I've just finished reading Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Most Dangerous Waters by Derek Lundy - the tale of the '96 Vendée Globe race. That's a race where intrepid sailors single-hand 60 sailboats from France, down around Antarctica and back - a trip of something like 27000 miles. I thought it was going to be a bit of a guts n' gore 'see how many people perished' tale, but it was remarkably well written, with fairly perceptive insights into the mindset and motivations of the competitors. There's also a decent history of singlehanded sailing interspersed through the book. All in all, a very satisfying read.