Most histories of exploration are written from the viewpoint of the explorers. This book, now available in paperback, focuses instead on the cultural encounters between European explorers and non-European people, reconstructing the experiences of both sides. The result is a remarkable work of comparative cultural history, ranging from North America to the South Pacific and from the voyages of Columbus to those of Captain Cook.

Bitterli distinguishes three basic forms of cultural encounter: superficial contact, as in the early relations between Europe and China; a prolonged relationship, like that between missionaries and the North American Indians; and collision, leading to the destruction of the weaker partner, as happened in the Spanish Conquest of the West Indies and of Mexico. In a series of case studies Bitterli examines these types of cultural encounter, drawing on a wide range of primary sources.

The Age of Reconnaissance, as J. H. Parry has so aptly named it, was the period during which Europe discovered the rest of the world. It began with Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese voyages in the mid-fifteenth century and ended 250 years later when the 'Reconnaissance' was all but complete. Dr. Parry examines the inducements - political, economic, religious - to overseas enterprises at the time, and analyzes the nature and problems of the various European settlements in the new lands.

Layton Kor is pre-eminent in American mountaineering. He is considered the best rock climber of his generation, and his list of first ascents of technically difficult rock climbs, both free and aid, is perhaps unmatched by any American climber. In this book Kor tells the story in his own words of these groundbreaking and suspenseful climbs.
Supplementing Kor's narrative are twenty-three accounts written by other leading climbers of the 1960s and 1970s, describing ascents they did with Kor: Royal Robbins, Fred Beckey, Pat Ament, Chris Bonington, Steve Roper, Huntley Ingalls, and many more share their perspectives.
Kor's climbs have become some of the most famous routes in the world--the "Naked Edge" in Eldorado Canyon, the "Diamond "on Longs Peak, the "Salathe Wall" on El Capitan in Yosemite, the "North Face" of the Eiger in the Alps...the list goes on. Written in a straighforward and engaging style, and accompanied by stunning, historical color photographs, "Beyond the Vertical "is a must-have for all rock climbers and armchair mountaineers alike.