The Shameless Diary of an Explorer

Robert Steed Dunn's classic tale of his early attempt to summit Denali (Mt. McKinley) in Alaska is far from the run-of-the-mill heroic mountaineering book. Through all of his years of exploration and work as a war correspondent, his writing was typified by raw honesty and a keen eye toward the foibles and follies of man. Make no mistake, this account is thrilling. But it's also at times hilarious. The 1903 expedition was small and throughout, Dunn exposes the reality of living with and sharing danger with men who become all too familiar. It reads like a modern Krakauer book. Dunn had already been on one very dangerous expedition in 1898. He would go on to explore the Kamchatka River, cover the front lines in World War I for the New York Post, serve as an intelligence officer, and ride with General John "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico after Pancho Villa.