'James Seay Dean is the noted authority on these voyages ... he provides a sympathetic treatment of life aboard ship in some of the most challenging circumstances these redoubtable sailors faced "beyond the line".' - Professor Barry Gough, maritime historian 'A fascinating and informative account of the development of Tudor and Stuart sailing ships. Its examination of their architecture, sailing, and tactics, especially as it is set within the international political context, makes a most interesting story.' - Bryan Barrett, Commander RN, ret. From jacktar to captain, what was life like aboard an Elizabethan ship? How did the men survive tropical heat, storms, bad water, rotten food, disease, poor navigation, shifting cargoes and enemy fire? Would a sailor return alive? Sea Dogs follows in the footsteps of the average sailor, drawing from the accounts of sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century ocean voyages to convey the realities of everyday life aboard the galleons sailing between England and the West Indies and beyond. Celebrating the extraordinary drive and courage of those early sailors who left the familiarity of their English estuaries for the dangers of the Cabo Verde and the Caribbean, the Rivers Amazonas and Orinoco, and the Strait of Magellan, and their remarkable achievements, Sea Dogs is essential reading for anyone with an interest in English maritime heritage.

Animal Explorers is a wonderful picture book series that will inspire all budding travellers and explorers to follow their dreams. Lola the polar bear has a passion for plants. She's determined to find the rarest ones on the planet. So Lola makes a grand decision: she's going to trek to the Amazon jungle! It's hard work for a polar bear, but nothing holds Lola back. And there's a prize for her at the end of it, when she discovers the elusive Singing Orchid! Animal Explorers is a witty, entertaining picture-book series that will inspire children to follow their dreams. Sharon Rentta's glowing illustrations are packed withfabulous characters and funny details to point out and share Mini biographies at the end of the book tell the amazing stories of three real-life explorers Also in the Animal Explorers series: Stella the Astronaut, in which an adventurous squirrel dreams of being the first of her kind in space. Toby the Deep-Sea Diver, in which a young tiger longs to explore the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean. Praise for Sharon Rentta's books: "Rentta's illustrations are first class . . . destined to become a favourite." Carousel "full of colour and joy . . . great to read out loud" Books for Keeps

* NOW A MAJOR DOCUMENTARY SERIES ON ALL 4 * ‘This is a fabulous adventure – reckless, insanely ambitious and filled with sweat, tears and laughter ... irresistible reading.’ Joanna Lumley ‘Alex Bescoby weaves travel, adventure, history and the contemporary together like no one else. His great gift is to take us on a journey through past and present. By its end we have learned more about the world and ourselves.’ Dan Snow _______________________________________________________________ ‘A journey that I don’t think could be made again today’. It was this comment by Sir David Attenborough on the fiftieth anniversary of the iconic First Overland expedition that became an irresistible challenge for filmmaker and adventurer Alex Bescoby. In 1955, Attenborough, then a young TV producer, was approached by six recent university graduates determined to drive the entire length of ‘Eurasia’, 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 expedition enough film reel to cover their attempt. The 19,000-mile journey completed by Tim Slessor and the team captivated a nation emerging from postwar austerity. Tim’s book, The First Overland, soon became the bible of the overlanding religion. Inspired by the First Overland, 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. Their goal was to complete the legendary journey started more than sixty years ago in the original ‘Oxford’ Land Rover. In awe of the unstoppable Tim, and haunted by his own grandfather’s declining health, Alex and his team soon find themselves battling rough roads, breakdowns and Oxford’s constantly leaky roof to discover a world changed for the better ­­– and worse – since the first expedition.

The true tale of a voyage that broke a man down and built him back up, with the help of one special horse. At 37 Jesse McNeil - at times carpenter, commercial fisherman, dabbler in real estate - decided to buy an untrained horse, make himself into a horseman, and ride all the way across the United States, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. A fiercely independent traveler, Jesse had navigated previous coast-to-coast trips - solo journeys by moped, bicycle, and small airplane. This time, however, he had a partner: a five-year-old Tennessee Walking Horse named Pepper. An inexperienced horseman with an equally inexperienced mount, Jesse would quickly discover the immense challenges of his new undertaking. Over the course of eight months and fourteen states - beginning in Oregon and ending on a beach in New Hampshire - he would be tested many times over as he learned not only what it took to keep Pepper safe and healthy, but the true value of qualities that he had once easily dismissed: patience and companionship. The generosity of strangers, from helpful ranchers and storekeepers to suburban families, shaped the pair's journey east. And while at some points the miles didn't unfold as Jesse hoped, others yielded unexpected events that changed his perspective - and quite possibly, his future. Written with honesty, grit, and grace, On the Hoof captures an arduous voyage that broke a man down and built him back up, with the help of one special horse.

On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface. Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, "Which one are you?" This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley's famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States.

Shortlisted for the 2019 Edward Stanford Award '[A] rollicking Boys' Own adventure' - Spectator 'This heart-stopping personal account of historic Arabia today.' - Compass Magazine Following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, Arabia is an insight into Levison Wood's most complex and daring expedition yet: an epic and unprecedented 5000-mile journey through 13 countries, circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula. Honest, reflective and poignant, Arabia is a historical, religious and spiritual journey, through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on Earth. Exploring the Middle East through the lives, hearts and hopes of its people, Levison Wood challenges the perceptions of an often misunderstood part of the world, seeing how the region has changed and examining the stories we don't often hear about in the media.

Winner of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild Award for Excellence: Outdoor Book 2019 Chris Townsend embarks on a 700-mile walk along the spine of Scotland, the line of high ground where fallen rain runs either west to the Atlantic or east to the North Sea. Walking before the Independence Referendum of 2014, and writing after the EU Referendum of 2016, he reflects on: nature and history, conservation and rewilding, land use and literature, and change in a time of limitless potential for both better and worse.

Heart of the Hero' gives a compelling insight into the lives of some of the world’s most famous explorers, through the eyes of the women who inspired them to achieve great things. Author Kari Herbert explores the unpredictable, often heartbreaking stories of seven remarkable women who were indispensable companions, intrepid travellers and sometimes even the driving force behind our best-loved polar heroes, such as Scott and Shackleton. Drawing on her own unique experience as the daughter of a pioneering polar explorer, and using extracts from previously unpublished historic journals and letters, Herbert blends deeply personal accounts of longing, betrayal and hope with tales of peril and adventure.

In the mid-nineteenth century, thirty-six expeditions set out for the Northwest Passage in search of Sir John Franklin's missing expedition. The array of visual and textual material produced on these voyages was to have a profound impact on the idea of the Arctic in the Victorian imaginary. Eavan O'Dochartaigh closely examines neglected archival sources to show how pictures created in the Arctic fed into a metropolitan view transmitted through engravings, lithographs, and panoramas. Although the metropolitan Arctic revolved around a fulcrum of heroism, terror and the sublime, the visual culture of the ship reveals a more complicated narrative that included cross-dressing, theatricals, dressmaking, and dances with local communities. O'Dochartaigh's investigation into the nature of the on-board visual culture of the nineteenth-century Arctic presents a compelling challenge to the 'man-versus-nature' trope that still reverberates in polar imaginaries today. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

When Columbus first returned to Spain from the Caribbean, he dazzled King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella with exotic parrots, tropical flowers, and bits of gold. Inspired by the promise of riches, countless seafarers poured out of the Iberian Peninsula and wider Europe in search of spices, treasure, and land. Many returned with strange tales of the New World.

Curiosity began to percolate through Europe as the New World s people, animals, and plants ruptured prior assumptions about the biblical description of creation. The Church, long fearful of challenges to its authority, could no longer suppress the mantra Dare to know

Noblemen began collecting cabinets of curiosities; soon others went from collecting to examining natural objects with fresh eyes. Observation led to experiments; competing conclusions triggered debates. The foundations for the natural sciences were laid as questions became more multifaceted and answers became more complex. Carl Linneaus developed a classification system and sent students around the globe looking for specimens. Museums, botanical gardens, and philosophical societies turned their attention to nature. National governments undertook explorations of the Pacific.

Eminent historian Joyce Appleby vividly recounts the explorers triumphs and mishaps, including Magellan s violent death in the Philippines; the miserable trek of the new Argonauts across the Andes on their mission to determine the true shape of the earth; and how two brilliant scientists, Alexander Humboldt and Charles Darwin, traveled to the Americas for evidence to confirm their hypotheses about the earth and its inhabitants. Drawing on detailed eyewitness accounts, Appleby also tells of the turmoil created in the all societies touched by the explorations.

This sweeping, global story imbues the Age of Discovery with fresh meaning, elegantly charting its stimulation of the natural sciences, which ultimately propelled Western Europe toward modernity."

Flowers in a Thorn Tree is the story of wildlife conservation in Northern Kenya. Over three years, Thackston made several trips to Kenya, whereupon he would imbed with ranger units of the Northern Rangelands Trust. They’re known as the Warriors for Peace and Wildlife. He lived off a troop-carrier. He would patrol, eat and sleep with the rangers, photographing them as they chased poachers, murderers, and as they worked within the pastoral communities. In this regard, the book is very much an “On the Road,” book. The aim of the photographer is to show and let the pictures tell, in a nonlinear and organic manner. NRT rangers work both on and off of their respective conservancies (there are 5 ranger groups, the 9-1 through the 9-5 sprinkled throughout northern Kenya.) Amongst the pastoral peoples, they have contacts who tell them about the movements of animal herds and potential poaching rings. They also work as peacekeepers within these communities with the idea that a happy and stable community is less likely to feel the need to poach an endangered animal. The mission to change the hearts and minds of the pastoral people regarding the treatment of endangered animals, is instilled within the ranks of the ranger units. The elephants and rhinos that appear in this book are all rescue animals or live on conservancies. They would probably not be alive without the efforts of men, particularly the rangers who populate my book. The rangers believe in their work. This group of humble men have one of the most important jobs in the world and they are succeeding. That’s good for you and me and our families.

At dusk on 24 September 1975, Doug Scott and Dougal Haston became the first Britons to reach the summit of Everest as lead climbers on Chris Bonington's epic expedition to the mountain's immense south-west face.As darkness fell, Scott and Haston scraped a small cave in the snow 100 metres below the summit and survived the highest bivouac ever - without bottled oxygen, sleeping bags and, as it turned out, frostbite. For Doug Scott, it was the fulfilment of a fortune-teller's prophecy given to his mother: that her eldest son would be in danger in a high place with the whole world watching.Scott and Haston returned home national heroes with their image splashed across the front pages. Scott went on to become one of Britain's greatest ever mountaineers, pioneering new climbs in the remotest corners of the globe. His career spans the golden age of British climbing from the 1960s boom in outdoor adventure to the new wave of lightweight alpinism throughout the 1970s and 1980s.In Up and About, the first volume of his autobiography, Scott tells his story from his birth in Nottingham during the darkest days of war to the summit of the world.Surviving the unplanned bivouac without oxygen near the summit of Everest widened the range of what and how he would climb in the future. In fact, Scott established more climbs on the high mountains of the world after his ascent of Everest than before. Those climbs will be covered in the second volume of his life and times.

On 19 November 1838 James Bell, then aged 21, set out in the sailing vessel the Planter from St Katharine Docks in London to travel to Adelaide, an infant colony half a world away and not yet two years old. He left behind family, good friends and the mysterious 'C.P.', a young woman with whom he hoped one day to be reunited. The journey usually took 130 days, but due to the incompetence of the captain and the many misadventures encountered it took the Planter almost six months to reach its destination. Along the way it lost a crew, several passengers and much livestock; it gained a new crew and at least one extra passenger. The drunken brawls and licentious couplings horrified James Bell who, to while away the time, penned a detailed account of all the comings and goings for the eyes of 'C.P.' only, sternly advising her that 'it must never be read by a third party'. Sustained by his sense of adventure, his love of poetry, his faith in his Presbyterian God, his nostalgic memories of rural Scotland and particularly by his affection for 'C.P.', James Bell maintained a vivid and astute record of his historic journey. His voice travels down to us, more than a century and a half later, and reminds us of the dangers and joys of such an adventurous leap into the unknown.

On a bright July morning in 1870 the British explorer George Hayward was brutally murdered high in the Hindu Kush. Who was he, what had brought him to this wild spot, and why was he killed? Told in full for the first time, this is the gripping tale of Hayward's journey from a Yorkshire childhood to a place at the forefront of the 'Great Game' between the British Raj and the Russian Empire, and of how, driven by 'an insane desire', he crossed the Western Himalayas, tangled with despotic chieftains and ended up on the wrong side of both the Raj and the mighty Maharaja of Kashmir. It is also the tale of the conspiracies that surrounded his death, while the author's own travels in Hayward's footsteps bring the story up to date, and reveal how the echoes of the Great Game still reverberate across Central Asiain the twenty-first century.

Nigel Barley travels to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia to live among the Torajan people, known for their spectacular buildings and elaborate ancestor cults. At last he is following his own advice to students, to do their anthropological fieldwork `somewhere where the inhabitants are beautiful, friendly, where you would like the food and there are nice flowers. With his customary wit and delight in the telling detail, he takes the reader deep into this complex but adaptable society. The mutual warmth of his friendships allows Barley to reverse the habitual patterns of anthropology. He becomes host to four Torajan carvers in London, invited to build a traditional rice barn at the Museum of Mankind. The observer becomes the observed, and it is Barley s turn to explain the absurd complexities of an English city to his bemused but tolerant guests in a magnificent, self critical finale. Not a Hazardous Sport provides a magnificent end to a trilogy of anthropological journeys that began with The Innocent Anthropologist and A Plague of Caterpillars (both published by Eland). A postscript, penned thirty years after these adventures had been concluded, confirms the rich arc of this storyline of role reversals.

Throughout 1949 and 1950 H.W. 'Bill' Tilman mounted pioneering expeditions to Nepal and its Himalayan mountains, taking advantage of some of the first access to the country for Western travellers in the 20th century. Tilman and his party-including a certain Sherpa Tenzing Norgay-trekked into the Kathmandu Valley and on to the Langtang region, where the highs and lows began. They first explored the Ganesh Himal, before moving on to the Jugal Himal and the following season embarking on an ambitious trip to Annapurna and Everest. Manaslu was their first objective, but left to 'better men', and Annapurna IV very nearly climbed instead but for bad weather which dogged the whole expedition. Needless to say, Tilman was leading some very lightweight expeditions into some seriously heavyweight mountains. After the Annapurna adventure Tilman headed to Everest with-among others-Dr Charles Houston. Approaching from the delights of Namche Bazaar, the party made progress up the flanks of Pumori to gaze as best they could into the Western Cwm, and at the South Col and South-East Ridge approach to the summit of Everest. His observations were both optimistic and pessimistic: 'One cannot write off the south side as impossible until the approach from the head of the West Cwm to this remarkably airy col has been seen.' But then of the West Cwm: 'A trench overhung by these two tremendous walls might easily become a grave for any party which pitched its camp there.' Nepal Himalaya presents Tilman's favourite sketches, encounters with endless yetis, trouble with the porters, his obsessive relationship with alcohol and issues with the food. And so Tilman departs Nepal for the last time proper with these retiring words: 'If a man feels he is failing to achieve this stern standard he should perhaps withdraw from a field of such high endeavour as the Himalaya.'

In Sawbill Jennifer Case watches her family suddenly exchange their rooted existence for a series of relocations that take them across the United States. In response Case struggles to "live in place" without a geographical home, a struggle that leads her to search for grounding in the now-dismantled fishing resort her grandparents ran in northeastern Minnesota. By chronicling her migratory adulthood alongside the similarly unpredictable history of Sawbill Lodge, this memoir offers a resonant meditation on home, family, environment, and the human desire for place in the inherently mobile twenty-first century.

Exploration has never been more popular and any idea that there is nowhere left to explore is instantly disproved by the contemporary explorers who are showcased here. Most of the accounts are written by the explorers themselves, and they all vividly describe challenging and extraordinary expeditions to some of the remotest parts of the world, in extremes of temperature and aridity, often alone and on the edge of danger. Some of these explorers are very experienced and are already celebrated worldwide, others are young and less well known and just starting to make their mark; all are driven by ambition, aspiration and passion. With 25 illustrations

This collection of true diving stories makes for compelling reading for all divers and would-be divers. Enjoy classic tales of this extreme watersport, from thrilling wreck discoveries to encounters with the bizarre and the beautiful. There are stories of death and disaster, as well as bravery and triumph. Tales of the exciting and the extreme rub shoulders with more poetic pieces about the people and places that make up the folklore of this fascinating sport. The author's global tour takes you everywhere, from Indonesia to the Caribbean and from the chill waters of Northern Europe to the reefs of the Pacific. Every ocean of the world is explored, making this essential reading - or a wonderful gift - for divers everywhere. This new edition sees the book return to hardback with a plate section of stunning colour photographs.

A collection of writings on travels undertaken in the Victorian era. The texts collected in these volumes show how 19th century travel literature served the interests of empire by promoting British political and economic values that translated into manufacturing goods.

My eyes lifted to the horizon and the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest. Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs and films but never in real life. In April 2018, seasoned adventurer Ben Fogle and Olympic cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on their most exhausting challenge yet - climbing Everest for the British Red Cross to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face. It would be harrowing and exhilarating in equal measure as they walked the fine line between life and death 8,000 metres above sea level. For Ben, the seven-week expedition into the death zone was to become the adventure of a lifetime, as well as a humbling and enlightening journey. For his wife Marina, holding the family together at home, it was an agonising wait for news. Together, they dedicated the experience to their son, Willem Fogle, stillborn at eight months. Cradling little Willem to say goodbye, Ben and Marina made a promise to live brightly. To embrace every day. To always smile. To be positive and to inspire. And from the depths of their grief and dedication, Ben's Everest dream was born. Up, from here the only way was Up. Part memoir, part thrilling adventure, Ben and Marina's account of his ascent to the roof of the world is told with their signature humour and warmth, as well as with profound compassion.

One of the finest mountaineering books. A phenomenal tale of strength and valour. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JOE SIMPSON In 1950, no mountain higher than 8,000 meters had ever been climbed. Maurice Herzog and other members of the French Alpine Club resolved to try. This is the enthralling story of the first conquest of Annapurna and the harrowing descent. With breathtaking courage and grit manifest on every page, Annapurna is one of the greatest adventure stories ever told. As well as an introduction by Joe Simpson, this new edition includes 16 pages of photographs, which provide a remarkable visual record of this legendary expedition. The distinguished French mountaineer Maurice Herzog was leader of the 1950 expedition to Annapurna. He was one of the two climbers to reach the summit.

Part of the TED series: The Boiling River This fantastical tale - which sent scores of Spanish conquistadores to their death during the great age of discovery - paints an intoxicating image of shamans and spells, forest-dwelling creatures and a river so hot it can boil your tea - or cook you alive. Ruzo relays the thrill of scientific discovery, the challenge of ecological conservation and the exuberant knowledge that natural wonders still holds many secrets. Ruzo's underlying message is one that will resonate deeply with readers around the world. He makes the compelling case that there are still extraordinary natural wonders to be discovered, but the chance of finding them is in jeopardy if we don't actively protect the environment. A National Geographic Young Explorer, Ruzo's fresh and exciting voice brings to life the Peruvian legend of the river, deep in the Amazon, that boils as if a fire burns below. The story haunted Ruzo throughout his childhood; until twenty years on, Ruzo - now a geologist - heard his aunt mention visiting this strange and mysterious river. Determined to prove it a legend, Ruzo set out on a journey deep, the results of which would astound him and lead him to a new obsession, discovering the secret behind this boiling river. Ultimately, The Boiling River is more than a quest for scientific discovery - it's the journey of a young man trying to understand his moral obligation to protect a sacred site from misuse, neglect, and even from his own discovery.