Ranulph Fiennes: Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know was a book gifted to me by my friend Stephen Mills on his last visit to Colorado back in March. After much indecision about what to read after Three Cups of Tea, I finally decided to pick it up and give it a go.

I'm quite surprised really that I had never heard of Fiennes until Stephen gave me the book, especially with all of the other books he's written that have sold so well. But, I guess that it's just my lack of desire to look at bestseller lists and read what fancies me.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, cousin to actors Joseph and Ralph, is an adventurer in the truest sense of the word, and this book, his autobiography, details many of his exploits through his life, which really has been quite interesting with, I'm sure, quite a bit more to come at only 64-years-old.

With many of his accomplishments not being totally successful in his mind, like missing the summit of Everest by only 400 metres, many of them were complete and quite inspiring and have raised over $20 million USD for different charities.

His two most impressive expeditions, in my mind, are his circumnavigation of the globe via the poles, the first to be done, and his running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

And oh, that last one was done just a few months after he had a heart attack and the subsequent surgery.

Ran Fiennes, an Iron Man to the core, has lived quite a compelling and interesting life and his book is definitely worth the read.

At times it's a bit dry in areas and in others he doesn't go into enough detail, but you would be hard pressed to be disappointed by reading this account of one man's life. Heck, you have a better chance of sitting in disbelief that one person has done all of this than you do with being disappointed.

So, the next time you're at the book store looking for something to read, pick it up give it a read. I think you'll enjoy it.

And now, for me, it's time to finish off the last couple chapters in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, one of Fiennes favorite series of books actually, and find another book to read as I continue through the rest of the J.K. Rowling series in anticipation of the next movie in November.