Best Survival Stories

1

Watership Down

by Richard Adams

25,020 members

473 reviews

4.2

6 Members: inge87, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, cej1027, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

2

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

49,876 members

747 reviews

½ 3.7

5 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, Dilara86, ahef1963, sr994

3

Life of Pi

by Yann Martel

43,760 members

1,012 reviews

3.9

5 Members: KimarieBee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

4

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

30,845 members

508 reviews

3.8

5 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, cej1027, ahef1963, sr994

5

The Martian

by Andy Weir

18,296 members

1,252 reviews

½ 4.3

5 Members: timspalding, KimarieBee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963

6

Into the Wild

by Jon Krakauer

18,030 members

446 reviews

3.9

5 Members: mojobee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

7

Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen

17,713 members

581 reviews

3.8

5 Members: timspalding, DeltaQueen50, cej1027, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

8

The Incredible Journey

by Sheila Burnford

5,775 members

72 reviews

3.9

5 Members: inge87, DeltaQueen50, cej1027, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

9

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

49,509 members

1,795 reviews

4.2

4 Members: KimarieBee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963

10

The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition

by Stephen King

19,888 members

370 reviews

½ 4.3

4 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

11

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

11,821 members

783 reviews

4.1

4 Members: mojobee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963

12

The Passage

by Justin Cronin

9,445 members

638 reviews

3.9

4 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

13

The Day of the Triffids

by John Wyndham

7,501 members

207 reviews

4

4 Members: KimarieBee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963

14

The Windup Girl

by Paolo Bacigalupi

6,248 members

304 reviews

½ 3.7

4 Members: aulsmith, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda

15

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

64,832 members

3,494 reviews

½ 4.3

4 Members: KimarieBee, DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963,cej1027

16

Night

by Elie Wiesel

27,768 members

575 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: dara85, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

17

Island of the Blue Dolphins

by Scott O'Dell

18,200 members

299 reviews

3.9

3 Members: inge87, DeltaQueen50, sturlington

18

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

by Max Brooks

15,572 members

715 reviews

4

3 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda

19

Blindness

by José Saramago

13,096 members

391 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

20

My Side of the Mountain

by Jean Craighead George

11,933 members

148 reviews

4

3 Members: cej1027, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

21

Year of Wonders

by Geraldine Brooks

8,736 members

416 reviews

4

3 Members: KimarieBee, sturlington, ahef1963

22

Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler

8,188 members

239 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, Dilara86, ManWithAnAgenda

23

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men against the Sea

by Sebastian Junger

6,166 members

93 reviews

3.9

3 Members: DeltaQueen50, cej1027, ahef1963

24

Parable of the Talents

by Octavia E. Butler

3,601 members

96 reviews

4.1

3 Members: sturlington, Dilara86, ManWithAnAgenda

25

The Twelve

by Justin Cronin

3,585 members

168 reviews

3.8

3 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations: sturlington: Survival in post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampires.

26

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

2,388 members

64 reviews

4

3 Members: dara85, DeltaQueen50, ahef1963

27

The Plague Dogs

by Richard Adams

2,202 members

41 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: DeltaQueen50, cej1027, ManWithAnAgenda

28

Eifelheim

by Michael Flynn

1,112 members

68 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: aulsmith, DeltaQueen50, sturlington

29

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

34,582 members

1,407 reviews

4.1

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

30

Robinson Crusoe

by Daniel Defoe

23,350 members

323 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: DeltaQueen50, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda,aulsmith

31

Oryx and Crake

by Margaret Atwood

17,020 members

538 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

32

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

by Neil Gaiman

14,916 members

966 reviews

4.1

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

33

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer

14,127 members

317 reviews

4.2

2 Members: dara85, ahef1963

34

A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller Jr.

11,797 members

309 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

35

Dreamcatcher

by Stephen King

9,731 members

92 reviews

½ 3.3

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

36

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

by Stephen King

9,330 members

154 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963
Explanations: sturlington: Lost in the woods.

37

Survivor

by Chuck Palahniuk

8,729 members

96 reviews

3.9

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963

38

Julie of the Wolves

by Jean Craighead George

7,620 members

120 reviews

3.9

2 Members: cej1027, ahef1963

39

Wool

by Hugh Howey

6,679 members

382 reviews

4.1

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

40

The Girl With All the Gifts

by M. R. Carey

5,374 members

406 reviews

4

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

41

Between Shades of Gray

by Ruta Sepetys

5,039 members

351 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: dara85, inge87

42

The Ruins

by Scott Smith

3,662 members

195 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

43

Lilith's Brood

by Octavia E. Butler

2,590 members

59 reviews

4.2

2 Members: sturlington, Dilara86

44

Deliverance

by James Dickey

2,590 members

59 reviews

3.9

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

45

The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia

by Esther Hautzig

2,025 members

31 reviews

4.1

2 Members: dara85, inge87

46

102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers

by Jim Dwyer

1,366 members

50 reviews

4.1

2 Members: dara85, mpenetos

47

World Made By Hand

by James Howard Kunstler

976 members

56 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

48

The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel

by Alden Bell

958 members

115 reviews

3.9

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

49

Walkabout

by James Vance Marshall

785 members

14 reviews

3.2

2 Members: ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

50

The End We Start From

by Megan Hunter

433 members

42 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: sturlington, ManWithAnAgenda

51

Thin Air

by Michelle Paver

314 members

21 reviews

3.9

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

52

Lost Canyon

by Nina Revoyr

101 members

17 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: DeltaQueen50, sturlington

53

Dune

by Frank Herbert

42,875 members

695 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: sturlington

54

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

41,350 members

1,051 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: sturlington, ahef1963,ManWithAnAgenda

55

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

12,317 members

595 reviews

½ 4.4

Member: dara85

56

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

by Lisa See

11,269 members

443 reviews

4

Member: sturlington

57

The Swiss Family Robinson

by Johann David Wyss

8,832 members

90 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

58

The Year of the Flood

by Margaret Atwood

7,325 members

363 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

59

The Island of Dr. Moreau

by H. G. Wells

7,291 members

173 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: sturlington

60

Nation

by Terry Pratchett

5,180 members

246 reviews

4.1

Member: ahef1963

61

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

by Erik Larson

5,141 members

280 reviews

4.1

Member: dara85

62

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

by Alfred Lansing

5,132 members

125 reviews

½ 4.4

Member: inge87

63

Alas, Babylon

by Pat Frank

4,971 members

144 reviews

4

Member: sturlington

64

Gateway

by Frederik Pohl

4,672 members

101 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

65

The Postman

by David Brin

4,176 members

91 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: sturlington

66

Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History

by Erik Larson

4,095 members

136 reviews

4

Member: sturlington

67

MaddAddam: A Novel

by Margaret Atwood

3,558 members

154 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

68

The Age of Miracles

by Karen Thompson Walker

3,327 members

336 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: sturlington

69

Bird Box

by Josh Malerman

3,285 members

257 reviews

3.8

Member: sturlington

70

A Night to Remember

by Walter Lord

2,998 members

63 reviews

4.1

Member: dara85

71

Tunnel in the Sky

by Robert A. Heinlein

2,886 members

42 reviews

3.8

Member: timspalding

72

Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

by Joe Simpson

2,647 members

70 reviews

4.2

Member: dara85

73

The Brief History of the Dead

by Kevin Brockmeier

2,564 members

177 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

74

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

by Anthony Marra

2,390 members

183 reviews

4.2

Member: DeltaQueen50

75

Leave the World Behind

by Rumaan Alam

2,234 members

134 reviews

½ 3.4

Member: sturlington

76

The Book of Strange New Things

by Michel Faber

2,215 members

134 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: sturlington

77

Lexicon

by Max Barry

2,165 members

141 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

78

Severance

by Ling Ma

2,063 members

94 reviews

3.8

Member: sturlington

79

The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust

by Edith Hahn Beer

1,976 members

59 reviews

3.9

Member: dara85

80

The Cabin at the End of the World

by Paul Tremblay

1,863 members

100 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: sturlington

81

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang

by Kate Wilhelm

1,789 members

66 reviews

3.8

Member: sturlington

82

The Revenant

by Michael Punke

1,782 members

67 reviews

3.8

Member: DeltaQueen50

83

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Aron Ralston

1,664 members

45 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: dara85

84

Into the Forest

by Jean Hegland

1,540 members

49 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

85

The Lifeboat

by Charlotte Rogan

1,409 members

116 reviews

½ 3.4

Member: sturlington

86

The North Water

by Ian McGuire

1,399 members

98 reviews

4

Member: DeltaQueen50

87

The Last Town on Earth

by Thomas Mullen

1,287 members

58 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: DeltaQueen50

88

Heart of the Comet

by Gregory Benford

1,197 members

7 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: sturlington

89

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

by Max Brooks

1,140 members

58 reviews

3.9

Member: sturlington

90

The Wild Shore

by Kim Stanley Robinson

1,115 members

23 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: aulsmith

91

The Hunger

by Alma Katsu

1,077 members

53 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: sturlington

92

Yellow Star

by Jennifer Roy

974 members

46 reviews

4.2

Member: dara85

93

Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home

by Nando Parrado

931 members

45 reviews

4.1

Member: dara85

94

Icerigger

by Alan Dean Foster

907 members

5 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: ManWithAnAgenda

95

The Children's Hospital

by Chris Adrian

903 members

34 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: sturlington

96

A Children's Bible

by Lydia Millet

879 members

45 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: sturlington

97

The Shrinking Man

by Richard Matheson

844 members

36 reviews

3.8

Member: sturlington

98

Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

by Jerri Nielson

796 members

17 reviews

3.8

Member: dara85

99

The Three

by Sarah Lotz

780 members

48 reviews

½ 3.3

Member: sturlington

100

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope

by Don Van Ryn

720 members

34 reviews

3.9

Member: dara85

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