High Endeavours: The Extraordinary Life and Adventures of Miles and Beryl Smeeton

by Miles Clark

Book Overview

Miles Clarke's moving and exhilarating biography establishes Miles and Beryl Smeeton as the most accomplished traveling and adventuring couple of the 20th century. It is both a love story and an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0586216995
• ISBN13: 9780586216996
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Uplifting, limitless possibilities

Think free spirits, think Miles & Beryl Smeeton. The ageless 'Can-Do' Couple. They inspired my dad in the 1950's with their seafaring adventures, and he gave me this book in 1999 with an inscription to follow my heart and dreams. This is one of my favorite books of all time, as an inspiration to what can be achieved if you dare to think outside the box and never say "Never". Fun read, heart-warming story about honest, pure, intelligent kindred spirits with a love for adventure on land and sea.

An amazing tale of adventure!!!

The subtitle of this book really sums it up: The Extraordinary Life and Adventures of Miles and Beryl Smeeton. Beryl was born in 1905. Miles was born in 1906. Their early lives were straight out of Rudyard Kipling. They both followed family tradition and were part of the British overseas military life. Beryl was not a shrinking violet. Her brother is quoted in the book as saying "she always regretted that she hadn't been born a man, and that was really what she was trying to make up for all her life. In everything she did- sports, riding, steeple-chasing- her motto was 'Anything you can do, I can do better.' She had this tremendous urge to surpass... She was quite fearless and would never rest or relax." Early in life she married a British officer and travelled with him to India. Beryl had many daring adventures in spite of the expectations of the time. She met and started an affair with Miles, a very tall and handsome younger officer, and her first husband let her go to pursue the life of adventure which she was destined for. Together, Beryl and Miles saw the end of the old British colonial system. The book contains fascinating stories of the "Lancers", which evolved to a tank corps. Miles learned to drive a tank and fly an airplane before he learned to drive an automobile. Beryl travelled extensively, often hiking up mountains in exotic locales, even after she gave birth to her daughter. The baby was lugged around by lackeys and natives, and often left behind to survive as best she could. Part of the more amusing stories in the book are about how cavalier a mother and how horribly bad a cook Beryl was. After Miles left the military, the two set out to explore the world on a sailing vessle, a whole new chapter to their life of adventure. Even in old age, the two continued to live remarkable lives. This book is really just riveting. It is one of the most exciting adventures I have ever read.

This is a book that will change the way you look at life!

I saw High Endeavors first recommended by a couple of sailing magazines and picked up a copy. The book goes far beyond a sailing adventure, which is a component of this couple's lives but by no means the whole story.Miles Clark, the author, is the stepson of Miles and Beryl Smeeton, the subjects of the book. He has told this story with as much accuracy as records and personal experience would provide, along with the affection of a loving son who knew this story had to be told.It's really about Beryl. She walks/trains/hitches across India, through the Middle East, Europe and back t the UK. In the 30's!Later she decides that she has to ride horseback through Patagonia, by herself.During WW II they served separately in Asia, ending up together in Burhma.It is only after Miles retires from the Army that they bought a sailboat and set out for British Columbia.Just an amazing story and it's true!

A unique true life combination of love and travel.

The book describes the interesting lives of Miles and Beryl Smeeton who spent their lives travelling across several continents, fighting in wars, sailing around the world and protecting endangered species in Canada. This is not a book to be missed. The biggest problem with the book is that you will begin to feel that you haven't really lived a full existence!

A tremendous story that is only enhanced by its truth!

Highly recommended- I wasn't sure this book would take my fancy, I had read travelogues before, but this novel and the adventures of the principal characters are so awe-inspiring and humor filled that the book is a must read. The quality of the travels, combined with the history that was being made during this period make the book informative and gripping. As amazing as it is- along with the 2nd world war, circumnavigation, and treks through all of the worlds continents, there is a lovely romance that is not contrived or annoying in the slighest. "Joie de Vivre!"