Cowboys, Fishermen, and Monks: Bitten By 3rd World Wanderlust

Forced to not speak a word for 10 days straight, watching a stranger die while ice climbing, pulled off the street to officiate a beauty pageant, hanging from the outside of the TranSiberian Express as it sped across Siberia, and more ...

Tom Mattson, bored with the lack of challenge in his privileged life, one day was watching "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel when he heard it advertised as "The world's most dangerous job." Inspired by this notion, he decided to turn his conventional life on its head and set out to do the world's five most dangerous jobs. These included deep-sea fishing off the coast of Alaska, working as a jackeroo on a cattle ranch in the Australian Outback, and sifting for blood diamonds in equatorial Africa.

The danger came when unexpected. He survived fishing in the Bering Sea, but nearly succumbed to extreme cold when caught in snowstorms in interior Alaska while riding his motorcycle back 3000 miles.

Like the stars in the night sky, unabated darkness filled his life for years, punctured by brief moments of elation including becoming skilled at negotiating with Indians and being able to feel the ecstasy of light passing through his body during Vipassana.

Part epic story of survival, part travel writing, and part self-help manual, the scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of nonfiction in recent years.