They did it for the simplest of reasons: adventure. Three friends, on a drunken dare, set out in a dinghy for a nearby island. But when the gas ran out and they drifted into barren waters, their biggest threat wasn’t the water or the ocean—it was each other.

Uncatchable

America’s most elusive fugitive ran for forty years — and now that it’s over, he might just pull off the greatest escape of all…

The Volcano Next Door

Scientists descend to a fiery lava lake to protect a Congolese city.

The Cold Patrol

Two young Danes find out if they’re tough enough for the world’s only military dogsled team.

The World’s Toughest Competition

Each spring some eighty Army Rangers seek to demonstrate that they are the hardiest and most multi-talented athletes in the world.

Misc.

Desperate Passage

Down in the hold, beneath the deck boards, where we were denied most of the sun’s light but none of its fire, it sometimes seemed as if there were nothing but eyes…

The Wall

Wall builders will tell you that a stone, professionally speaking, is not always a stone.

The Blind Man Who Learned To See

Daniel Kish has been sightless since he was a year old. Yet he can mountain bike. And navigate the wilderness alone. And recognize a building as far away as 1,000 feet.

Stopping A Global Killer

The rapidly spreading disease affects more people than ever before. But until recently, the outcry has been muted.

Nomads

The Hadza

They grow no food, raise no livestock, and live without rules or calendars. They are living a lifestyle that has changed little in 10,000 years. What do they know that we’ve forgotten?

Stranded on the Roof of the World

Afghanistan’s Kyrgyz nomads survive in one of the most remote, high-altitude, bewitching landscapes on Earth. It’s a heavenly life—and a living hell.

12 Great Articles by Michael Finkel

Travel and Adventure

Here Be Monsters