston, and Patrick O'Brian. Survive and Deep Blue take listeners to the brink of disaster and the far side of civilization to test the mettle and strength of men and women caught in disastrous circumstances. Both audios combine fiction selections with nonfiction accounts. In Survive, the challenge is to survive situations, such as Steven Callahan's "Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea" (one of the more compelling segments) and the struggle of the marooned support members of Ernest Shackleton's aborted polar expedition to battle scurvy and arctic cold to cross 2000 miles to lay supply depots. Other selections include chapters by Patrick O'Brian, Herman Melville, Jack London, and a diary account from Virginia Reed Murphy, a member of the ill-fated Donner Party. Deep Blue similarly presents stories of shipwrecks and survival, with some sunken treasure thrown in for good measure. Excerpts from such well-known works as Treasure Island and Moby-Dick are included, along with selections from Stephen Crane, O'Brian, Farley Mowat, and more. The most powerful selection is from Nathaniel Philbrick's excellent In the Heart of the Sea, the true story that served as the basis for Moby-Dick. Both audiotapes use experienced readers, who provide accents and emotions suited to their selection. The weakest parts in each tape are the fictional works. They stand out as filler rather than strong partners against the words and actions of actual victims. Adventure seekers and fans of the Listen & Live "Adrenaline" series will still likely enjoy these two titles. Recommended for public libraries. Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. "... this book from hell makes for grisly reading." -- Maxim "Listen & Live's Adrenaline Series is one of the best in the genre." -- The Denver Post "Listeners will find it hard to turn this off before the end of any of its stories." -- AudioFile "Many of the stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. Others will make you marvel..." -- The Chapel Hill News Clint Willis has been a climber and an armchair mountaineer since he was ten years old. His writing about technology, finance and the outdoors has appeared in more than 100 publications, including Men's Journal, Outside, Rock & Ice and The New York Times, and he is a contributing editor of Forbes ASAP and Worth magazines. He lives with his wife and two sons in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Editor Clint Willis has been a climber and an armchair mountaineer since he was ten years old. His writing about technology, finance and the outdoors has appeared in more than 100 publications, including Men's Journal, Outside, Rock & Ice and The New York Times, and he is a contributing editor of Forbes ASAP and Worth magazines. He lives with his wife and two sons in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Listeners may be either titillated or turned off by this subject; actually it is not part of some selections and features marginally in others. The best excerpts tell of brave souls enduring extended hardships. Colleen Delaney becomes a young member of the Donner party; Erik Synnestvedt gives Steven Callahan's spiritual account of 76 days lost at sea reverential treatment, and the rugby players marooned in the Andes are recalled with gripping South American accents. You shiver with Shackleton's support team in Antarctica and chuckle at Twain's political spoof, "Cannibalism in the Cars." Other readings range from sensitive to monotonous. Like other titles in the Adrenaline series, this is a mixed bag, but the individual cassettes have titles, so you can pick and choose. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine Used Book in Good Condition