Add These 26 Kayaking Books to Your Reading List
10-minute read + countless hours of enjoyment
You wouldn’t believe the kayaking adventures people have had over the years! Here’s our list of suggested books for those of you who love to enter into the stories of those who’ve challenged themselves in ways few others have.
Yes, these are “man or woman against nature” stories, but they also dive deeply into human nature and vulnerability—physical, mental and emotional. Be inspired. Be energized. Let them spur your own dreams or simply enjoy them from the comfort of your recliner.
You may recognize some of the names, but many are ordinary people who decided to tackle an extraordinary adventure and then write about it.
We listed these books in order of publication:
Running the Amazon • Joe Kane
The author was part of the first kayaking expedition to paddle the Amazon from source to sea. The 4,200-mile journey took six months, along which they faced raging rapids and remote jungles as well as narco-traffickers and guerrillas. Running the Amazon is Kane’s story. The book has 4.4 stars on (the other) Amazon.
Published: First published 1989
Location: Amazon River, Brazil
Never Turn Back • Ron Watters
Never Turn Back: The Life of Whitewater Pioneer Walt Blackadar is a biography, not the story of one expedition, as are most of these selections. The author tells of Blackadar’s triumphant solo whitewater trip down Turnback Canyon on the Alsek River that made him a household name in the kayaking world. And he writes about the challenges Blackadar faced professionally and personally afterward. 4.8 stars on Amazon.
(NOTE: Amazon is not an authorized seller. Please use the link we give here for the latest version.)
Published: 1995
Location: Alaska, Canada and other whitewater river locations
Sea Kayaker’s Deep Trouble • Matt Broze, George Gronseth and Christopher Cunningham
The authors were all involved in Sea Kayaker magazine as writers and editor. For Deep Trouble: True Stories and Their Lessons from Sea Kayaker Magazine, they interviewed accident survivors, witnesses and rescuers to tell 20 (sometimes tragic) stories and the lifesaving lessons we can learn from them. 4.6 stars on Amazon.
Published: 1997
Location: Various
On Celtic Tides • Chris Duff
Veteran kayaker Chris Duff has thousands of miles under his paddle in a sea kayak in many parts of the world. On Celtic Tides: One Man’s Journey Around Ireland by Sea Kayak is his story of one of those trips. One reviewer says, “A nice combination of sea kayaking adventure and emotional exploration.” 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 1999
Location: Ireland
Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak • Victoria Jason
The author’s story of her 4-year quest to kayak from Churchill, Manitoba to Tuktoyaktuk on the Beaufort Sea in the early 90s. She was a grandma, was recovering from her second stroke and had only been kayaking for a year when she began. Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak: One Woman’s Journey through the Northwest Passage has 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 1999
Location: Canada from Hudson Bay to the Beaufort Sea
Paddle to the Arctic • Don Starkell
The author of this book was one of Victoria Jason’s paddle mates from our previous selection. They started together but ended up finishing as they were able to over a series of summers. Paddle to the Arctic: The Incredible Story of a Kayak Quest Across the Roof of the World has 4.6 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2000
Location: Northwest Passage from Hudson Bay to the Beaufort Sea
Southern Exposure • Chris Duff
Southern Exposure: A Solo Sea Kayaking Journey Around New Zealand’s South Island is our second selection from Duff, this time on the other side of the world. Reviewers appreciate his engaging writing style, beautiful photos of the breathtaking landscape and detailed descriptions. 4.7 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2003
Location: New Zealand
Kayak Across the Atlantic • Pete Bray
Pete Bray, a former British SAS sergeant, kayaked alone and unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland in 2001. Kayak Across the Atlantic is his story about those 76 days over 2,000 miles of ocean. 4.3 stars on Amazon
Published: First published 2004
Location: North Atlantic Ocean
Hell or High Water • Peter Heller
The author served as part of the ground team that accompanied seven kayakers who attempted to be the first to successfully kayak the notorious Tsangpo Gorge in Tibet. “Amid this narrative of a 2002 expedition, Heller reaches for explanations for why kayakers risk their lives on phenomenally dangerous rivers.” 4.1 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2004
Location: Tsangpo River, Tibet
Without a Paddle • Warren Richey
In Without a Paddle: Racing Twelve Hundred Miles Around Florida by Sea Kayak, the author takes his readers on a 30-day physical and emotional journey. He reflects on many major parts of his life as well as the challenges of his 1,200-mile trip in these memoirs. 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2010
Location: Florida, USA
Fearless • Joe Glickman
Fearless: One Woman, One Kayak, One Continent is the story of Freya Hoffmeister, a 46-year-old German mom who decided to circumnavigate Australia unsupported—paddling over 9,000 miles. “A year-long adventure that virtually every expert guaranteed would get her killed.” The author who tells her story is himself an expert kayaker. 4.4 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2012
Location: Australia
Living the Best Day Ever • Hendri Coetzee
The author, a South African native, was considered a kayaking legend and “the most experienced African river explorer of his generation.” He was the first to travel the length of the White Nile in 2004 and was voted Adventurer of the Year in 2009. He lost his life on one such adventure when a crocodile took him out of his kayak, an event that was reported worldwide. Living the Best Day Ever is Coetzee’s memoirs. 4.6 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2013
Location: Africa
Why Do All the Locals Think We’re Crazy? • Scott Finazzo
Three firemen from America’s Midwest build kayaks (without kayak-building experience) and take them to the Caribbean for a week-long kayak trip (without kayaking experience). “Adventure…humor with…dime store philosophy.” It probably wasn’t just the locals who thought they were crazy! Why Do All the Locals Think We’re Crazy?: Three Men, Three Kayaks, the Caribbean and One Bad Idea has 4.3 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2014
Location: US and British Virgin Islands
Dare to Do • Sarah Outen
Starting in 2011, the author attempted to journey around Earth kayaking, rowing and cycling. Her story of that remarkable expedition is Dare to Do: Taking On the Planet by Bike and Boat. Her accomplishment is a testament to “my conviction that crazy things can be very possible.” 4.3 stars on Amazon and winner of the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Book of the Year.
Published: 2017
Location: Earth—all over
No Barriers • Erik Weihenmayer and Buddy Levy
Erik Weihenmayer is a lifelong adventurer who was the first blind person to summit Mount Everest. Among other intimidating challenges, Erik then decided to kayak the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon is his story, told with Buddy Levy. 4.6 stars on Amazon
Published: 2017
Location: Grand Canyon, Arizona USA
(Photo courtesy of Kate Wright)
Crazy Winds • Alexis Michelle Right
Written for her young son, Crazy Winds: In 2013 She Kayaked Alone Around Lake Ontario is the author’s story of her experience. She battled severe winds, large waves and hypothermia but was determined to paddle the 730 km around the Canadian shore of Lake Ontario. 4.4 stars on Amazon
Published: 2017
Location: Lake Ontario, Canada
Dying Out Here is Not an Option • John Connelly
At 60 years old, the author canoed and kayaked 1,500 miles in 75 days. He through-paddled the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, then entered the Saint John River and Bay of Fundy, and finished by through-paddling the Maine Island Trail. One of his goals with his trip was to encourage others to spend more time outside. Dying Out Here Is Not an Option: A 1500 Mile, 75 Day Solo Canoe & Kayak Odyssey has 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2018
Location: Northeast US and southeast Canada
The Pacific Alone • Dave Shively
The Pacific Alone: The Untold Story of Kayaking’s Boldest Voyage is the author’s book about Ed Gillet’s 1987 attempt to kayak alone from California to Hawaii. One reviewer said, “The intimate view of an adventurer's mindset when facing that which most people will never experience is what makes this book unique.” 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2018
Location: Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii
Man and Dog • Justin Barbour
Newfoundland native Justin Barbour and his dog Saku traveled by foot and packraft from west to east across Canada’s easternmost province in 2017. Man and Dog: Through the Newfoundland Wilderness chronicles their journey of 700 km while sharing plenty of interesting facts and natural history about the island. 4.6 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2019
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
The Sun is a Compass • Caroline Van Hemert
The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds is the story of the author’s 2012 expedition with her husband to rediscover her love of scientific research after feeling stifled in the lab for too long. Their self-propelled journey included rowboat, ski, foot, packraft and canoe. [NOTE: Aqua Bound’s marketing director, Kate, rates this as her favorite book of all time!] 4.6 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2019
Location: Pacific rainforest to Alaskan Arctic
Escaping the Madness • Paul Alexander
The madness the author wanted to escape for a time was our modern-day rat race and nonstop media. As he kayaked unsupported around Ireland, a total of 1,200 miles, “he encounters proof that a simpler more sustainable existence is the answer to true happiness.” Escaping the Madness: A Circumnavigation of Ireland By Sea Kayak is his story. 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2020
Location: Ireland
Amazon Woman • Darcy Gaechter
The second book on our list about kayaking down the length of the Amazon River, this time our author is a woman. She attempted the 4,000+ mile journey with two others and faced many of the same obstacles: raging rapids and notorious humans, among others. 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2020
Location: Amazon River, Brazil
The Adventurer’s Son • Roman Dial
Widely considered the father of modern packrafting, this book by Roman Dial is not a paddling book. The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir is the story of his family and especially the son he raised to be an adventurer like his parents. It focuses on the author’s “two-year quest to unravel the mystery of his son’s disappearance in the jungles of Costa Rica” in 2014. 4.4 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2020
Location: Various
A Complex Coast • David Norwell
David Norwell was just 24 years old when he embarked on a 1,700 km kayak trip up the west coast of Canada. He later wrote about and illustrated A Complex Coast: A Kayak Journey from Vancouver Island to Alaska based on his journal entries. And we mean illustrated—there are over 700 watercolors in the 224-page book! This is described as a “coming of age” story. 4.4 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2023
Location: Canada’s west coast
Iceland by Kayak • Nigel Foster
Nigel Foster and Geoff Hunter were the first to kayak around Iceland back in 1977. Of course, this was before many of our convenience and safety gear items (like dry suits and cell phones) were available. And before Iceland was the worldwide tourist destination is it today. Iceland by Kayak: The First Circumnavigation of Iceland by Kayak has 5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2023
Location: Iceland
The Girl Who Touched the Stars • Bonnie Hancock
Our final book on the list is another that tells the story of a woman circumnavigating Australia by kayak, considered one of the most treacherous coastal areas on Earth. Things like wild seas, sharks and crocodiles. The Girl Who Touched the Stars: A True Story of Adventure, Resilience and 254 Days of Perilous Seas has 4.5 stars on Amazon.
Published: 2024
Location: Australia
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These books should keep you busy for a while—happy reading!
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