The Two Best Adventure Books

    Today I read one of the most intense segments of any book I've read.  It was near the middle of Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler, when Dirk Pitt is being chased down in an airplane carrying 15 disabled children and two attractive women.  He had to fly over East River, under the Brooklyn bridge, and through the buildings of Manhattan before crashing in dramatic fashion in Central Park.  It reminded me of Will Smith being chased by the alien in Independence Day, when he meanders through the Grand Canyon- another famous American site- toward the end of the chase.  Someone should really work on turning these books into movies, because they are great.  I'm thinking about reading the whole series, starting with Pacific Vortex.  In these books there's a fine balance between the raw adventure of world sites and academic mystery that often involves scientific research.
    Incidentally I am also reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne- another amazing adventure.  I can't believe it's taken me this long to try reading.  I think I never dared trying because I've always been afraid of the deep sea, and the shop owner's description of the giant squid attacking the Nautilus from The Never Ending Story.  I've read the other Jules Verne classics, all when I was a child.  He probably would have been my favorite writer if I'd grown up in the late 19th century.  He must have had a profound influence on Clive Cussler.  It's so fitting that I may be reading the two best books from the two best adventure writers in history.  Captain Nemo and Dirk Pitt would be proud!