I have not. Call me naive but I find reading about failure uninspiring. My favorite kind of narrative is about people who are true to their beliefs, win or lose.

Several years ago I read an obituary in an English newspaper about a old guy who lived well and died quietly at home, IIRC. But during WWII the man escaped from German POW camps several times and became legendary among the Germans. Can't remember his name.

Then there's the English travel writer, Eric Newby. Read his books. My favorite, "The Last Great Grain Race" reads like a novel but is TRUE. This man is amazing. He must be in his nineties now. Newby's account of another traveler named, Wilfred Thesiger (http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,11617,1030132,00.html) is amazing, inspiring, awesome and just plain f**king weird.

B