Action & Adventure Stories

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If pirates, jousting and horseback chases no longer appeal to you, you're too old or too boring. Adventure stories fell out of vogue among 20th century literary types who thought serious fiction had to be boring and depressing, but to those born with fire in their bones, adventure stories are deeply serious.

Not serious like existentialism or keeping a stiff upper lip, but serious like Robin Hood—devoted to protecting the downtrodden, committed to Maid Marian, sworn to fight injustice as long as a soul is in his body, always laughing and ready for a fight or a feast.

G. K. Chesterton wrote adventure stories because they best expressed the eternal joy that supported his generous frame. For those raised on Modern Adventure Stories, joy may seem an inappropriate word for an increasingly dark genre, but the fault lies with those who think adventures are forays into evil rather than romps with Gilbert Keith.

There's nothing evil about a good adventure. There may be bad guys (there ought to be), but if the Good Guy does his job there'll be more of his exploits to talk about than theirs. Because, should he be doing his job, the Hero will be sword-fighting, being clever, wooing, chasing and laughing to the detriment of his enemies on every page.

Average people don't have the adventures Heroes in Books have—they have the adventures of Modern Men in Books. But the way through the prosaic troubles of life isn't to immerse yourself in them, it's to let the Good Guys show The Way Out of Problems, and do your best to imitate them when you meet the less dramatic, but no less real, dangers of everyday existence.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Action & Adventure Stories

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Used Books & Materials

	Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies Hornblower Series #11 by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $11.20 (1 in stock)
	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay from Grosset & Dunlap for 6th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 2019 Reprint from SeaWolf Press for 7th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Adventures of Tom Sawyer Puffin Classics by Mark Twain from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.64 $3.20 (2 in stock)
	Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko Reprint from Puffin Books for 7th-10th grade 2005 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Brethren A Tale of the Crusades by H. Rider Haggard from Christian Liberty Press Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.24 $7.20 (1 in stock)
	Call of the Wild Puffin Classics by Jack London 2008^th edition from Puffin Books Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $9.34 $3.60 (1 in stock)
	Classic Adventures Ayesha: The Return of She / Benita: An African Romance by Sir H. Rider Haggard from New Orchard Editions for 8th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.60 (1 in stock)
	Count of Monte Cristo (abridged) Signet Classics by Alexandre Dumas, introduction by Roger Celestin from Signet Classics Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $6.76 $3.60 (2 in stock)
	Crying for a Vision by Walter Wangerin Jr. from Simon & Schuster Macmillan for 9th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Curse of Carne's Hold by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
	Day They Came to Arrest the Book by Nat Hentoff from Laurel-Leaf Books for 10th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $5.94 $3.60 (1 in stock)
	Divergent (Divergent Series) by Veronica Roth from Katherine Tegen Books for 9th-12th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Flames of Rome by Paul L. Maier 2^nd edition from Kregel Publications for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Fortune of War Aubrey/Maturin #6 by Patrick O'Brian from W. W. Norton and Co. Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $14.95 $6.50 (1 in stock)
	Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara from Ballantine Books Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brian from W. W. Norton and Co. Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $25.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Hobbit Authorized Edition by J.R.R. Tolkien 17th Printing from Ballantine Books for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Invaders Brotherband Chronicles Book 2 by John A. Flanagan 1^st edition from Philomel Books for 6th-10th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.00 (3 in stock)
	Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes from Yearling Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade 1944 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Kidnapped Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751 Scribner Illustrated Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth from Atheneum Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $11.60 (1 in stock)
	Kidnapped Being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth and Graham Oakley from Dilithium Press, Ltd. Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl from Pocket Books Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Lord Hornblower by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company for 8th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.60 (1 in stock)
	Lysbeth A Tale of the Dutch by H. Rider Haggard from Christian Liberty Press Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.24 $7.20 (2 in stock)
	Midshipman Bolitho by Alexander Kent from McBooks Press for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $3.20 (1 in stock)
	Moneyman by Thomas B. Costain from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 10th grade - Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Mr. Benedict's Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums Mysterious Benedict Society Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart from Little, Brown & Company for 5th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World by E. L. Konigsburg 1^st edition from Atheneum for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	One Year Adventure Novel - Textbook by Daniel Schwabauer 2^nd edition from Clear Water Press for 8th-12th grade in Writing Instruction (Location: WRI-INS)
	Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley from ACE Publishing for 8th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $12.75 $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Parzival The Quest of the Grail Knight by Katherine Paterson First Edition, First Printing from Lodestar Books for 10th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Pearl Maiden by H. Rider Haggard from Christian Liberty Press Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.24 $7.20 (1 in stock)
	Pilgrim's Progress - Updated Edition by John Bunyan, edited by Donna Sundblad and Ruth Zetek from Aneko Press for 6th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English by John Bunyan from Moody Press Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 9th-Adult in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $11.04 $4.80 (2 in stock)
	Robinson Crusoe Wordsworth Classics by Daniel Defoe 12^th edition from Wordsworth Classics Realistic Adventure Novel for 10th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Heritage Press for 8th-12th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.80 (1 in stock)
	Robinson Crusoe Focus on the Family's Classic Collection by Daniel Defoe, Introduction and Afterword by Joe L. Wheeler from Focus on the Family for 10th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18) $4.80 (1 in stock)
	Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter, edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth from Charles Scribner's Sons for 8th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $16.00 (1 in stock)
	Search for a Secret by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN) $6.40 (1 in stock)
	Seven Daughters and Seven Sons by Barbara Cohen & Bahija Lovejoy 1st Beech Tree ed from HarperTeen Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.34 $4.80 (1 in stock)
	Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card 1^st edition from Tor Books for 7th-12th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder from Vintage Classics for 9th-Adult in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Frederic Remington from Bounty Books for 7th-Adult in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales of Mystery and Terror Puffin Classics by Edgar Allan Poe from Puffin Books Mystery/Horror for 8th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
	Tales of Real Survival Usborne Reader's Library by Paul Dowswell from Usborne for 6th-12th grade in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD) $4.80 (1 in stock)
	Three Musketeers Macmillan Classics by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by James Daugherty 2nd Printing, 1923 from Macmillan for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $20.00 (1 in stock)
	Tom Sawyer Abroad and Other Stories by Mark Twain from Grosset & Dunlap for 7th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien Film cover art from Mariner Books for 8th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Walkabout by James Marshall reprint from Puffin Books for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $3.20 (1 in stock)
	Watcher in the Shadows by Geoffrey Household from Atlantic Monthly Press for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.80 (1 in stock)
	William Shakespeare's Star Wars Part the Fifth The Empire Striketh Back William Shakespeare Star Wars #5 by Ian Doescher First Edition from Quirk Books for 4th-10th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.20 (1 in stock)
	Works of Haggard by H. Rider Haggard from Walter J. Black, Inc. for 7th-Adult in Walter J. Black Classics Club (Location: VIN-LITWJB) $5.00 (1 in stock)

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