Frank Thomas Morano's search for holy men and women has taken him around the world. In his memoirs, The Secret Cycle, he shares the wisdom he has found.

Despite earlier naval expeditions undertaken for reasons of diplomacy or trade, it wasn't until the early 1400s that European maritime explorers established sea routes through most of the globe's inhabited regions, uniting a divided earth into a single system of navigation. From the early Portuguese and Spanish quests for gold and glory, to later scientific explorations of land and culture, this new understanding of the world's geography created global trade, built empires, defined taste and alliances of power, and began the journey toward the cultural, political, and economic globalization in which we live today. Ronald Love's engaging narrative chapters guide the reader from Marco Polo's exploration of the Mongol empire to Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, the search for a Northern Passage, Henry Hudson's voyage to Greenland, the discovery of Tahiti, the perils of scurvy, mutiny, and warring empires, and the eventual extension of Western influence into almost every corner of the globe. Biographies and primary documents round out the work.

In 1517, the Ottoman Sultan Selim "the Grim" conquered Egypt and brought his empire for the first time in history into direct contact with the trading world of the Indian Ocean. During the decades that followed, the Ottomans became progressively more engaged in the affairs of this vast and previously unfamiliar region, eventually to the point of launching a systematic ideological, military and commercial challenge to the Portuguese Empire, their main rival for control of the lucrative trade routes of maritime Asia.
The Ottoman Age of Exploration is the first comprehensive historical account of this century-long struggle for global dominance, a struggle that raged from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Straits of Malacca, and from the interior of Africa to the steppes of Central Asia. Based on extensive research in the archives of Turkey and Portugal, as well as materials written on three continents and in a half dozen languages, it presents an unprecedented picture of the global reach of the Ottoman state during the sixteenth century. It does so through a dramatic recounting of the lives of sultans and viziers, spies, corsairs, soldiers-of-fortune, and women from the imperial harem. Challenging traditional narratives of Western dominance, it argues that the Ottomans were not only active participants in the Age of Exploration, but ultimately bested the Portuguese in the game of global politics by using sea power, dynastic prestige, and commercial savoir faire to create their own imperial dominion throughout the Indian Ocean.

2014 bronze medal winner eLit Awards, 2013 gold medal winner Living Now Awards, March 2014 #1 book of the month Stevo's Internet Reviews, June 2013 book of the month Pacific Book Review. Wild Among Us: true adventures of a female photographer who stalks bears, wolves, mountain lions, wild horses and other elusive wildlife is a fascinating series of autobiographical stories by Pat Toth-Smith. The story telling pulls you into her perilous world, where you share the strange and sometimes dangerous situations she navigates as she travels the highways and wilderness areas of North America. In the end it all seems worth it when we see the results of her labors, the stunning wildlife photos, the vivid observations of the animal s behavior and the hard earned knowledge gleaned from learning on the job. Wild Among Us is unique in that it has the aesthetic beauty of a fine art photo book combined with the powerful stories of pursuit, danger and life-threatening wildlife encounters, that push the author to face her fears and rely on her intuition to survive and become stronger for it."

Alexander von Humboldt, sometimes called 'the last man who knew everything', was an extraordinary polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1798 he received unprecedented permission from the Spanish Crown to explore its American and Caribbean colonies, which he did from 1799-1804. This is the journal of those explorations, in which he extensively covers the region's topography, geology, fauna and flora, anthropology and comparative linguistics. Volume III sees him recording more information on Venezuela, visiting Cuba where he also writes about local politics and speaks out fervently against the slave trade; he then sails for Colombia. The volume ends with a comprehensive geognostic description of the northern part of South America.

Most of us are fascinated by the conventional storybook account of Christopher Columbus' heroic discovery of America in 1492. Yet, should the credit for discovering America go to a man who insisted it was but a few islands off the shores of China?

In "Terra Cognita," Eviatar Zerubavel argues that physical encounters are only one part of the complex, multifaceted process of discovery. Such encounters must be complemented by an understanding of the true identity of what is being discovered. The small group of islands claimed by Columbus to have been discovered off the shores of Asia was a far cry from what we now call America. The discovery of the New World was not achieved in a single day but was a slow process--mental as well as physical--that lasted almost three hundred years. By celebrating 1492 as a year of discovery, we inevitably distort the reality of history.

In vividly documenting how a slowly emerging New World gradually forced itself into Europe's consciousness, Zerubavel shows that Columbus did not discover America on October 12, 1492. Supplemented by fascinating old maps and a new preface written for this paperback edition, "Terra Cognita" will be of interest to historians, geographers, cognitive scientists, sociologists, and students of culture.

Colonial Transformations covers early modern English poetry and plays, Gaelic poetry, and a wide range of English colonial propaganda. In the book, Bach contends that England’s colonial ambitions surface in all of its literary texts. Those texts played multiple roles in England’s colonial expansions and emerging imperialism. Those roles included publicizing colonial efforts, defining some people as white and some as barbarians, constituting enduring stereotypes of native people, and resisting official versions of colonial encounters.

Pedro Menendez de Aviles (1519-1574) founded St. Augustine in 1565. His expedition was documented by his brother-in-law, Gonzalo Solis de Meras, who left a detailed and passionate account of the events leading to the establishment of America's oldest city. Until recently, the only extant version of Solis de Meras's record was one single manuscript which Eugenio Ruidiaz y Caravia transcribed in 1893, and subsequent editions and translations have always followed Ruidiaz's text. In 2012 David Arbesu discovered a more complete record: a manuscript including folios lost for centuries and, more important, excluding portions of the 1893 publication based on retellings rather than the original document. In the resulting volume, Pedro Menendez de Aviles and the Conquest of Florida, Arbesu sheds light on principal events missing from the story of St. Augustine's founding. By consulting the original chronicle, Arbesu provides readers with the definitive bilingual edition of this seminal text.

The controversial memoir 'Brigham's Destroying Angel' caused a huge rift in the Mormon Church upon its release in 1872 and had a powerful effect on the church's reputation. 'Wild' Bill Hickman's book chronicles his life as a member of the Mormon church and his reputed position as Brigham Young's hatchet-man. Accused at the time of mass-murder, Hickman shares the details of the horrific crimes he committed, which he controversially claims were ordered by Brigham Young. This new 2017 edition of 'Brigham's Destroying Angel' includes an introduction and appendix.

Alexander von Humboldt, sometimes called 'the last man who knew everything', was an extraordinary polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1798 he received unprecedented permission from the Spanish Crown to explore its American and Caribbean colonies, which he did from 1799-1804. This is the journal of those explorations, in which he extensively covers the region's topography, geology, fauna and flora, anthropology and comparative linguistics. Volume II covers the period in which he undertake a major exploration of the River Orinoco, as far as the borders of Brazil, finishing in Angostura, then the capital of Spanish Guiana.

Shortly after his death in 1957, "The New York Times" obituary of Peter Freuchen noted that "except for Richard E. Byrd, and despite his foreign beginnings, Freuchen was perhaps better known to more people in the United States than any other explorer of our time." During his lifetime, Freuchen's remarkable adventures related in his books, magazine articles, and films, made him a legend. In 1910, Freuchen, along with his friend and business partner, Knud Rasmussen, the renowned polar explorer, founded Thule-a Greenland Inuit trading post and village only 800 miles from the North Pole.

Freuchen lived in Thule for fifteen years, adopting the ways of the natives. He married an Inuit woman, and together they had two children. Freuchen went on many expeditions, quite a few of which he barely survived, suffering frostbite, snow blindness, and starvation. Near the North Pole there is no such thing as an easy and safe outing.

In "Arctic Adventure" Freuchen writes of polar bear hunts, of meeting Eskimos who had resorted to cannibalism during a severe famine, and of the thrill of seeing the sun after three months of winter darkness. Trained as a journalist before he headed north, Freuchen is a fine writer and great storyteller (he won an Oscar for his feature film script of Eskimo). He writes about the Inuit with genuine respect and affection, describing their stoicism amidst hardship, their spiritual beliefs, their ingenious methods of surviving in a harsh environment, their humor and joy in the face of danger and difficulties, and the social politics behind such customs as "wife-trading." While his experiences make this book a page-turner, Freuchen's warmth, self-deprecating wit, writing skill and anthropological observations make this book a literary stand out.

When young brothers Gene and Jack moved in with their grandparents in 1950, they didn't realize then the impact that Grandpa Will and Grandma Ida would have on their lives. Life in rural Dallas Hollow, Tennessee, was not always easy, but it was one filled with love, laughter, and life lessons learned. In this memoir, Cherokee Lost, author Gene Guthrie shares a glimpse of life with his elders.

While living with their grandparents, they learned of their grandfather's Cherokee Indian heritage. He taught them to survive and to take care of Mother Earth. He introduced them to timber cutting, hunting, fishing, and the art of blacksmithing. Grandma Ida showed them how to garden, pick berries, can fruits and vegetables, and dry apples.

During the twelve years they lived with their grandparents, Gene and Jack learned much more than physical chores; they learned respect, pride, and how to laugh and enjoy life. They grew to appreciate Grandpa Will's Indian heritage and spirit. Through the words and actions of Grandpa Will, Cherokee Lost provides a tribute to the rural life of the south and the Native American outlook on life.

Alexander von Humboldt, sometimes called 'the last man who knew everything', was an extraordinary polymath of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1798 he received unprecedented permission from the Spanish Crown to explore its American and Caribbean colonies, which he did from 1799-1804. This is the journal of those explorations, in which he extensively covers the region's topography, geology, fauna and flora, anthropology and comparative linguistics. Volume I covers his preparations, stop at Tenerife, landfall at Cuman and journeys inland in what is now Venezuela.

In "Perilous Paths," author George G. McClellan seamlessly combines history, biography, and story as he narrates the early history of our country's movement from the east to the west through the eyes of Robert McClellan as he experiences successes and failures along the way.

This story focuses on one small but important piece of the history after the Revolutionary War. It tells of real, rugged men like McClellan-a son of Ulster Scots immigrants born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1770-who performed tasks in harsh conditions that would be considered dangerous, even foolhardy, today. Perilous Paths follows the footsteps made by McClellan from his youthful days as an army packer to his exploits as an Indian scout, army ranger, and spy. It details how he fought alongside Lewis and Clark, gained an education in reading and arithmetic for the army quartermaster corps, and then moved west to Missouri and succumbed to the lure of the unknown, entering Indian country where he trapped furs and traded with the Indians of what would eventually become the American Midwest.

Marking the trials, tribulations and hardships, this history highlights McClellan's independence of character, the hardships he faced, and his desperate survival against unknown odds with a rugged determination to succeed.

A week after being hit by a car, Ed is told by his doctor that it was his professional opinion that he would be unable to run or play football again due to a significant injury to his left foot. This rather gave him the hump and so he elects to prove himself once again. With a great fire in his great belly, an epic 210 mile adventure along the entire River Thames and then the Virgin London Marathon is planned and then attempted in 2013, raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of Grandma Vanson. Up river, down river, over river, good leg, bad leg, running well and running badly, he is fuelled by a desire to prove himself. This is the story of how he took on his personal demons and accepted the challenge of his lifetime.

This entertaining collection of anecdotes and stories charts the lesser-known history of the hunt for oil in the Middle East.The Middle East had long been awash with rumours and legends of oil, rumours that gradually seeped into Western Europe. The Greek historian Herodotus had once described the existence of "oil-pits" in Mesopotamia, while Jebel Zeit, a mountain on the west coast of the Gulf of Suez, was known by the ancients as Mons Petroleus. "The Oil Hunters" tells the stories of the explorers, spies and entrepreneurs who led the hunt for oil in the Middle East from the 1880s to the outbreak of the Second World War. Against the backdrop of British and Russian - and increasingly American - manoeuvrings for dominance in the region, Roger Howard explores the history of oil exploration in anecdotal style and with a lively pace. He brings to life forgotten figures such as Frank Holmes, revered by the Arabs as Abu Naft (the Father of Oil) and Harry St John Philby, father of the famous traitor as well as figures from the world stage such as Julius de Reuter, Calouste Gulbenkian and Charles R. Crane.The book shows how today's oil giants emerged not only in Persia but also Iraq (Mesopotamia), Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. British Petroleum, for example, was originally the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Considered by many to be one of the most important events of twentieth century history, the discovery of Persian oil in 1908 is related here as a vivid adventure story of exploration and exploitation, peopled by eccentrics, adventures and magnates.