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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Geographical discovery & exploration
This is an eminent polar scientist's account of six expeditions to
the 'frozen continent' while working with the US Antarctic Program.
The book combines first-person narrative and outstanding
photography to record the events, the feelings, the results, and
the memories of conducting research in one of Earth's most remote
and hostile environments. This book is not just about science, but
about adventures in the pursuit of science.
From the first account of "Colter's Run," published in 1810,
fascination with John Colter, one of America's most famous and yet
least known frontiersmen and discoverer of Yellowstone Park, has
never waned. Unlike other legends of the era like Daniel Boone,
Davy Crockett, and Kit Carson, Colter has remained elusive because
he left not a single letter, diary, or reminiscence. Gathering the
available evidence and guiding readers through a labyrinth of
hearsay, rumor, and myth, two Colter experts for the first time
tell the whole story of Colter and his legend.
Selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, described by the Sunday Times as
the 'greatest explorer of the last twenty years', this is a
comprehensive anthology of the writings of explorers through the
ages, now fully revised and updated. The ultimate in travel
writing, these are the words of those who changed the world through
their pioneering search for new lands, new peoples, and new
experiences.
Divided into geographical sections, the book takes us to Asia with
Vasco da Gama, Francis Younghusband, and Wilfred Thesiger, to the
Americas with John Cabot, Sir Francis Drake, and Alexander Von
Humboldt, to Africa with Dr David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley, to
the Pacific with Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and to the
Poles with Robert Peary and Wally Herbert. Driven by a desire to
discover that transcends all other considerations, the vivid
writings of these extraordinary people reveal what makes them go
beyond the possible and earn the right to be known as
Explorer Jules-Sebastien-Cesar Dumont d'Urville (1790-1842) is
sometimes called France's Captain Cook. Born less than a year after
the beginning of the French Revolution, he lived through turbulent
times. He was an erudite polymath: a maritime explorer fascinated
by botany, entomology, ethnography, and the diverse languages of
the world. As a young ensign, he was decorated for his pivotal part
in France's acquisition of the famous Venus de Milo. Dumont
d'Urville's voyages and writings meshed with an emergent French
colonial impulse in the Pacific. This magnificent biography reveals
that he had secret orders to search for the site for a potential
French penal colony in Australia. The book examines Dumont
d'Urville's scientific contribution, including the plants and
animals he collected, as well as his conceptualization of the
peoples of the Pacific: it was he who first coined the terms
Melanesia and Micronesia. He helped to confirm the fate of the
missing French explorer Laperouse, took Charles X into exile after
the Revolution of 1830, and crowned his navigational achievements
with two pioneering Antarctic descents. The book uses primary
documents that have long been overlooked by other historians. It
dispels many myths and errors about this daring explorer of the age
of sail and offers readers a grand adventure along with surprising
drama and pathos. Author Edward Duyker has published 17 books, many
dealing with early Australian, New Zealand, and Pacific exploration
and natural science. These include Citizen Labillardiere (2003), a
biography of the naturalist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardiere,
which won the NSW Premier's General History Prize in 2004; and
Francois Peron (2006), which won the Frank Broeze Maritime History
Prize in 2007. In 2000, Duyker was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des
Palmes Academiques by the French government. He was awarded the
Centenary Medal by the Australian government in 2003 and the Medal
of the Order of Australia in 2004.]
This is the enthralling story of the courageous and stoical wife of
the world-renowned explorer and missionary, David Livingstone. In
the history books, Mary Livingstone is a shadow in the blaze of her
husband's sun, a whisper in the thunderclap of his reputation. Yet
she played an important role in Livingstone's success and her own
feats as an early traveller in uncharted Africa are unique. She was
the first white woman to cross the Kalahari, which she did twice -
pregnant - giving birth in the bush on the second journey. She was
much more rooted in southern Africa than her husband: he has a tomb
in Westminster Abbey, London; she has an obscure and crumbling
grave on the banks of the Zambezi in a destitute region of
Mozambique. In the thrall of Africa, the author has travelled
extensively over several years in the footsteps of Mary
Livingstone, from her birthplace in a remote district of South
Africa to her grave on the Zambezi. She explores the places the
Livingstones knew as a couple and, above all, explores the detail
of the life and family of this little-known figure in British - but
not African - history.
'...In this year celebrating the centenary of the conquering of the
South Pole - it is more than fitting to have one of the unregarded
figures of Antarctic history brought into the limelight of
remembrance'. Extract from Introduction by Dr. Ross D.E. MacPhee,
American Museum of Natural History As senior surgeon on board
Discovery, Dr. Reginald Koettlitz played a vital role in the heroic
period of polar exploration when Nansen, Amundsen, Shackleton and
Scott dominated the headlines. He was awarded a medal by the Royal
Geographical Society for his role in the Discovery Expedition,
1901-04. During the earlier successful three-year
Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition to Franz Josef Land, Koettlitz
fine-tuned his measures to prevent scurvy, became an experienced
ski runner, dog and pony handler and expert in polar survival.
These skills were available when Koettlitz was appointed senior
surgeon on the Discovery Expedition led by Scott, but due to
personal reasons and the inability to acknowledge Koettlitz's polar
experience, both Scott's expeditions were beset by major
life-threatening issues that Koettlitz had faced and resolved on
Franz Josef Land. On the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition Scott and
his four companions died on their failed attempt to be the first to
reach the South Pole. In addition, Koettlitz travelled across
north-east Africa from Berbera to Cairo on foot, mule and camel,
crossing the Blue Nile to Khartoum shortly after the Battle of
Omdurman. Before leaving for South Africa he assisted Shackleton in
planning the Nimrod Expedition which almost resulted in the South
Pole being reached. This well-researched account is enriched with
previously unseen archive material such as correspondence with
Nansen and photographs relating to polar history during the period
1890-1916.
From the earliest migrations to the dawn of space tourism,
experience the excitement of travel throughout the ages in this
gloriously illustrated book! The quest for adventure has defined
human history since the beginning of time. Whether it be for food,
pilgrimages, trade, or scientific curiosity, people have been
compelled to set forth into the wild for centuries. Trace their
incredible journeys in this beautifully illustrated book! From the
first trade networks in ancient Sumer, to the Crusades, the Grand
Tour, and the Voyager missions in outer space. This enthralling
visual history of travel includes maps, paintings, photographs, and
journal entries to fascinate every armchair traveler. Be
transported through space and time with the only comprehensive and
fully illustrated book on the history of travel. Inside it you'll
find: -Stories of great exploration, migration, and scientific
discovery, accompanied by historic maps, paintings and photographs.
-Themed spreads and feature panels explaining developments in
history, geography, religion, and science -Catalog pages showcasing
the evolution of transport networks across the globe -A foreword
written by adventurer and New York Times bestselling author, Simon
Reeve -An optional 80-page illustrated directory profiling great
explorers and expeditions Voyage with vikings, and pursue
plundering pirates! From the ancient travels of Odysseus, to
Pizarro's conquest of Peru, follow the biographies of pioneering
travellers, intrepid explorers, and cruel conquerors. Gripping
eye-witness accounts transport you to former times, bringing
pivotal moments of historical, scientific, and religious discovery
to vivid life. Ever wondered what it would feel like to be the
first in flight? Or to be a part of The Great Northern Expedition?
Learn all of the technological innovations in railways, ships,
cars, and aviation that facilitated the greatest journeys of
humankind. This book is sure to take you far away from the confines
of your living room. Prepare for the journey of a lifetime, perfect
for anyone interested in history, migration, and human adventure!
The famous geological research ship Glomar Challenger was a
radically new instrument that revolutionized earth science in the
same sense that the cyclotron revolutionized nuclear physics, and
its deep-sea drilling voyages, conducted from 1968 through 1983,
were some of the great scientific adventures of our time. Beginning
with the vessel's first cruises, which lent support to the idea of
continental drift, the Challenger played a key part in the widely
publicized plate-tectonics revolution and its challenge to more
conventional theories. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton
Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again
make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
In 1945, three young brothers joined and eventually led Brazil's
first government-sponsored expedition into its Amazonian
rainforests. After more expeditions into unknown terrain, they
became South America's most famous explorers, spending the rest of
their lives with the resilient tribal communities they found there.
People of the Rainforest recounts the Villas Boas brothers' four
thrilling and dangerous 'first contacts' with isolated indigenous
people, and their lifelong mission to learn about their societies
and, above all, help them adapt to modern Brazil without losing
their cultural heritage, identity and pride. Author and explorer
John Hemming vividly traces the unique adventures of these
extraordinary brothers, who used their fame to change attitudes to
native peoples and to help protect the world's surviving tropical
rainforests, under threat again today.
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