Daniel Defoe's Incredible Train Journey describes the odyssey undertaken by two eccentric pensioners as they travel on every mile of railway track in the UK. Surreal and poignant by turns, Stuart Campbell describes the people they meet and the unwanted adventures that befall them. He is aided and abetted by the ghost of Daniel Defoe, writer, soldier, businessman and spy who completed his own journey in the 1720s.

At the heart of this book is a previously unpublished account of Ben Jonson's celebrated walk from London to Edinburgh in the summer of 1618. This unique firsthand narrative provides us with an insight into where Jonson went, whom he met, and what he did on the way. James Loxley, Anna Groundwater and Julie Sanders present a clear, readable and fully annotated edition of the text. An introduction and a series of contextual essays shed further light on topics including the evidence of provenance and authorship, Jonson's contacts throughout Britain, his celebrity status, and the relationships between his 'foot voyage' and other famous journeys of the time. The essays also illuminate wider issues, such as early modern travel and political and cultural relations between England and Scotland. It is an invaluable volume for scholars and upper-level students of Ben Jonson studies, early modern literature, seventeenth-century social history, and cultural geography.

Ever since Captain Cook sailed into the Great Southern Ocean in 1773, mankind has sought to push back the boundaries of Antarctic exploration. The first expeditions tried simply to chart Antarctica's coastline, but then the Sixth International Geographical Congress of 1895 posed a greater challenge: the conquest of the continent itself. Many would die in the attempt. Icy Graves uses the tragic tales not only of famous explorers like Robert Falcon Scott and Aeneas Mackintosh, but also of many lesser-known figures, both British and international, to plot the forward progress of Antarctic exploration. It tells, often in their own words, the compelling stories of the brave men and women who have fallen in what Sir Ernest Shackleton called the 'White Warfare of the South'.

In the fifth volume of the In Those Days: Collected Writings on Arctic History series, Kenn Harper shares tales of European explorers who came to the Arctic seeking adventure, riches, and the elusive Northwest Passage, and Inuit they encountered there. Inuit were invaluable in adding to Western knowledge of the Arctic, serving as guides, clothing-makers, and interpreters. But not every meeting was friendly. This collection sheds light on Inuit who played a pivotal role in the expeditions of some of the most famous Arctic explorers, including the unfortunate John Franklin. This volume also includes dozens of rare, historical photographs.

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set forth to make history with the first-ever crossing of the Antarctic continent. He sailed into the Weddell Sea aboard the Endurance, while a ship called the Aurora sailed into the Ross Sea to create a lifeline of vital food and fuel depots to supply the epic crossing. Yet all went tragically wrong when the Aurora broke free of her moorings in an Antarctic gale and stranded ten men ashore. Left with little more than the clothing on their backs and scavenged equipment, the men vowed to carry on in the face of impossible odds. Meanwhile the rest of the Aurora crew, cast adrift at the mercy of the elements, battled for survival. The lost men struggled to save themselves and carry out their mission with little hope of rescue.

A riveting journey into the bizarre world of the Asian arowana or "dragon fish" the world's most expensive aquarium fish-reveals a surprising history with profound implications for the future of wild animals and human beings alike. The Dragon Behind the Glass tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator dating to the age of the dinosaurs. Treasured as a status symbol believed to bring good luck, the Asian arowana is bred on high-security farms in Southeast Asia and sold by the hundreds of thousands each year. In the United States, however, it's protected by the Endangered Species Act and illegal to bring into the country-though it remains the object of a thriving black market. From the South Bronx to Singapore, journalist Emily Voigt follows the trail of the fish, ultimately embarking on a years-long quest to find the arowana in the wild, venturing deep into some of the last remaining tropical wildernesses on earth. In an age when freshwater fish now comprise one of the most rapidly vanishing groups of animals on the planet, Voigt unearths a paradoxical truth behind the dragon fish's rise to fame-one that calls into question how we protect the world's rarest species. An elegant exploration of the human conquest of nature, The Dragon Behind the Glass revels in the sheer wonder of life's diversity and lays bare our deepest desire-to hold onto what is wild.

The acclaimed author of Conquistador and Labyrinth of Ice charts one of history's greatest expeditions, a legendary 16th-century adventurer's death-defying navigation of the Amazon River. In 1541, Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his lieutenant Francisco Orellana searched for La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man." Quickly, the enormous expedition of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, and hunting dogs were decimated through disease, starvation, and attacks in the jungle. Hopelessly lost in the swampy labyrinth, Pizarro and Orellana made the fateful decision to separate. While Pizarro eventually returned home in rags, Orellana and fifty-seven men continued into the unknown reaches of the mighty Amazon jungle and river. Theirs would be the greater glory. Interweaving historical accounts with newly uncovered details, Levy reconstructs Orellana's journey as the first European to navigate the world's largest river. Every twist and turn of the powerful Amazon holds new wonders and the risk of death. Levy gives a long-overdue account of the Amazon's people-some offering sustenance and guidance, others hostile, subjecting the invaders to gauntlets of unremitting attacks and signs of terrifying rituals. Violent and beautiful, noble and tragic, River of Darkness is riveting history and breathtaking adventure that will sweep readers on a voyage unlike any other.

The surgeon William Ainsworth (1807-96) acted as the geologist of the 1835 Euphrates Expedition, his account of which is also reissued in this series. Great interest was aroused by the scientific and archaeological findings of that journey, and a further expedition was funded, ostensibly to make contact with the Nestorian Christians of the region, but covertly to make further mineralogical investigations. Ainsworth was the leader of the expedition, and his two-volume account was published in 1842. Starting from Istanbul in 1839, Ainsworth took a route through Asia Minor, northern Syria, Kurdistan, Persia and Armenia, returning to Istanbul in 1840. The expedition was regarded as unsuccessful, as Ainsworth had massively overspent on the budget originally allotted by the sponsors, and his secret activities were discovered by the Ottoman authorities, but the work remains a vivid account of the area. Volume 1 covers events up to the battle of Nezib in 1839.

The surgeon William Ainsworth (1807-96) acted as the geologist of the 1835 Euphrates Expedition, his account of which is also reissued in this series. Great interest was aroused by the scientific and archaeological findings of that journey, and a further expedition was funded, ostensibly to make contact with the Nestorian Christians of the region, but covertly to make further mineralogical investigations. Ainsworth was the leader of the expedition, and his two-volume account was published in 1842. Starting from Istanbul in 1839, Ainsworth took a route through Asia Minor, northern Syria, Kurdistan, Persia and Armenia, returning to Istanbul in 1840. The expedition was regarded as unsuccessful, as Ainsworth had massively overspent the budget originally allotted by the sponsors, and his secret activities were discovered by the Ottoman authorities, but the work remains a vivid account of the area. Volume 2 describes the journey through Armenia, and the return via Trebizond.

In the years leading up to Charles Darwin's famous voyage on the Beagle, the ship and its captain Robert Fitzroy (1805-65) had participated in an expedition to the desolate southern coast of South America. Volume 1 of this three-volume work, published in 1839, describes that 1826-30 expedition, while Volumes 2 and 3 cover the second voyage. Compiled by Robert Fitzroy (1805-65), captain of the Beagle from 1828, Volume 1 is based on the journals of Phillip Parker King (1791-56), the expedition's commander, whose account of his earlier survey of Australia is also reissued. Tasked with surveying the coast from Montevideo to Cape Horn and north to Chiloe, and 'collecting and preserving specimens of ... natural history', the expedition spent its first two field seasons around Tierra del Fuego, enduring hunger, scurvy and severe weather. It reached Chiloe in 1829, and returned to England a year later.

In the years leading up to Charles Darwin's famous voyage on the Beagle, the ship and its captain Robert Fitzroy (1805-65) had participated in an expedition to the desolate southern coast of South America. This three-volume work, published in 1839, describes both voyages. Volume 2 is Fitzroy's account of his voyage with Darwin. He describes how the Hydrographer of the Admiralty, Captain Beaufort (founder of The Nautical Magazine, also reissued), approved the proposal that 'some well educated and scientific person' should join the expedition: Darwin was chosen. Fitzroy's descriptions of the locations visited and their natural history provide a fascinating counterpoint to Darwin's own account of the voyage, the first published version of which makes up Volume 3. Fitzroy refers regularly to the geographical and scientific books that he and Darwin kept in the ship's library. The majority of these are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

**SHORTLISTED FOR THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR** Alev Scott's odyssey began when she looked beyond Turkey's borders for contemporary traces of the Ottoman Empire. Their 800-year rule ended a century ago - and yet, travelling through twelve countries from Kosovo to Greece to Palestine, she uncovers a legacy that's vital and relevant; where medieval ethnic diversity meets 21st century nationalism, and displaced people seek new identities. It's a story of surprises. An acolyte of Erdogan in Christian-majority Serbia confirms the wide-reaching appeal of his authoritarian leadership. A Druze warlord explains the secretive religious faction in the heart of the Middle East. The palimpsest-like streets of Jerusalem's Old Town hint at the Ottoman co-existence of Muslims and Jews. And in Turkish Cyprus Alev Scott rediscovers a childhood home. In every community, history is present as a dynamic force. Faced by questions of exile, diaspora and collective memory, Alev Scott searches for answers from the cafes of Beirut to the refugee camps of Lesbos. She uncovers in Erdogan's nouveau-Ottoman Turkey a version of the nostalgic utopias sold to disillusioned voters in Europe and the U.S. And yet - as she relates with compassion, insight and humour - diversity is the enduring, endangered heart of this fascinating region.

A successful officer in the colonial Indian Medical Service, Glasgow-educated Laurence Austine Waddell (1854-1938) was fascinated by the landscapes and cultures of Darjeeling and Tibet, studied local languages, and spent his leisure time researching and writing on Tibetan topics. His earlier books The Buddhism of Tibet (1895) and Among the Himalayas (1899) are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. Waddell had attempted to enter Lhasa (then closed to foreigners) in disguise in 1892, but did not succeed until he accompanied the controversial British expedition to Tibet in 1903-4; he describes his arrival there as 'the realisation of a vivid and long-cherished dream'. His eyewitness account of how the 'peaceful mission' became an 'invasion' occupies the first half of this 1905 publication. The later chapters vividly portray the city and its inhabitants. The book includes more than a hundred of Waddell's own photographs, as well as maps and line drawings.

A naval officer and man of science, Basil Hall (1788-1844) commanded the brig HMS Lyra as part of Lord Amherst's 1816 embassy to the Qing court in China. While Amherst was engaged on his ultimately abortive venture, the mission's ships visited the west coast of Korea, and then travelled to the island of Okinawa (then known as the Great Loo-Choo Island), where they stayed for several weeks. Little was known about these regions in Britain, and this illustrated account of the journey offered many insights. As well as providing nautical data, such as surveys, soundings and meteorological observations, Hall also comments on geography and culture. A substantial vocabulary and primer on the Okinawan language, compiled by fellow naval officer H. J. Clifford, is included in the appendix. Hall's narratives of his later travels to both North and South America are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

James Grieve (1703 63), physician to Catherine the Great of Russia, and translator of this book, published posthumously in English in 1764, apologises in his 'Advertisement' for the crudeness and rambling nature of Stepan Krasheninnikov's original work, which nevertheless contains 'many very useful remarks, greatly contributing to the improvement of the trade, geography, and natural history, of the country he describes'. In 1755, Krasheninnikov (1711 55) had published his account of an expedition to Kamchatka between 1733 and 1743, under Vitus Bering, to increase knowledge of regions to the east, in particular whether a sea route to North America could be established. Krasheninnikov was to serve as a naturalist on the expedition, but he also took a keen interest in the geography, history and people of the lands he passed through. His narrative is a fascinating and detailed account of a huge area virtually unknown to the western world."

Following the mysterious disappearance of the La Perouse expedition after it sailed out of Botany Bay in 1788, the French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere (1755-1834) took part in the search that departed in 1791 from Brest in two ships, Recherche and Esperance. In the space of three years, the expedition's naturalists collected numerous specimens, with Labillardiere focusing on Australian flora, but their missing countrymen were never found. Notwithstanding the later confiscation of the scientific collections by the British - Sir Joseph Banks helped to secure their return - Labillardiere was able to publish this narrative to great acclaim in 1800. Reissued here is the English translation of the same year, complete with a volume of finely engraved plates. The work is especially notable for its descriptions and illustrations of the indigenous peoples of Australasia. Volume 1 covers the expedition from September 1791 through to January 1793, when it reached Tasmania.

Following the mysterious disappearance of the La Perouse expedition after it sailed out of Botany Bay in 1788, the French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere (1755-1834) took part in the search that departed in 1791 from Brest in two ships, Recherche and Esperance. In the space of three years, the expedition's naturalists collected numerous specimens, with Labillardiere focusing on Australian flora, but their missing countrymen were never found. Notwithstanding the later confiscation of the scientific collections by the British - Sir Joseph Banks helped to secure their return - Labillardiere was able to publish this narrative to great acclaim in 1800. Reissued here is the English translation of the same year, complete with a volume of finely engraved plates. The work is especially notable for its descriptions and illustrations of the indigenous peoples of Australasia. Volume 2 includes discussion of Tasmania, New Caledonia and the Friendly Islands, along with vocabulary lists.

Following the mysterious disappearance of the La Perouse expedition after it sailed out of Botany Bay in 1788, the French botanist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere (1755-1834) took part in the search that departed in 1791 from Brest in two ships, Recherche and Esperance. In the space of three years, the expedition's naturalists collected numerous specimens, with Labillardiere focusing on Australian flora, but their missing countrymen were never found. Notwithstanding the later confiscation of the scientific collections by the British - Sir Joseph Banks helped to secure their return - Labillardiere was able to publish this narrative to great acclaim in 1800. Reissued here is the English translation of the same year, complete with a volume of finely engraved plates. The work is especially notable for its descriptions and illustrations of the indigenous peoples of Australasia. This volume of illustrations contains more than forty plates depicting people, artefacts, plants and animals.

Sir Ernest Shackleton, known as a tough polar explorer and inspirational leader, also held the words of poets close to his heart. 'Poetry was his other world and he explored it as eagerly as he did the great Antarctic spaces,' said his friend, Mrs. Hope Guthrie. This new biography reveals another side of Shackleton's story through the poetry he loved. It also includes--for the first time in published form-- all the poems and poetic diary extracts written by the great explorer, each of which sheds light on significant milestones in his life and adventures. Shackleton, who did more than any other explorer to open Antarctica to the popular imagination, used poetry as a tool, to encourage and motivate men who were frequently operating close to their physical and psychological limits. The works of Tennyson, Browning and Robert W. Service were, in his own phrase, 'vital mental medicine' throughout his life. Poems influenced his speeches, his letters to his wife and the way he led his men. These verses, selected from his correspondence and other sources, are linked throughout the book to Shackleton's turbulent and restless life, offering fresh insights into his struggles in the Antarctic, his strained but loving marriage and the magnetic attraction of the polar regions. Shackleton: A life in Poetry is a love story, a new interpretation of a well-known Boy's Own adventure and a poetic exploration.

The Resolute was a merchant ship purchased by the Royal Navy for service in the search for the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Its first voyage to the Canadian Arctic, which took place between 1850 and 1851, proved fruitless, so a second, larger expedition was launched in 1852. Again the Resolute could find no trace of Franklin, and the crew came close to perishing themselves. With their ship trapped in ice, they endured the freezing temperatures and a harrowing trek to Beechey Island to survive. Published in 1857, the present work is the journal of George Frederick McDougall (c.1825-71), who served as master aboard the Resolute. The book features numerous woodcuts and plates, as well as an account of the ship's salvage by an American vessel. Notably, a desk made from the ship's timbers has been used by a number of American presidents in the White House.

An Irish-born adventurer in Russian service, Peter Dobell (1772 1852) embarked in 1812 on a long journey from Kamchatka across Siberia to Tomsk. This two-volume work, first published in 1830, contains a detailed and idiosyncratic account of his journey, painting an affectionate picture of the region and its people. The narrative includes ethnographic observations, descriptions of nights spent with local families, notes on the wildlife encountered, and discussion of the problems caused by the weather. Dobell also lived in China for many years, and his remarks on the experience are incorporated into the work. He gives opinionated observations on topics such as Chinese society, traditions, trade and medicine. Again, this narrative reflects Dobell's instinctive curiosity and enthusiasm. Volume 1 covers the first half of the journey, starting in Kamchatka and ending in Yakutsk."

An Irish-born adventurer in Russian service, Peter Dobell (1772 1852) embarked in 1812 on a long journey from Kamchatka across Siberia to Tomsk. This two-volume work, first published in 1830, contains a detailed and idiosyncratic account of his journey, painting an affectionate picture of the region and its people. The narrative includes ethnographic observations, descriptions of nights spent with local families, notes on the wildlife encountered, and discussion of the problems caused by the weather. Dobell also lived in China for many years, and his remarks on the experience are incorporated into the work. He gives opinionated observations on topics such as Chinese society, traditions, trade and medicine. Again, this narrative reflects Dobell's instinctive curiosity and enthusiasm. Volume 2 covers the concluding part of Dobell's Siberian travels, from Yakutsk to Tomsk. It also contains all of the chapters on China."

In June 1875, Frederick George Innes-Lillingston (1849 1904) set out for the Arctic aboard Pandora, a steam yacht captained by the seasoned polar explorer Allen Young (1827 1915). In this, the first of two voyages north, Young sought to make the north-west passage. His lieutenant Innes-Lillingston published this short account in 1876. It follows the voyage through to Peel Strait, where Young was forced to turn back in the face of heavy ice. On the journey home, the Pandora picked up the dispatches of the expedition under George Nares that was attempting to reach the North Pole. Conveying both the thrill and difficulty of the endeavour, this narrative provides a highly readable account of seafaring in extreme conditions. Also reissued in this series are two related works by Young: Cruise of the Pandora (1876) and The Two Voyages of the Pandora (1879)."

The Last Overland is the story behind the four-part documentary series on All 4 - the extraordinary journey of filmmaker Alex Bescoby and his team across 13,000 miles to recreate the legendary overlanding expedition of 1956. In 1955, a young TV producer named David Attenborough was approached by six recent graduates from Oxford and Cambridge universities determined to drive the entire length of Eurasia, as it was then known, from London to Singapore. It was the 'unclimbed Everest of motoring' - many had tried, none had succeeded. Sensing this time might be different, Attenborough gave The Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition enough film reel to cover their attempt. The 19,000-mile journey completed by Tim Slessor and the team was told in Attenborough's Travellers' Tales, and captivated a nation emerging from postwar austerity. Tim's book, The First Overland, was published shortly after and soon became the Bible of the overlanding religion. Inspired by Attenborough's comment fifty years on that it was a journey 'that I don't think could be made again today', Alex made contact with now eighty-six-year-old Tim and together they planned an epic recreation of the original trip, this time from Singapore to London. With their improbable team and the prospect of getting the original 'Oxford' - arguably the world's most famous Land Rover - home to London, their goal was to complete the heroic journey started more than sixty years earlier. In awe of the unstoppable Tim, and haunted by his own grandfather's deterioration due to tragedy and then dementia, Alex soon finds himself on the defining trip of his lifetime and discovers how the world has changed for better, and for worse, since the First Overland.