Narrator Fred Sanders’s understated performance is fitting for Roman Dial’s memoir of searching for his son, Cody, in the dense Costa Rican jungle. Roman had always been adventurous. He climbed barely mapped Alaskan peaks in college, took 6-year-old Cody on a sixty-mile hike across a nearly uninhabited Aleutian island, and allowed his children to handle wild critters in Borneo while on a research trip. He describes it all with quiet pride and little drama. When Cody doesn’t return from Corcovado National Park after entering it illegally without a guide, Roman spends two years doing repeated treks with friends, miners, poachers, and police trying to find him. Sanders adeptly channels Roman’s roller coaster emotions of soaring hope and plunging despair as well as his steadfast belief that Cody would not be involved with local drug dealers. A.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir
Narrated by Fred Sanders
Roman DialUnabridged — 10 hours, 39 minutes
The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir
Narrated by Fred Sanders
Roman DialUnabridged — 10 hours, 39 minutes
Audiobook (Digital)
Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
Already Subscribed?
Sign in to Your BN.com Account
Related collections and offers
FREE
with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription
Overview
""A brave and marvelous book. A page-turner that will rip your heart out.""-Jon Krakauer
In the tradition of Into the Wild comes an instant classic of outdoor literature, a riveting work of uncommon depth. I'm planning on doing 4 days in the jungle. . . .*It should be difficult to get lost forever:*These were the haunting last words legendary adventurer Roman Dial*received from his son, before the 27-year old disappeared into the jungles of Costa Rica. This is Dial's*intensely gripping and deeply*moving account of his two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son's fate.
In the predawn hours of July 10, 2014, twenty-seven-year-old Cody Roman Dial, the son of preeminent Alaskan scientist and National Geographic Explorer Roman Dial, walked alone into Corcovado National Park, an untracked rainforest along Costa Rica's remote Pacific Coast that shelters miners, poachers, and drug smugglers. He carried a light backpack and machete. Before he left, he emailed his father: ""I am not sure how long it will take me, but I'm planning on doing 4 days in the jungle and a day to walk out. I'll be bounded by a trail to the west and the coast everywhere else, so it should be difficult to get lost forever.""
They were the last words Dial received from his son.
The Adventurer's Son recreates the author's two-year quest to learn the truth about his child's disappearance. Immediately after Cody Roman's planned departure date passed without a word from him, Dial set off for Costa Rica. As he trekked through the dense jungle, interviewing locals and searching for clues-the authorities suspected murder-the desperate father was forced to confront the deepest questions about his own life. Roman had raised his son to be fearless, to seek out adventure amid earth's wildest places. Was he ultimately responsible for his son's fate?
A harrowing story of drama, adventure, and a father's love for his son, set in the most beautiful and dangerous reaches of the planet, The Adventurer's Son is a mystery, the memoir of a father and his son, and an unforgettable story of love and profound loss.
Editorial Reviews
11/11/2019
A father’s outdoor adventures lead his son into danger in this gripping memoir. Dial, a biology professor at Alaska Pacific University, recounts the disappearance of his 27-year-old son, Cody Roman Dial, during a solo jungle trek in Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park. Flying down to lead the search, the author found a primeval forest full of perils—deadly snakes, falling trees, prowling drug smugglers—and bewildering mysteries: government bureaucrats blocked his searches; purported sightings of Cody accompanied by a local criminal surfaced; and Dial got enmeshed with a reality-TV show spinning a murder theory about the disappearance. Backgrounding the narrative are Dial’s recollections of his own dangerous adventures—in one heart-stopping mountain-climbing incident, he leaped into a precipice to counterbalance a roped partner’s plunge off the opposite side of a ridge—and of taking Cody, from the age of six, on risky wilderness excursions and white-water rafting trips. Dial conveys both his guilt at setting his son on that fateful path and the allure of that path—“y grief painted the jungle black, but the heart of the Osa’s wilderness still left me awed.... I couldn’t shut out forever the joy in seeing a kingfisher’s blue flash or a spider monkey’s graceful swing.” Dial paints a riveting, richly conflicted portrait of family legacies and the call of the wild. (Feb.)
"Gripping and unnerving. ... This is what it means to raise a child, to introduce that child to the world, and to bet his life — and his joy — on the odds." — New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"The literature of wilderness exploration is as much about mortal risk as anything else. From Jack London to Jon Krakauer, adventure writing shows us how the rich rewards of interacting with thrillingly raw nature coexist with the simple fact that we tempt fate – and a lonely death – whenever we step from the safely beaten path into the wild. Underscoring this dangerous bargain, The Adventurer’s Son, takes its place among modern accounts of tragic adventure with hard-won wisdom and grace. ... Dial pays worthy tribute to his son with this deeply felt saga." — USA Today ("Best Books of 2020 So Far")
"Riveting and devastating." — Chicago Tribune ("10 Books to Read in Winter 2020")
"Gripping. ... A beautiful and tender book.” — Washington Post
“The Adventurer’s Son is energized by spectacular descriptions of nature and by the narrative action of a father’s fight to find a beloved son. But it is its universality, this question of how to live and why, of how to understand nature, that gives it resonance and beauty." — Christian Science Monitor (A Best Book of the Month)
“Roman Dial has written a brave and marvelous book. It’s a page-turner that will rip your heart out.” — JON KRAKAUER, author of Into the Wild
"A brave, beautiful and eventually restorative book destined to become an adventure classic." — Anchorage Daily News
"The best adventure writers are seekers, traversing not only physical terrain but their emotional depths. These stakes are raised to new heights by The Adventurer’s Son, a wrenching memoir by Alaskan explorer Roman Dial. ... Moving. ... A brave narrative." — Rinker Buck, Wall Street Journal
"Much more than a simple mystery. ... A moving portrait of an inspired young man and a firsthand account of a father’s desperate hunt for his missing son." — Men's Journal
"Roman Dial is a pioneering legend of deep adventure. ... In this riveting account of a family's search for answers, Dial shares a thought-provoking investigation of what it means to embrace life's wild adventures." — Adventure Journal (Recommended Reading)
“A haunting, beautifully-crafted narrative by one of the renowned wilderness explorers of our time. Above all else, The Adventurer’s Son is a sensitive tribute to a son who never emerged from his journey into the rainforests of Central America. Riveting and complex, this is a book that will remain with you long after you’ve turned the last page.” — REBECCA MARTIN, President, Exploration Connections, and Founding Director, National Geographic Expeditions Council
“Out of an unbearable personal tragedy, Roman Dial has fashioned an unbearably powerful memoir. The Adventurer’s Sonis at once the narrative of a desperate search for a lost son, a poignant meditation on the depths of paternal love, and, in the end, a reaffirmation of the glory of exploration and adventure in the teeth of sorrow and loss.” — DAVID ROBERTS, award-winning adventure writer and co-author (with “Free Solo” star Alex Honnold) of Alone on the Wall
“In its emotional restraint and careful descriptions of the wild, this is a slow-burning tribute. A poignant, highly moving memoir of tragic circumstances and a lifelong love of exploring.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Gripping. … Dial paints a riveting, richly conflicted portrait of family legacies and the call of the wild.” — Publishers Weekly
"An explorer at heart, a scientist by profession, and a parent above all else, Dial guides readers on a suspenseful and heart-wrenching journey from the windswept Alaskan tundra to the impenetrable Costa Rican jungle. The Adventurer's Son is a poignant story about loss, but also about a father’s passion for adventure, his love for his son, and the bonds forged through their experiences in the natural world." — CAROLINE VAN HEMERT, author of The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds
"Real-life mystery, travelogue, nature writing, and memoir all combine to make this book a must-read that you'll stay up all night to finish." — Book Riot
"[A] powerful memoir of a father's love of adventure and of his child. ... Complex and moving. ... Through the twists and turns of his search, Dial must follow his own compass to stay true to the son he knew." — Booklist
"This book will stay with readers long after the last page is turned...a provocative exploration of fatherhood and a moving tribute to a son whose wish as a small boy was to be called by his father’s name." — Anchorage Press
“A story of love, loss and letting go” — Alaska Public Radio
"A powerful testament to the bond between parent and child and the need to do the things we love, even when fear seeks to stop us. ... A beautiful book" — Library Journal
"Quite possibly the most poignant, honest look at the unique relationship between a father and a son that I’ve ever read." — Hatch Magazine
"Dial passed his love of exploration to his son Cody, who at age 27 went missing in a Costa Rican jungle. Dial and his wife, Peggy, spent the next two years battling bureaucracies and nature, chasing down leads of drug dealing and kidnapping, all in a quest to find their son alive. ... A heartbreaking tribute to a chip off the old adventurer’s block." — Los Angeles Times
"The Adventurer's Son is a gripping account of a tight-knit family whose shared passion for the natural world leads them unsuspectingly to that harshest traverse of all, across time, life and death." — SETH KANTNER, bestselling author of Ordinary Wolves
“Dial tells the story of his two-year quest and the events that preceded it in a heart-wrenching, spellbinding book, The Adventurer’s Son.” — Enterprise-Journal (Mississippi)
"Dial’s book is interesting on two levels: as a gripping and suspenseful wilderness story (the noted Alaskan adventurer’s multi-year quest to figure out what happened after his son Cody disappeared in the Costa Rican jungle in 2014), and as an introspective meditation on the meaning of life." — Outside Magazine
"The best adventure writers are seekers, traversing not only physical terrain but their emotional depths. These stakes are raised to new heights by The Adventurer’s Son, a wrenching memoir by Alaskan explorer Roman Dial. ... Moving. ... A brave narrative."
"Riveting and devastating."
"The literature of wilderness exploration is as much about mortal risk as anything else. From Jack London to Jon Krakauer, adventure writing shows us how the rich rewards of interacting with thrillingly raw nature coexist with the simple fact that we tempt fate – and a lonely death – whenever we step from the safely beaten path into the wild. Underscoring this dangerous bargain, The Adventurer’s Son, takes its place among modern accounts of tragic adventure with hard-won wisdom and grace. ... Dial pays worthy tribute to his son with this deeply felt saga."
The Adventurer’s Son is energized by spectacular descriptions of nature and by the narrative action of a father’s fight to find a beloved son. But it is its universality, this question of how to live and why, of how to understand nature, that gives it resonance and beauty."
"Gripping. ... A beautiful and tender book.
"Gripping and unnerving. ... This is what it means to raise a child, to introduce that child to the world, and to bet his life — and his joy — on the odds."
"Roman Dial is a pioneering legend of deep adventure. ... In this riveting account of a family's search for answers, Dial shares a thought-provoking investigation of what it means to embrace life's wild adventures."
"Much more than a simple mystery. ... A moving portrait of an inspired young man and a firsthand account of a father’s desperate hunt for his missing son."
Roman Dial has written a brave and marvelous book. It’s a page-turner that will rip your heart out.
"A brave, beautiful and eventually restorative book destined to become an adventure classic."
"Gripping. ... A beautiful and tender book.
"[A] powerful memoir of a father's love of adventure and of his child. ... Complex and moving. ... Through the twists and turns of his search, Dial must follow his own compass to stay true to the son he knew."
"Dial’s book is interesting on two levels: as a gripping and suspenseful wilderness story (the noted Alaskan adventurer’s multi-year quest to figure out what happened after his son Cody disappeared in the Costa Rican jungle in 2014), and as an introspective meditation on the meaning of life."
"This book will stay with readers long after the last page is turned...a provocative exploration of fatherhood and a moving tribute to a son whose wish as a small boy was to be called by his father’s name."
"The Adventurer's Son is a gripping account of a tight-knit family whose shared passion for the natural world leads them unsuspectingly to that harshest traverse of all, across time, life and death."
"An explorer at heart, a scientist by profession, and a parent above all else, Dial guides readers on a suspenseful and heart-wrenching journey from the windswept Alaskan tundra to the impenetrable Costa Rican jungle. The Adventurer's Son is a poignant story about loss, but also about a father’s passion for adventure, his love for his son, and the bonds forged through their experiences in the natural world."
Out of an unbearable personal tragedy, Roman Dial has fashioned an unbearably powerful memoir. The Adventurer’s Sonis at once the narrative of a desperate search for a lost son, a poignant meditation on the depths of paternal love, and, in the end, a reaffirmation of the glory of exploration and adventure in the teeth of sorrow and loss.
Dial tells the story of his two-year quest and the events that preceded it in a heart-wrenching, spellbinding book, The Adventurer’s Son.
"Real-life mystery, travelogue, nature writing, and memoir all combine to make this book a must-read that you'll stay up all night to finish."
A haunting, beautifully-crafted narrative by one of the renowned wilderness explorers of our time. Above all else, The Adventurer’s Son is a sensitive tribute to a son who never emerged from his journey into the rainforests of Central America. Riveting and complex, this is a book that will remain with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
"Quite possibly the most poignant, honest look at the unique relationship between a father and a son that I’ve ever read."
A story of love, loss and letting go”
"Dial passed his love of exploration to his son Cody, who at age 27 went missing in a Costa Rican jungle. Dial and his wife, Peggy, spent the next two years battling bureaucracies and nature, chasing down leads of drug dealing and kidnapping, all in a quest to find their son alive. ... A heartbreaking tribute to a chip off the old adventurer’s block."
"[A] powerful memoir of a father's love of adventure and of his child. ... Complex and moving. ... Through the twists and turns of his search, Dial must follow his own compass to stay true to the son he knew."
"Dial passed his love of exploration to his son Cody, who at age 27 went missing in a Costa Rican jungle. Dial and his wife, Peggy, spent the next two years battling bureaucracies and nature, chasing down leads of drug dealing and kidnapping, all in a quest to find their son alive. ... A heartbreaking tribute to a chip off the old adventurer’s block."
Dial tells the story of his two-year quest and the events that preceded it in a heart-wrenching, spellbinding book, The Adventurer’s Son.
"Roman Dial is a pioneering legend of deep adventure. ... In this riveting account of a family's search for answers, Dial shares a thought-provoking investigation of what it means to embrace life's wild adventures."
"A wrenching memoir. ... A brave narrative."
"A wrenching memoir. ... A brave narrative."
"Much more than a simple mystery. ... A moving portrait of an inspired young man and a firsthand account of a father’s desperate hunt for his missing son."
The Adventurer’s Son is energized by spectacular descriptions of nature and by the narrative action of a father’s fight to find a beloved son. But it is its universality, this question of how to live and why, of how to understand nature, that gives it resonance and beauty."
"[A] true-life family saga. ... Both riveting and devastating."
Narrator Fred Sanders’s understated performance is fitting for Roman Dial’s memoir of searching for his son, Cody, in the dense Costa Rican jungle. Roman had always been adventurous. He climbed barely mapped Alaskan peaks in college, took 6-year-old Cody on a sixty-mile hike across a nearly uninhabited Aleutian island, and allowed his children to handle wild critters in Borneo while on a research trip. He describes it all with quiet pride and little drama. When Cody doesn’t return from Corcovado National Park after entering it illegally without a guide, Roman spends two years doing repeated treks with friends, miners, poachers, and police trying to find him. Sanders adeptly channels Roman’s roller coaster emotions of soaring hope and plunging despair as well as his steadfast belief that Cody would not be involved with local drug dealers. A.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173960948 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 02/18/2020 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
