The English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780 1866) was commissioned to undertake a survey of the Arkansas territory in America, and spent 1834 5 travelling through the southern slave states to reach his destination. He was shocked by the slave system of the south, saying he 'had never seen so revolting a sight'. When he began to write about his experiences, Featherstonhaugh was urged not to publish his work in the US, as his opinions might 'irritate a powerful interest', and his manuscript remained unpublished until 1844, after his return to England. His lively two-volume account of his adventures contains a fascinating mixture of scientific and sociological detail. It is a closely observed record of Southern society in the period before the Civil War that candidly documents the violence experienced by Black slaves, Native Americans and frontier settlers. Volume 2 describes the geography and inhabitants of Arksansas and New Orleans.

Captain Basil Hall (1788 1844) was a Scottish seaman and travel writer. After attending the Royal High School in Edinburgh he joined the Navy in 1802, and was appointed captain in 1814. He served on many diplomatic and scientific naval missions, and on his retirement from the Navy began to publish accounts of his experiences, based on his journals. These volumes, first published in 1829, contain his detailed and controversial account of his journey across America and Canada between 1827 and 1828. Hall provides a fascinating and engaging description of social conditions, political structures and political tensions in Canada and America in the period, while also illustrating contemporary English prejudices concerning American society. Volume 2 contains his descriptions of New England, including Boston and Harvard University, with an analysis of mutual English and American misunderstandings of each others' societies and a discussion of the role of women in American society.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. Published in 1895, these two volumes contain Stanley's early journalistic writing as special correspondent for the Herald and the Missouri Democrat. Stanley's reports in Volume 1 cover General Hancock's military expedition against the Cheyenne and the Sioux peoples in Kansas and Nebraska, and the subsequent peace conferences between General Sherman and the Plains Indians. He paints a vivid picture of life in 1867 in this area of the United States through in-depth descriptions of the customs and living conditions of the native Indians, geographical features and military confrontations.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. In Volume 1, Mackay describes New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and explains American society and the political and judiciary systems.

Sir Samuel Baker (1821-93) was one of the most famous Victorian explorers and hunters. First published in two illustrated volumes in 1866, this account of his most celebrated expedition is amongst the most important works of its type. Baker promises 'to take the reader by the hand, and lead him step by step ... through scorching deserts and thirsty sands; through swamp and jungle ... until I bring him, faint with the wearying journey, to that high cliff ... from which he shall look down upon the vast Albert Lake and drink with me from the sources of the Nile!' Volume 2 finds Baker a prisoner of a native king. Baker offers a number of 'gifts' to buy his release, and after an arduous journey, with his wife in a coma, in March 1864 he reaches Luta N'zige, which he renames in memory of Prince Albert. A compelling account of an historic adventure.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 1 describes his illness-plagued journey from Zanzibar to Ujiji, in Western Tanzania. It also records his 1871 encounter with the New York Herald correspondent and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had been dispatched to find him after Livingstone had been cut off from the outside world for so long that he was presumed dead.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 2 describes the last two years of his life, when, after his meeting with the journalist Henry Morton Stanley in 1871, Livingstone insisted on staying in Africa despite his poor health. It includes details about his death and the journey to bring his body back to the British authorities, reported by Livingstone's attendants Chuma and Susi.

In 1804 when W. B. Stevenson (fl. 1803 1825) arrived on the small island of Mocha, just off the coast of South America, he stepped onto a continent on the brink of mass revolution. Over the next twenty years, he had an extraordinary range of experiences: as a traveller, a Spanish government official, a prisoner, and as secretary to an ex-Royal Navy admiral turned revolutionary. In this three-volume work, published in 1825, Stevenson gives a dramatic, fascinating account of the life and culture of South America as it began to break free from Spanish colonial rule. Volume 1 focuses on Stevenson's arrival in 1804, his initial impressions, and travels in Chile, Colombia and Peru. It describes food and drink, society and culture, administration and climate. It also covers his imprisonment in Lima by the Spanish authorities.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. These volumes, first published in 1885, provide an account of Stanley's exploration of the Congo river in the service of Leopold II of Belgium between 1879 and 1884. Deriving from Stanley's personal journal, the books describe the difficulties he faced as he founded permanent trading stations, and his negotiations with indigenous leaders, together with his plans for the commercial exploitation of Africa. Stanley's controversial methods to achieve this aim, which led to his modern reputation as a racist and imperialist, are also revealed. Volume 1 covers 1879-83.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. These volumes, first published in 1885, provide an account of Stanley's exploration of the Congo river in the service of Leopold II of Belgium between 1879 and 1884. Deriving from Stanley's journal, the books describe the difficulties he faced as he founded permanent trading stations, and his negotiations with indigenous leaders, together with his plans for the commercial exploitation of Africa. Stanley's controversial methods to achieve this aim, which led to his modern reputation as a racist and imperialist, are also revealed. Volume 2 covers 1883-4.

Peter Kalm (1716-79) was a Finnish-Swedish botanist who travelled extensively to observe the natural world in Sweden, Finland, Russia and Ukraine and became a professor of 'oeconomie', - the economic application of subjects such as mineralogy, botany, zoology and chemistry - at the university of Turku. Between 1747 and 1751 he set out on a journey through eastern North America to gather specimens, especially from regions with a similar climate to Sweden. Because Kalm travelled though the area when much of it was still unknown to Europeans, this work has some of the first recorded accounts of places such as Niagara Falls. Kalm played an important part in forging scientific links between Sweden, England and North America. This three-volume work details his travels, and was first published in English in 1770-1. Volume 3 focuses on Kalm's observations of plants and animals in Canada, especially around the French-speaking settlements.

Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) was a distinguished British government servant whose diplomatic career took him to China and Africa, and who in forty years as Secretary to the Admiralty was responsible for promoting Arctic and Antarctic exploration, including the voyages of Sir John Ross, Sir William Parry, Sir James Clark Ross and Sir John Franklin. This account of his time in Southern Africa was published in 1801, with a second volume following in 1804. Barrow's exploration of the Cape Colony in 1797-8 coincided with the imposition of British control in 1795 on a former Dutch colony, making this work an important source about this transitional period. Volume 2 takes a political focus, and elaborates Barrow's belief that the Cape of Good Hope could serve the commercial interests of the growing British empire in the east; he also discusses the strategic advantages of stationing troops along the Cape.

A dynamic army officer and sportsman, Sir Richard Levinge (1811 84) was an unlikely chronicler of nature. However, service during the suppression of the French Canadian uprising of 1837 8 led to a personal fascination with the people, flora and fauna of the Canadian colonies. Published in 1846, this two-volume description of travel through eastern Canada and the United States reflects the author's passion for hunting and the outdoor life. In Volume 1, the reader accompanies Levinge on his voyage to Newfoundland before being regaled with tales of skating, sleighing, hunting for wolves and a fortnight in the bush in Nova Scotia. The American stage of his travels is lightened by anecdotes of 'Yankees shaving' and 'frigid Baptists'. Illustrated with dramatic lithographs of moose and salmon spearing, this work conveys both the dangers and the attractions for the hunter and traveller of the North American continent at this period.

A dynamic army officer and sportsman, Sir Richard Levinge (1811 84) was an unlikely chronicler of nature. However, service during the suppression of the French Canadian uprising of 1837 8 led to a personal fascination with the people, flora and fauna of the Canadian colonies. Published in 1846, this two-volume description of travel through eastern Canada and the United States reflects the author's passion for hunting and the outdoor life. In Volume 2 readers are introduced to the American swamps, Montreal, the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls, as well as the continent's exotic fauna in the form of racoons, snakes and bald eagles. Illustrated with a dramatic lithograph of a caribou hunt, this work conveys both the dangers and the attractions for the hunter and traveller of the North American continent at this period, and includes a sardonic account of the military activity which caused Levinge to be there.

First published in book form in 1899, and reissued here in the 1928 Macmillan edition, this two-volume collection contains a series of letters and travel reports originally written for newspapers by the young Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) on his journeys around India, Burma, China, Japan and the United States between 1887 and 1889. The 1907 Nobel Prize winner's characteristic fluid writing style is already apparent in these funny, poignant and vivid articles and short stories. Providing revealing insights into Kipling's notions of imperialism and Englishness, the works also reflect the writer's keen observational powers, and a telling intelligent self-awareness of his own cultural prejudices. Volume 1 contains Kipling's Letters of Marque and twenty-four pieces from From Sea to Sea, including descriptions of his experiences of the Great Wall of China, Japanese theatre and visiting a slaughterhouse in Chicago.

Ernest Henry Wilson (1876 1930) was introduced to China in 1899 when, as a promising young botanist, he was sent there by horticulturalist Henry Veitch (1840 1924) to collect the seed of the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata, for propagation in Britain. Subsequent trips saw Wilson bringing back hundreds of seed samples and plant collections, introducing many Chinese plants to Europe and North America. He wrote extensively about his travels in China: this two-volume work was published in 1913. Although much of the text is concerned with plant life, Wilson also gives a great deal of attention to the wider landscape around him. In addition, Wilson took a camera, and these volumes contain photographs of parts of China rarely seen by Europeans in the early twentieth century. Volume 1 covers his travels from Hupeh (Hubei) to Szechuan and into the Tibetan region before ending at Wa Wu Shan.

Ernest Henry Wilson (1876 1930) was introduced to China in 1899 when, as a promising young botanist, he was sent there by horticulturalist Henry Veitch (1840 1924) to collect the seed of the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata, for propagation in Britain. Subsequent trips saw Wilson bringing back hundreds of seed samples and plant collections, introducing many Chinese plants to Europe and North America. He wrote extensively about his travels in China: this two-volume work was published in 1913. Although much of the text is concerned with plant life, Wilson also gives a great deal of attention to the wider landscape around him. In addition, Wilson took a camera, and these volumes contain photographs of parts of China rarely seen by Europeans in the early twentieth century. In Volume 2 Wilson examines how people in western China use their plants in medicine and agriculture, including the important tea industry.

Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877) was a British naval officer who served as surveyor on several long voyages in the Atlantic and Pacific. Published in 1848, this two-volume account, interspersed with charts and illustrations, was the second of his journals to appear in print, and appealed to Victorian readers' enthusiasm for books on exploration, natural history, ethnology and adventure. In Volume 2, Belcher recounts dramatic episodes on his return journey to England from Japan via Hong Kong and Mauritius. This volume incorporates an engaging, and sometimes alarming, commentary on flora and fauna provided by the ship's surgeon, Arthur Adams, in which readers are introduced to spectacular species of spiders, fish and snakes, as well as sensational descriptions of shrunken heads. It also includes a 30-page vocabulary chart, introduced by Ernest Adams, listing English words and their equivalents in Spanish and ten Asian languages.

Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Sleeman (1788 1856) spent his entire career in India as an army officer and later as a magistrate and resident. He was best known for his fight to suppress the activities of 'thugs', bands of criminals who attacked, robbed and often murdered innocent travellers. By the time of the publication of this two-volume work in 1844, Sleeman had lived in India for more than thirty years. In Volume 1, he draws on his travels and experiences, and over 48 chapters he discusses myriad aspects of Indian life, including Hinduism, local festivals and folklore, the 'thugs' he tried to eradicate, disease and famine, and the natural world. He also details the lives of a wide range of Indians, from key historical figures such as Aurungzebe, the Mogul emperor, to the ordinary people he encountered, such as washerwomen and elephant-drivers.

Lieutenant-Colonel William Henry Sleeman (1788 1856) spent his entire career in India as an army officer and later as a magistrate and resident. He was best known for his fight to suppress the activities of 'thugs', bands of criminals who attacked, robbed and often murdered innocent travellers. By the time of the publication of this two-volume work in 1844, Sleeman had lived in India for more than thirty years. In Volume 2, Sleeman examines many issues related to governance, such as land, tax, military discipline and the justice system, and he recounts some of the extensive conversations he had with Indians on these matters. His travels in this volume takes him through Gwalior, Dholpur, Agra and Bharatpur, and the book includes plates of some of the spectacular buildings that he visits.

First published in French in Philadelphia in 1797 and translated into English for the London edition of 1798 reissued here, this travelogue by Andre Everard van Braam Houckgeest (1739-1801) was received with enthusiasm by readers hungry for exotic accounts of distant lands. It vividly describes a visit to the Chinese imperial court by a delegation from the Dutch East India Company soon after the British Macartney embassy, and delivers a rare glimpse of an unfamiliar landscape and culture. Fascinated by his experiences en route from Canton to Beijing and at the Summer Palace, van Braam records that he thought it 'far better to lose a few hours rest, than to let a single remarkable object escape me'. Volume 1 follows the expedition's journey from Canton to Uoitime, and includes notes on special terms and important cultural concepts, a 'correct chart' of the route taken and a full itinerary.

First published in French in Philadelphia in 1797 and translated into English for the London edition of 1798 reissued here, this travelogue by Andre Everard van Braam Houckgeest (1739-1801) was received with enthusiasm by readers hungry for exotic accounts of distant lands. It vividly describes a visit to the Chinese imperial court by a delegation from the Dutch East India Company soon after the British Macartney embassy, and delivers a rare glimpse of an unfamiliar landscape and culture. Fascinated by his experiences, van Braam records that he thought it 'far better to lose a few hours rest, than to let a single remarkable object escape me'. Volume 2 includes one of the last known Western descriptions of the spectacular Summer Palace, destroyed in 1860, and a detailed list of several hundred Chinese paintings and drawings that van Braam brought back and intended to donate to the French nation.

Antonio de Ulloa (1716-95) was a Spanish scientist and mathematician. In 1734 he was asked by Philip V of Spain to join the French geodesic expedition to measure the circumference of the Earth at the equator, and accordingly in 1735 Ulloa and his fellow scientist Jorge Juan y Santacilia (1713-73) travelled to South America, staying until 1744. These two volumes contain the English translation of Ulloa's account of South America, first published in 1758. The work was very popular, producing five subsequent editions: this reissue is of the fourth edition of 1806. It provides valuable insights into the social, religious and economic institutions of colonial South America. Volume I contains detailed descriptions of the cities of Carthagena, Panama and Quito and their provinces, including historical, economic and geographical accounts of the cities, together with an ethnological discussion of the indigenous people of Quito.

In 1800 Lord Wellesley, the British Governor General of India, appointed the surgeon and botanist Francis Buchanan (1762 1829) to conduct a survey of the kingdom of Mysore in the south of the country, which had recently been annexed by the East India Company. In the resulting three-volume report, first published in 1807, Buchanan (later known as Francis Hamilton) records the physical and human geography of this large area of southern India. He describes the agriculture, arts and commerce, indigenous religions and customs, natural history and society and antiquities of the regions through which he travelled, and illustrates his text with a map and engravings. Volume 3 describes Buchanan's travels through the western coastal region of Canara, and his return across central Mysore to Madras. It contains an appendix on the state of commercial manufacturing in the region, the destinations of exports, and details of imports by land and sea.

In 1800 Lord Wellesley, the British Governor General of India, appointed the surgeon and botanist Francis Buchanan (1762 1829) to conduct a survey of the kingdom of Mysore in the south of the country, which had recently been annexed by the East India Company. In the resulting three-volume report, first published in 1807, Buchanan (later known as Francis Hamilton) records the physical and human geography of this large area of southern India. He describes the agriculture, arts and commerce, indigenous religions and customs, natural history and society and antiquities of the regions through which he travelled, and illustrates his text with a map and engravings. Volume 1 covers the early part of Buchanan's journey, from the British stronghold at Madras through Bangalore to Sira, an important strategic location for several earlier rulers. Buchanan focuses particularly on the agriculture of the region, noting the different varieties of rice under cultivation.