Person
Ross Edgley's book recommendations
Across 3 podcasts. Every show Ross Edgley appears on, in one place — not just one.
Ross Edgley is a British athlete, ultra-marathon sea swimmer and author. He holds multiple world records, but is most recognised for completing the World's Longest Staged Sea Swim in 2018, when he became the first person in history to swim 1,780 miles (2,860 km) around Great Britain, in 157 days In 2024, he also became the first person in history to simultaneously hold official Guinness World Records for long-distance swimming in the sea and river when he broke the record for the longest non-stop, continuous river swim down the Yukon River. In 2025, he also became the first person in history to swim 1,000 miles (1,609km) around Iceland in 114 days. On Modern Wisdom, Edgley recommended Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World while discussing Antarctic exploration accounts. Across his appearances, he also discussed Albert Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus to relate endless struggle to his long swims, and referenced Marcus Aurelius's Meditations to explore stoic philosophy and internal dialogue during athletic endurance challenges.
Books recommended by Ross Edgley
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Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of personal journals and philosophical notes written by the Roman emperor during his military campaigns, offering profound insights into Stoic philosophy, self-discipline, and personal endurance.
Discussed“I mean but and the thing is is it's been around years when you look at like an you know Marcus Aurelius meditations or stoic philosophy and they're talking about you know dialogue being both external in turn also the the conversations that go on inside your own head are just as important as the conversations you would have with”
Where to get it
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The Worst Journey in the World
The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard is a classic autobiographical account of the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole led by Robert Falcon Scott, marked by extreme hardship, scientific endurance, and tragedy.
Recommended“I think shackleton's hard to beat yeah Ur by Al laning”
Where to get it
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The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus is a prominent philosophical essay examining the absurdist condition, human suffering, and the search for meaning in a seemingly indifferent universe.
Discussed“But then it was Albert Camus, the philosopher, who said he was able to outsmart the gods one more time. And that's if you imagine that Sisyphus was smiling. And this is the part I love. He said, because the struggle alone is enough to fill a man's heart.”
Where to get it
Books by Ross Edgley
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlocking Persistent Motivation & Extreme Resilience | Ross Edgley | Huberman Lab | 2026-10-26 | 1 |
| 317 Miles: Pushing The Limits Of Possibility - Ross Edgley | Modern Wisdom | 2024-08-12 | 1 |
| #1200 - Ross Edgley | The Joe Rogan Experience | 2018-11-12 | 2 |
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“I even said you know in my new book I talk about how it's it's kind of this idea that um the swim was almost a tribute to everything that my dad had taught me but equally a letter to my future son you know and I hope that they look at that and go okay yeah all the values”
“if I was to add a chapter to the art of Brazilians it would probably be uh that story”
“for those who don't know I talk about in The Art of resiliance and I can talk about it now and not cry I hope touchwood”
“You talk about like psychological warfare you know the art of war and everything like that and he's doing it on a mass scale like we've probably never experienced before”