The desire to survive is almost certainly hard-wired into the DNA of most living creatures, and certainly this concern is also a prominent theme of many works of literature. The present volume examines this theme by looking at a wide range of works - works diverse in historical, national, cultural, and social origins and representing a deliberately mixed group of authors, genres, styles, and methods. The term survival itself is broadly defined in both literal and figurative terms to include such varied kinds of survival as physical, psychological, social, and spiritual endurance. Kinds of works represented will include narrative nonfiction, poetry, short fiction, novels, plays, and films. The book, in short, will explore a theme important to key literary works by Homer, Melville, Twain, Elie Wiesel, and Jon Krakauer, among many others.