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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Geographical discovery & exploration
Enter a world of ancient secrets, old money, new ambitions and the
discovery of priceless treasure in this revelatory new biography.
Between November 1922 and spring 1923, a door to the ancient
Egyptian world was opened. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun
would be the most astonishing archaeological find of the century,
revealing not only the boy pharaoh’s preserved remains, but
thousands of finely crafted objects, from the iconic gold mask and
coffins to a dagger made from meteorite, chalices, beautiful
furniture and even 3000-year-old food and wine. The world’s
understanding of Ancient Egyptian civilisation was immeasurably
enhanced, and the quantity and richness of the objects in the tomb
is still being studied today. Two men were ultimately responsible
for the discovery: Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter. It was Lord
Carnarvon who held the concession to excavate and whose passion and
ability to finance the project allowed the eventual discovery to
take place. The Earl and the Pharaoh tells the story of the 5th
Earl of Carnarvon. Carnarvon’s life, money and sudden death
became front-page news throughout the world following the discovery
of the tomb, fuelling rumours that persist today of ‘the curse of
the pharaohs’. His beloved home, Highclere Castle, is today
best-known as the set of Downton Abbey. Drawing on Highclere
Castle’s never-before-plumbed archives, bestselling author Fiona,
the Countess of Carnarvon, charts the twists of luck and tragedies
that shaped Carnarvon’s life; his restless and enquiring mind
that drove him to travel to escape conventional society life in
Edwardian Britain.
Flying airplanes for sport is expensive. Many recreational pilots
are businessmen or executives with sufficient income that allows
them to fly. But this recreational community also includes a
smaller group-the blue-collar workers. With little disposable
income, they struggle to find money to support their flying
passion. Eventually, many succumb to the financial pressures of
home and family, giving up flying altogether. But there are some
who find a way to continue enjoying their love for flight.
"Blue-Collar Wings: Remembering Thirty Years of Private Flying" is
the autobiography of middle-class worker Robert J. Keith, who
shares his story of flying light aircraft for recreation and
refusing to abandon it in the face of increasing costs. For three
decades, Robert and his wife Nancy enjoyed many adventures flying
airplanes and hot air balloons throughout New England . and
slightly beyond . and proved that dreams do come true.
"Not an Empty Promise" gives first-hand accounts of the author's
experiences during her mission in war-torn Vietnam, in Indonesia,
and in a ministry to Asian immigrants in California. It was a time
of wonderful fulfillment of Jesus Christ's promise to his
followers: "Lo, I am with you always..."
Is it true? Is it possible? Is it a faithful promise?
The question is worth pondering: was He there as He promised
during times of serious illnesses, uncertainties, or devastating
grief as well as times of blessing and joy?
Author Joyce Trebilco addresses these questions as she strives
to make us all more keenly aware of His presence and care, even in
difficult times.
This fully illustrated, exciting book chronicles the travels of
Canadian sailor Captain John ("Jack") Voss as he sailed around the
world in a modified dugout canoe, between the years 1901 and 1904.
Explorer-naturalists Robert Brown and Mungo Park played a pivotal
role in the development of natural history and exploration in the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This work is a
fresh examination of the lives and careers of Brown and Park and
their impact on natural history and exploration. Brown and Park
were part of a group of intrepid naturalists who brought back some
of the flora and fauna they encountered, drawings of what they
observed, and most importantly, their ideas. The educated public
back home was able to gain an understanding of the diversity in
nature. This eventually led to the development of new ways of
regarding the natural world and the eventual development of a
coherent theory of organic evolution. This book considers these
naturalists, Brown, Park, and their contemporaries, from the
perspective of the Scottish Enlightenment. Brown's investigations
in natural history created a fertile environment for breakthroughs
in taxonomy, cytology, and eventually evolution. Brown's pioneering
work in plant taxonomy allowed biologists to look at the animal and
plant kingdoms differently. Park's adventures stimulated
significant discoveries in exploration. Brown and Park's adventures
formed a bridge to such journeys as Charles Darwin's voyage on
H.M.S. Beagle, which led to a revolution in biology and full
explication of the theory of evolution.
Based on his day-by-day journals written on the highest peaks of
five of the seven continents of the world, Nick Comande shares his
personal observations, triumphs and tragedies while climbing some
of the highest and coldest mountain peaks in the world while
raising money for charity at the same time. This book follows how
amateur mountain climber Nick Comande with no formal training
whatsoever, traveled from Africa to Antarctica, fighting extreme
temperatures, harsh weather conditions, a plane crash and
bureaucratic red tape. Trying not only to reach new personal goals,
but also helping others at the same time. Nick Comande climbed and
raised funds to help The American Cancer society, The American
Diabetes Association and The Muscular Dystrophy Association.
The plan was to explore the country between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains. vol. 4 of 4
What is the nature of things? Must I think my own way through the
world? What is justice? How can I be me? How should we treat each
other? Before the Greeks, the idea of the world was dominated by
god-kings and their priests, in a life ruled by imagined
metaphysical monsters. 2,500 years ago, in a succession of small
eastern Mediterranean harbour-cities, that way of thinking began to
change. Men (and some women) decided to cast off mental
subservience and apply their own worrying and thinking minds to the
conundrums of life. These great innovators shaped the beginnings of
philosophy. Through the questioning voyager Odysseus, Homer
explored how we might navigate our way through the world.
Heraclitus in Ephesus was the first to consider the
interrelatedness of things. Xenophanes of Colophon was the first
champion of civility. In Lesbos, the Aegean island of Sappho and
Alcaeus, the early lyric poets asked themselves ‘How can I be
true to myself?’ In Samos, Pythagoras imagined an everlasting
soul and took his ideas to Italy where they flowered again in
surprising and radical forms. Prize-winning writer Adam Nicolson
travels through this transforming world and asks what light these
ancient thinkers can throw on our deepest preconceptions. Sparkling
with maps, photographs and artwork, How to Be is a journey into the
origins of Western thought. Hugely formative ideas emerged in these
harbour-cities: fluidity of mind, the search for coherence, a need
for the just city, a recognition of the mutability of things, a
belief in the reality of the ideal — all became the Greeks’
legacy to the world. Born out of a rough, dynamic—and often
cruel— moment in human history, it was the dawn of enquiry, where
these fundamental questions about self, city and cosmos, asked for
the first time, became, as they remain, the unlikely bedrock of
understanding.
"Lure of the Trade Winds: Two Women Sailing the Pacific Ocean"
transports readers to a place where few have gone before: aboard a
thirty-four-foot boat, cruising the Pacific Ocean. Join author
Jeannine Talley, as she and her sailing partner, Joy Smith, embark
on the journey of a lifetime.
Each day is a new adventure aboard the Banshee. Talley and her
partner are stranded on a reef in Vanuatu, contract malaria, rescue
a wrecked boat, visit a skull site in the Solomon Islands, and
journey to remote islands whose inhabitants still bear the scars of
a brutal colonial past. When their electronic navigational
equipment is lost in a storm, they must use sextant navigation,
depending entirely on sun sights, to make a long passage north from
the South Pacifi c to Micronesia.
In "Lure of the Trade Winds," the two women travel to some of
the most remote areas of the world and interact with the
inhabitants within their social settings. They unravel some of the
world's mysteries, plunge into the unknown, and come face to face
with some of the darker aspects of legacy of colonialism. The tale
of their travels proves once again that the spirit of adventure
knows no bounds.
The plan was to explore the country between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains. vol. 3 of 4
At age eight Marilyn Harlin already knew she wanted to be a
scientist. Throughout the peaks and valleys in her life-including
widowhood when her husband fell off a mountain in Switzerland, and
the challenges of raising two children on her own--she kept her
eyes on her goal and eventually joined the faculty at the
University of Rhode Island as its only female botany professor.
Marilyn's mission in her career and into retirement has been to
inspire youth, especially girls, to venture into the sciences.
Making Waves is a memoir of a progressive life lived with passion.
The plan was to explore the country between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains. vol. 2 of 4
The plan was to explore the country between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains. Vol. 1 of 4
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