Most of us would relish being trapped on a remote desert island. So today I am going to select my Desert Island Books – a list that would keep me content until my eventual rescue. I’mm going to invite you to join in as well – have your say in the comments what your selection would be. In a reverse of the original radio format I will also let you choose one song as well as the usual luxury item. Bonus points for anyone who picks one of these books!

As well as offering your own selection please do feel free to cast your opinion on my taste: genius or woefully misguided..?

• The Worst Journey in the World – Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Not only beautiful writing and a vital documentary on Scott’s last expedition, but also the call to arms that prodded me to get on with my own South Pole expedition.
• As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning – Laurie Lee. My favourite travel book. I love the lyrical writing, the freedom, the endless possibilities of the open road. (This would be my choice if I was only allowed a single book).
• The Ascent of Rum Doodle – a farcical, comic account of the fabled Mount Rum Doodle. Helps remind me not to take my expeditions, nor writing about them, too seriously.
• The Kon-Tiki Expedition – Thor Heyerdhal. Sail across the Pacific? On a balsa wood raft? Using only equipment available to mankind tens of thousands of years ago? Sure – why not?! Gung-ho adventure by an anthropologist seeking to prove a serious point.
• Wind, Sand and Stars – Antoine St Exupery. The book I wish I had written. The beauty of the desert and the night sky as witnessed by an early pilot.
• The Way of the World – Nicolas Bouvier. Two young men drive East, in search of Asia, the wonders of the world, wine, women and song. When I am old this book will remind me of my glory days.
• Full Tilt – Dervla Murphy. Almost all books about long bicycle journeys are very boring. This one inspired me to think big with my journeys.
• Sailing Alone Around the World – Joshua Slocum. The first man to sail single-handedly around the world. I love his spirit as well as the freedom he finds out at sea.
• For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway. It’s not really about travel. But it is about Spain. So that’s enough for me to shoe-horn my favourite novel into this list. It’s about life and living, love, death, and being a man.

Piece of Music – St Matthew Passion by Bach
Luxury Item – Bialetti espresso maker