The great teller of sea stories-Tristan Jones-is back, with a new collection of yarns, reminiscences, and adventures never before published in book form. Jones carries us to the sleepy Spanish ports of the 1950s, the pleasures of Buenos Aires in the last days of Peron, and the damp forests of Southeast Asia.

The subzero temperatures were only one of the dangers explorer Frederick Cook (1865-1940) faced in his attempts to reach the North Pole. During his extraordinary and harrowing journey, he fought off arctic wolves and polar bears, lived through ice storms, almost starved on several occasions, and faced long and lonely hours of isolation. His book relates how he learned from Eskimos how to survive in the Arctic, hunting musk ox to survive, harpooning walruses, and traveling by dog sled. After his journey, he defended himself against the charges of fellow explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that Cook had lied about reaching the Pole. My Attainment of the Pole is not only a great read for any armchair explorer, it is also a controversial work that contributed to a dispute that lasted for decades.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Gold Rush era was an amazing time in our country's history. California had just been occupied during the Mexican-American War and wasn't officially a U.S. territory yet when gold was discovered in 1848. Suddenly the whole world was electrified by the news and tales of men digging vast amounts of wealth out of the ground, even finding gold nuggets just lying around. Within five years, 250,000 miners dug up more than $200 million in gold--about $600 billion in today's dollars."Gold "offers a feel for what it was like to live through the heady days of the discovery and exploitation of gold in California in the mid-1800s through firsthand accounts, short stories, and tall tales written by the people who were there. These eyewitness accounts offer an immediacy that brings the events to life.

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.

Come along on a fascinating journey of women on the move. This exciting work offers insights into why and how women travel, emphasizing the was women's experiences, concerns, and motivations are unique. This book is rich in history, covering women travelers from prehistoric times to the prehistoric times to the present. More than 450 biographical and informative entries describe how women became travelers, explorers, and adventurers. Included are descriptions of some of the many travel books written by and about women. The DEGREESIEncyclopedia DEGREESR will appeal to readers interested in women's studies, women's history, travel literature, and the travel industry. Students at all levels, researchers, teachers and professors, and others will benefit from this unique resource. Selected entries include:

Jacqueline Auriol

Mountaineers

Aviators

National Geographic Society

Box-Car Bertha

Annie Smith eck

California Gold Rush

Pirates

Daredevils

River Rafters Dogsledding

Eleanor Roosevelt

Explorers Club

Sacagawea

Ann Gardner

Superstitions

Hitchhikers

Tibet

Iditarod

Travel Writers

Joan of Arc

Sojourner Truth

Life in Prairie Land

Women's Air Corps (WACs)

"Island Dreams" is a true story of the wonders of British Columbia's northern Gulf Islands. Swimming in the middle of the Strait of Georgia, these enchanting isles are serenaded by whales and surrounded by crushing depths; caressed by languorous calms and brutalized by terrifying storms.

"Island Dreams" tells of one family's move to Olsen Island, one of the uninhabited gems nestled close by the isle of Lasqueti. Their story tacks through the wild beauty of these islands and dives on glass sponge reefs shimmering in the surrounding depths. It's an exploration of earthquake faults deep below Vancouver Island and the birth of Qualicum winds.

"Island Dreams" also chronicles the natural and anthropological history of the islands-their formation, the glaciers that scoured them, and the first plants and animals that appeared there. It follows the first migrating Asians who skiffed down the coast, and explores the First Nations villages their ancestors founded. The robust cast of characters includes Sisters Islands light keepers and depression-era fishermen who beach-combed lumber for their island fishing shacks.

"Island Dreams" is also a tale of Lasqueti Island, held out of time by the special folks who make it their home. It is a story of islanders, and of the wind and waves that forge them into believers in the redemptive power of a wild environment.

DURING THE AGE OF DISCOVERY, in the autumn of 1550, an anonymously authored volume containing a wealth of geographical information new to Europeans was published in Venice under the title Navigationi et Viaggi (Journeys and Navigations). This was closely followed by two further volumes that, when taken together, constituted the largest release of geographical data in history, and could well be considered the birth of modern geography.

The editor of these volumes was a little-known public servant in the Venetian government, Giovambattista Ramusio. He gathered a vast array of both popular and closely guarded narratives, from the journals of Marco Polo to detailed reports from the Muslim scholar and diplomat Leo Africanus.

In an enthralling narrative, Andrea di Robilant brings to life the man who used all his political skill, along with the help of conniving diplomats and spies, to democratise knowledge and show how the world was much larger than anyone previously imagined.

'This was much more than a bunch of guys out on an exploring and collecting expedition. This was a military expedition into hostile territory'. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a pioneering voyage across the Great Plains and into the Rockies. It was completely uncharted territory; a wild, vast land ruled by the Indians. Charismatic and brave, Lewis was the perfect choice and he experienced the savage North American continent before any other white man. UNDAUNTED COURAGE is the tale of a hero, but it is also a tragedy. Lewis may have received a hero's welcome on his return to Washington in 1806, but his discoveries did not match the president's fantasies of sweeping, fertile plains ripe for the taking. Feeling the expedition had been a failure, Lewis took to drink and piled up debts. Full of colourful characters - Jefferson, the president obsessed with conquering the west; William Clark, the rugged frontiersman; Sacagawea, the Indian girl who accompanied the expedition; Drouillard, the French-Indian hunter - this is one of the great adventure stories of all time and it shot to the top of the US bestseller charts. Drama, suspense, danger and diplomacy combine with romance and personal tragedy making UNDAUNTED COURAGE an outstanding work of scholarship and a thrilling adventure.