After his diplomatic sojourn in Syria as consul in Damascus, Richard Francis Burton (1821 90) published, in 1872, this two-volume account of nineteenth-century Syria. It is the result of collaboration with several partners with specific expertise, primarily Charles Frederick Tyrwhitt Drake (1846 74) but also Burton's wife. Throughout his life Burton immersed himself in as many different cultures as possible. His natural aptitude for languages and disguise allowed him to frequently pass himself off as a native. The two years he was consul were eventful, including local uprisings, an assassination attempt and religious strife. This work reveals the unknown and extraordinary side of Syria. Volume 2, based on extensive travels through the northern highlands and the eastern edges of the country, explores the anthropology, ancient history, archaeology and geology of these regions.

Charles Hall (1821-71) was neither seaman nor navigator, but by 1871 he had made two Arctic expeditions as a result of his fascination with the failed expedition of Franklin. With a grant from Congress, his Polaris voyage aimed to be the first U.S. expedition to the North Pole. Desertion, drunkenness, and disagreements beset the venture from the start, and by the time Hall reached the furthest northern point yet attained by an Arctic explorer, crew discipline had broken down completely. Using official papers and crew journals, this 1876 work by C. H. Davis for the U.S. Navy recounts Hall's sudden death (after accusing his crew of poisoning him), the failed attempt to reach the Pole, and the abandonment of half the crew left drifting for 2500 kilometres on an ice floe. With the mystery of Hall's death and the story of the crew's survival, this is an epic tale of human endurance.

In 1816, an expedition to Africa, commanded by Captain James Tuckey (1776-1816), set out on HMS Congo, accompanied by the storeship Dorothy. The aim was to discover more about African geography - of which relatively little was then known - and in particular the connection between the River Congo, also known as the Zaire, and the Niger Basin. The mission failed when eighteen crew members, including Tuckey, died from virulent fevers and attacks by hostile natives. However, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty gave permission for publication of Tuckey's notes, and those of his Norwegian botanist Christen Smith (1785-1816), who also died during the voyage. First published in 1818, the work comprises their narratives of the doomed expedition. At the time it aroused Western interest in Africa, encouraging further research, and it remains of interest to geographers, botanists and scholars of African studies today.

Sir James Edward Alexander (1803 85), an officer in the British Army, travelled the world extensively and published over a dozen fascinating accounts of his journeys. A passionate and intrepid explorer, Alexander was instrumental in ensuring the safe transfer of Cleopatra's Needle from Egypt to England in 1877. Demonstrating the same humour with which his writing is imbued, he later buried pictures of the twelve most beautiful English women of the time at the base of the Needle. Published in 1833, this two-volume work offers insights into the landscapes, peoples and practices of the Americas. With wit and eloquence, Alexander takes the reader with him on his adventures, but also provides significant commentary on the slave populations he encountered. Volume 2 covers Alexander's journey through North America and his return to England.

In 1676, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-89), French merchant, traveller and pioneer of trade with India, published an account of his journey through India. This two-volume translation, published in 1889 by Irish geologist Valentine Ball (1843-94), includes a biographical sketch of the author, notes and appendices. Tavernier begins his tale with the declaration that 'I came into this world to travel.' As well as most of Europe, he visited large areas of Turkey, Persia and India (where he acquired the great gem, now known as the Hope Diamond, which he sold to Louis XIV), and sailed to Java. In Volume 1, Tavernier sets out from Isfahan to Agra and Delhi; he then supplies a historical and political description of the empire of Shah Jahan and his successors. An appendix provides details about the values of coins, weights and measures mentioned by Tavernier in the original work.

In 1676, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605-89), French merchant, traveller and pioneer of trade with India, published an account of his journey through India. This two-volume translation, published in 1889 by Irish geologist Valentine Ball (1843-94), includes a biographical sketch of the author, notes and appendices. Tavernier begins his tale with the declaration that 'I came into this world to travel.' As well as most of Europe, he visited large areas of Turkey, Persia and India (where he acquired the great gem, now known as the Hope Diamond, which he sold to Louis XIV), and sailed to Java. Volume 2 continues his history of India, and describes Hindi and Muslim religious practices; Tavernier then continues to the Dutch territories in the East Indies and returns home on a Dutch ship via St Helena. Tavernier's interest in the details of everything he saw makes this work a fascinating read.

The Russo-American Telegraph Project of 1865-7 was truly monumental. Although plans to lay cable from San Francisco to Moscow via Alaska and Siberia were superseded by the laying of the sub-Atlantic cable, one of the benefits of the enterprise was the knowledge of the area gained by those engineers and explorers sent out to assess the task. Publication of their experiences and travels followed and one such work was this journal by Richard James Bush, first published in 1871 by Harper & Brothers, describing his adventures in Siberia between 1865 and 1867. Bush makes it clear that this is not a scientific account, but a travel narrative containing observations of his time in the Kamchatka Peninsula and the area of Siberia by the Sea of Okhotsk, of herding deer and life in the tundra. The engagingly written book is illustrated with fine drawings of the region by Bush himself.

W. H. B. Webster (1793 1875) studied medicine and surgery in London, and in 1815 signed up to serve in the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon. Because it was peacetime, however, he did not secure a position until 1828, when he was posted as ship's surgeon on the South Atlantic scientific mission of H.M.S. Chanticleer under Captain Henry Foster (1796 1831), a Fellow of the Royal Society with extensive experience of surveying expeditions. Published in 1834, this is Webster's two-volume account of the Chanticleer voyage, the objectives of which included work on longitudes, and carrying out gravity pendulum experiments at various latitudes to attempt more accurate calculation of the shape of the earth. Volume 1 covers the first two years of the voyage, and records Webster's impressions of South America, South Shetland (including some of the earliest scientific experiments in the Antarctic), South Africa, St Helena and Ascension Island."

W. H. B. Webster (1793 1875) studied medicine and surgery in London, and in 1815 signed up to serve in the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon. Because it was peacetime, however, he did not secure a position until 1828, when he was posted as ship's surgeon on the South Atlantic scientific mission of H.M.S. Chanticleer under Captain Henry Foster (1796 1831), a Fellow of the Royal Society with extensive experience of surveying expeditions. Published in 1834, this is Webster's two-volume account of the Chanticleer voyage, the objectives of which included work on longitudes, and carrying out gravity pendulum experiments at various latitudes to attempt more accurate calculation of the shape of the earth. Volume 2 describes Central America and Panama, where, after successfully completing longitude measurements using rockets, Captain Foster tragically drowned. The second half of the volume summarises the scientific observations made during the voyage, and contains the cumulative index."

Robert Peary (1856-1920) was an American Arctic explorer. For much of the twentieth century, he was for many years credited with being, in 1909, the first man to reach the North Pole, although this has recently been questioned. Born in Cresson, Pennsylvania, Peary graduated from Bowdoin College in 1877 and joined the US Navy in 1881. He began his Arctic expeditions in 1886, exploring Greenland for a number of years in search of a route to the Pole. Published in 1893, this illustrated book consists of two parts. Drawing on the diaries of the expedition's surgeon, Robert Keely, Part I describes the journey that took Peary to Greenland in 1891. Part II uses the journal of the botanist William Meehan to describe the 1892 expedition to bring the exploring party home. The book includes transcripts of the logs of Richard Pike, captain of the Kite on both voyages.

Educated at Sandhurst, Sir George Grey (1812 98) became Governor of South Australia when he was not yet thirty. Later he served as Governor of New Zealand and High Commissioner for South Africa, and in the 1870s he enjoyed a period as premier of New Zealand. Although he liked to portray himself as 'good Governor Grey', some of his contemporaries found him ruthless and manipulative. Like many other Victorian administrators, he was convinced that the 'savage' natives needed to be 'improved' in order to become more like Europeans. In this 1841 publication, Grey writes about two expeditions to North West Australia that took place under his leadership in 1837 9. Both expeditions encountered difficulties, and Grey himself was seriously wounded. In Volume 2, Grey focuses on the language and culture of the native Australians, and reveals his plans for 'raising' the Aborigines to what he regards a 'civilised' level.

The French general and historian Philippe-Paul, Comte de S gur (1780 1873) served as a member of Napoleon's personal staff during the Russian campaign. He had joined the cavalry in 1800 and had distinguished himself during earlier episodes of the European war; this led to him being chosen for several diplomatic missions. His two-volume account of the invasion of Russia, first published in French in 1824, has been through many editions and has been translated into many languages. It is both a military history and an eyewitness account. This English translation was first published in 1825 and remains immensely valuable to historians' understanding of Napoleon's ultimately disastrous Russian strategy. Volume 1 begins with the reasons behind the decision to invade and includes the Battle of Borodino, in which over seventy thousand people were killed. It concludes on 12 September 1812, two days before Napoleon's army reached Moscow.

The French general and historian Philippe-Paul, Comte de S gur (1780 1873) served as a member of Napoleon's personal staff during the Russian campaign. He had joined the cavalry in 1800 and had distinguished himself during earlier episodes of the European war; this led to him being chosen for several diplomatic missions. His two-volume account of the invasion of Russia, first published in French in 1824, has been through many editions and has been translated into many languages. It is both a military history and an eyewitness account. This English translation was first published in 1825 and remains immensely valuable to historians' understanding of Napoleon's ultimately disastrous Russian strategy. Volume 2 begins with Napoleon's arrival in Moscow on 14 September 1812. The remainder of the book charts the events of the army's retreat, details the conditions endured and the lives lost in the course of it.

Educated at Sandhurst, Sir George Grey (1812 98) became Governor of South Australia when he was not yet thirty. Later he served as Governor of New Zealand and High Commissioner for South Africa, and in the 1870s he enjoyed a period as Premier of New Zealand. Although he liked to portray himself as 'good Governor Grey' some of his contemporaries found him ruthless and manipulative. Like many other Victorian administrators, he was convinced that the 'savage' natives needed to be 'raised' properly in order to become more like Europeans. In this 1841 publication, Grey writes about two expeditions to North West Australia that took place under his leadership in 1837 9. In Volume 1, he tells of the difficulties that the expedition encountered while seeking a site for settlement, including an incident when the spear of a 'coloured man' wounded him and he shot the 'wretched savage'.

Sir John Franklin (1786 1847) joined the Navy at the age of fourteen and saw action at Copenhagen and Trafalgar. Between those battles, he circumnavigated Australia with his uncle, Matthew Flinders; he became famous after his first major expedition to northern Canada in 1819 22, although it resulted in the deaths of over half of his men. Accounts of both of these voyages are also reissued in this series. Franklin returned to the Arctic in 1825, and this, his second book, describes that more successful endeavour. Published in 1828, it records the expedition's planning, route, scientific observations, and the mapping of over 1200 miles of Canada's northern coastline. The party included two artists, and their work is reproduced in over thirty engravings. Franklin was later posted to the Mediterranean and Tasmania, but in 1845 embarked on his disastrous third expedition to the North-West Passage, during which he and his entire crew were lost.

George Cartwright (1739 1819) was a soldier, trader and explorer who spent sixteen years travelling and working in Labrador in northern Canada. In 1754, he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in London before taking up a commission in the Indian army. In 1760, he served in the Seven Years' War, returning to England with the rank of Captain. After his army career, he turned to exploration and set himself up as a trader along the Labrador coast of Canada, making six expeditions from 1770 86 between Cape St Charles and Hamilton Inlet. Published in 1792, this is the first book in a three-volume work that recounts the author's adventures along the Labrador coast, vividly portraying the land and the culture of the indigenous peoples. It covers Cartwright's first two expeditions (1770 3), and opens with a short autobiography. Each volume also includes a glossary of unusual terms.

George Cartwright (1739 1819) was a soldier, trader and explorer who spent sixteen years travelling and working in Labrador in northern Canada. In 1754, he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in London before taking up a commission in the Indian army. In 1760, he served in the Seven Years' War, returning to England with the rank of Captain. After his army career, he turned to exploration and set himself up as a trader along the Labrador coast of Canada, making six expeditions from 1770 86 between Cape St Charles and Hamilton Inlet. Published in 1792, this is the second book in a three-volume work that recounts the author's adventures along the Labrador coast, vividly portraying the land and the culture of the indigenous peoples. This volume covers Cartwright's third and fourth expeditions, between 1773 and 1779. Each volume also includes a glossary of unusual terms.

George Cartwright (1739 1819) was a soldier, trader and explorer who spent sixteen years travelling and working in Labrador in northern Canada. In 1754, he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in London before taking up a commission in the Indian army. In 1760, he served in the Seven Years' War, returning to England with the rank of Captain. After his army career, he turned to exploration and set himself up as a trader along the Labrador coast of Canada, making six expeditions from 1770 86 between Cape St Charles and Hamilton Inlet. Published in 1792, this is the last book of a three-volume work that recounts the author's adventures along the Labrador coast, vividly portraying the land and the culture of the indigenous peoples. This volume covers Cartwright's fifth and sixth expeditions (1783 6). Each volume also includes a glossary of unusual terms.

First published in 1823, this book narrates the disastrous expedition undertaken by Naval officer and Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin up the Coppermine River in North America. Franklin (1786 1847) and nineteen others set out in 1819, initially with guides from the Hudson Bay Company until the journey continued overland, when they relied on Native Americans as guides. The party ran short of supplies and, lacking adequate knowledge for survival, were reduced to eating lichens. One of the party was suspected of eating the bodies of the nine men who had died of exposure and starvation, and two more were killed in a subsequent skirmish. The book was immediately popular on publication and quickly became a travel literature classic. Franklin undertook a second, more successful Arctic journey (the account of which is also published in this series) before setting out on his final expedition of 1845, which ended in tragedy and enduring mystery.

Published posthumously in 1889, this journal records the 1850-5 expedition undertaken by naval officer and navigator Sir Richard Collinson (1811-83) to attempt to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin's expedition by entering the hypothetical North-West Passage from the 'other side', via Bering Strait. Franklin, the famous Polar explorer, disappeared on an expedition to discover the Passage in 1845, and no fewer than thirty attempts were made between 1847 and 1859 to investigate what had happened to his 129-strong party. Collinson set out in command of HMS Enterprise in 1850, and his ship, which passed three successive winters in the Arctic, came closest to the place where Franklin's expedition was believed to have ended. Collinson was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 1858 for making a significant contribution to the geographical knowledge of the area, and he was knighted in 1875.

Robert Scoresby-Jackson (1833-67), physician and geographer, was the grandson of Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby senior, and nephew to Arctic explorer, scientist, clergyman and social reformer William Scoresby junior (1789-1857). First published in 1861, this biography recounts the many years the younger Scoresby spent exploring the northern seas, and his life after his trips to the Arctic ceased. Scoresby entered the Anglican church in 1822, and went on to work in several parishes across England. The book also describes Scoresby's personal tragedies, his efforts towards social reform, and his important research on magnetism, on which he worked for much of his adult life. The appendix includes a list of his publications, the honours bestowed on him, and an extract from his will bequeathing some of his most valued instruments to the public museum at Whitby, the home port for his and his father's early whaling expeditions.

William Scoresby junior (1789-1857), explorer, scientist, and later Church of England clergyman, first travelled to the Arctic when he was just ten years old. The son of Arctic whaler and navigator William Scoresby of Whitby, he spent nearly every summer for twenty years at a Greenland whale fishery. He made significant discoveries in Arctic geography, meteorology, oceanography, and magnetism, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1824. First published in 1823, this book recounts Scoresby's voyage to Greenland in the summer of 1822 aboard the Baffin, a whaler of his own design. On this journey, his penultimate voyage to the north, he charted a large section of the coast of Greenland. His narrative also includes descriptions of scientific observations and geographical discoveries made during the voyage, and the appendices includes lists of rock specimens, plants and animal life, and notes on meteorological and other data.

In 1860, Charles Francis Hall (1821-71), the American polar explorer, embarked on the first of two voyages to the Canadian Arctic region aimed at investigating the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of 1847. During his time in the Arctic, Hall lived amongst the Inuit community, learning their language and embracing their everyday life. First published in 1864, Hall's recollections remain of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. His eye-witness accounts of the indigenous people's dwellings, interpersonal relationships, hunting pursuits, birth and death rites, methods of transport, and survival strategies in severe weather conditions provide an insight into Inuit culture in the nineteenth century. Volume 1 describes Hall's journey north, arrival at Holsteinborg, the Danish administrative centre in Greenland, and onward voyage to Baffin Island, where his search for traces of Franklin, and his experience of Inuit life, began.

In 1860, Charles Francis Hall (1821-71), the American explorer, embarked on the first of two voyages to the Canadian Arctic region aimed at investigating the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of 1847. During his time in the Arctic, Hall lived amongst the Inuit community, learning their language and embracing their everyday life. First published in 1864, Hall's two-volume work remains of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. His eye-witness accounts of the indigenous people's dwellings, hunting pursuits, birth and death rites, transportation, interpersonal relationships, and survival strategies in severe weather conditions provide an insight into Inuit culture in the nineteenth century. In Volume 2 he tells of his discovery in Frobisher Bay of artefacts from Martin Frobisher's sixteenth-century mining venture; the survival of these relics, together with his understanding of Inuit memory systems, convinces him that traces of Franklin and his crew may yet be found.

Elisha Kent Kane (1820-57) was a medical officer in the United States Navy, best known for the so-called 'Grinnell voyages' to the Arctic in search of Sir John Franklin's expedition. Originally published in 1856, this two-volume work documents his second expedition, between 1853 and 1855, during which his ship became ice-bound, and he and his men survived by adopting Inuit survival skills, such as hunting, sledge-driving and hut-building. In Volume 1, Kane recounts the dangers posed by icebergs, glaciers and fluctuating tides, which led to his ship's entrapment, and records his impressions of the Inuit whom he later relied on for survival. Along with extensive illustrations of the animals, terrain and people encountered on his mission, and a useful glossary of Arctic terms, Kane's writings reveal his own controversial personality as well as his relationship with the Inuit and his admiration for their skills.