Recommended by Bill

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A Voyage For Madmen by Peter Nichols

This is the story of the nine men who in 1969 were competing in the first around-the-world non-stop solo yacht race. Nine men. Nine yachts. Nine plans.  One finisher. One dead. And several who were broken in the end.

It makes this list because of the parallels I found between the different types of men who were drawn to this competition and the types of individuals in the fire service. Some seem born for it. Some find themselves while being part of it. And some find that it is ultimately no place for them.

I was particularly fascinated when the author wrote about how some men are most at home in the solitude that a thousand miles of open water brings, and some have no love for the ocean but put themselves there with the sole purpose of enduring it. 

Recommended for all ranks