In 1844 Charles Dickens (1812 70) and his family moved to Italy for a year, eventually settling in Genoa. This book, Dickens' second travel memoir, describes his experience of travelling through France and exploring Italy. Based on letters to friends, particularly John Forster, it was first published in instalments from January to March 1846 in the Daily News (a new radical newspaper which Dickens himself founded and briefly edited). The edition in book form reissued here appeared in May 1846. The main focus of the book is the northern regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Milan and Venice. It also includes substantial sections on Rome and Naples as well as a brief sketch of Switzerland. Landscapes, architecture, lodgings and food are described with selective but penetrating detail. The shrewd social observations characteristic of Dickens' novels are found here, especially in his critical remarks about poverty, popular religion and the Catholic clergy.

Although in the original preface to this work the British naturalist Charles Waterton (1782 1865) modestly says his book has 'little merit', his account is a rich description of his experiences in South America and the Caribbean. Waterton managed his family's sugar plantations in Demerara from 1804 to 1812, studied natural history, and later (1812 25) divided his time between the Americas and Europe. This book, originally published in 1825 and reissued here in its 1828 second edition, describes his four expeditions, beginning with his search deep in the rainforest for samples of the rare poison, curare. Waterton also recounts a fierce battle with the Maroons, but his main focus is zoology, including the capture of 'an enormous Coulacara snake', encounters with sloths, monkeys and vampire bats, and close observations of a huge variety of birds. The final chapter describes Waterton's methods of 'preserving birds for cabinets of natural history'.

John Lort Stokes (1812-85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831-6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 1 covers Stokes' time exploring north-west Australia and includes illustrations of plants, insects, and reptiles.

John Lort Stokes (1812-85) was a naval officer on board H.M.S. Beagle - the same ship that had carried naturalist Charles Darwin around the world in 1831-6. Stokes served on that expedition and on the following commission, which was a survey of Australia in which the crew was charged with discovering more about the largely unknown land mass. The expedition set off in 1837 and Stokes did not return to England until 1843 - after 18 years of service on the Beagle - when he began work on this two-volume account of the voyage, which was published in 1846. This work provides a detailed narrative of the journey, including interaction with indigenous peoples and observations about the natural world in Australia, making it an important source about the early years of the European colony. Volume 2 sees the expedition explore the Victoria River, and later venture north into the Indonesian archipelago.

During 1834 5 the British naval officer and artist William Smyth (1800 77) and his fellow officer Frederick Lowe (1811 47) went on an expedition to Peru and North-Eastern Brazil. This account of their journey, first published in 1836, combines a travel narrative with anthropological observation. Their objective was to explore the river Pachitea in Peru and investigate its potential as a route from the Andes via the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean that could reduce journey times and benefit Peruvian exports. The tone of the book is typical of early nineteenth-century European travel literature, in that it shows the authors to have been fascinated by the cultures they encountered while retaining a deep mistrust of the indigenous 'savages' some of whom were held to be 'cannibals'. It is, however, full of fascinating details about the rainforest and its inhabitants, the colonial settlers, and their interactions.

Sir Samuel Baker (1821-93) was one of the most famous Victorian explorers and hunters. First published in two illustrated volumes in 1866, this account of his most celebrated expedition is amongst the most important works of its type. Baker promises 'to take the reader by the hand, and lead him step by step ... through scorching deserts and thirsty sands; through swamp and jungle ... until I bring him, faint with the wearying journey, to that high cliff ... from which he shall look down upon the vast Albert Lake and drink with me from the sources of the Nile!' Volume 2 finds Baker a prisoner of a native king. Baker offers a number of 'gifts' to buy his release, and after an arduous journey, with his wife in a coma, in March 1864 he reaches Luta N'zige, which he renames in memory of Prince Albert. A compelling account of an historic adventure.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 1 describes his illness-plagued journey from Zanzibar to Ujiji, in Western Tanzania. It also records his 1871 encounter with the New York Herald correspondent and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had been dispatched to find him after Livingstone had been cut off from the outside world for so long that he was presumed dead.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 2 describes the last two years of his life, when, after his meeting with the journalist Henry Morton Stanley in 1871, Livingstone insisted on staying in Africa despite his poor health. It includes details about his death and the journey to bring his body back to the British authorities, reported by Livingstone's attendants Chuma and Susi.

Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) was a distinguished British government servant whose diplomatic career took him to China and Africa, and who in forty years as Secretary to the Admiralty was responsible for promoting Arctic and Antarctic exploration, including the voyages of Sir John Ross, Sir William Parry, Sir James Clark Ross and Sir John Franklin. This account of his time in Southern Africa was published in 1801, with a second volume following in 1804. Barrow's exploration of the Cape Colony in 1797-8 coincided with the imposition of British control in 1795 on a former Dutch colony, making this work an important source about this transitional period. Volume 2 takes a political focus, and elaborates Barrow's belief that the Cape of Good Hope could serve the commercial interests of the growing British empire in the east; he also discusses the strategic advantages of stationing troops along the Cape.

Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the Welsh-born explorer famous for his 1871 meeting with the missionary David Livingstone, published this intimate autobiography in 1909. Through his recollections we learn how his troubled early life - an impoverished childhood in a workhouse and some harrowing experiences as a young soldier - were what drove him to succeed as an explorer, and gave him the strength to deal with the sometimes vehement opposition he encountered. Although Stanley died before finishing this book, his wife Dorothy brought it to completion by compiling and editing the letters and memoirs he wrote during his travels, so that his avowed aim - to encourage impoverished young people to realise their ambitions - was met. This is the story of a man who, in the context of his own time, achieved 'greatness' against the odds, though his imperialist and allegedly racist views later caused the eclipse of his reputation.

This is an English translation from 1772 of the famous Voyage Autour du Monde (1771) by Louis de Bougainville (1729 1811), French admiral and explorer. The contemporary fascination with global circumnavigation created demand for this translation by John Reinhold Forster (1729 98), which includes many annotations and comments from the translator himself on de Bougainville's observations. Describing all of de Bougainville's adventures on the voyage (which took place between 1766 and 1769) as well as his descriptions of local flora and fauna, the gripping tale includes such interesting passages as the unmasking of the botanist's valet as a woman (the first known to have circumnavigated the globe); de Bougainville's famous descriptions of Tahitian society; and graphic descriptions of the discomforts and perils of sea voyaging in the eighteenth century. It includes a copy of the original eighteenth-century plot of the route, and several plates representing original sketches from the trip.

The H.M.S. Investigator spent the years 1850 4 in the Western Arctic engaged in a search for the lost expedition of the explorer Sir John Franklin. In this 1857 publication Alexander Armstrong (1818 99), surgeon and naturalist to the ship, gives a first-hand account of life on board during the voyage, as testimony to the 'heroism, devotion, and endurance' of his shipmates. He describes the harsh conditions that the crew had to endure, and argues convincingly that no travel 'more thoroughly tests man's powers of endurance, both morally and physically' than travelling in the Arctic. He also notes that lemon juice proved the most effective remedy against scurvy. Armstrong's natural history research was cut short when the ship was abandoned and his collections left behind, but he includes an appendix listing the animals and birds observed on the voyage, and the Arctic plants collected by a friend and colleague.

Sir John Frederick William Herschel (1792-1871) - astronomer, mathematician, chemist - was one of the most important British scientists of the nineteenth century. Son of the famous astronomer William Herschel, he was persuaded by his father to pursue the astronomical investigations William could no longer undertake; John's subsequent career resulted in a knighthood and a lifetime of accolades. This 1849 publication was commissioned by the Admiralty to encourage and assist naval officers to undertake scientific research while abroad. The work provides instructions in making and recording observations in a wide range of disciplines - astronomy; magnetism; hydrography; tides; geography; geology; earthquakes; mineralogy; meteorology; atmospheric waves; zoology; botany; ethnology; medicine; statistics - written by experts in these fields, including Whewell, Darwin, Hooker and Herschel himself. It was hoped that the instructions could also be used by other travellers to advance scientific knowledge, and the work remained in print for over fifty years.

John Reinhold Forster (1729 98), a scientific writer and translator of German origin, took part in Cook's second Pacific voyage, from 1772 to 1775, and published this study, which records his examinations of 'nature in its greatest extent; the earth, the sea, the air, the organic and animated creation', in 1778. He drew upon the ideas of 'the most ingenious men of the age' in constructing his observations on natural history and navigation. The first half of the book addresses the physical aspects of the world: earth and land, oceans, global changes and flora and fauna. The second half focuses on the anthropological origins of the people of the southern seas. The book was originally written as a popular travel narrative, and it remains an important publication which will appeal to readers interested in historical geography, zoology, ethnology, astronomy and travel writing.

The life of English explorer William Cotton Oswell (1818-93) was marked by adventures and discoveries. At nineteen, he left Essex for Madras, where he worked for the East India Company and became a renowned elephant catcher. Due to poor health, he was sent to South Africa, the 'empire of wild sport', where he specialised in hunting and exploration. He discovered the River Zouga and Lake Ngami during an expedition across the Kalahari desert, and travelled to the Zambezi River with Scottish missionary David Livingstone. Originally published in 1900, this two-volume biography was written by Oswell's eldest son. Since Oswell kept no diary, his life is here reconstructed through the many letters he sent to his family and friends. Volume 1 focuses on Oswell's youth. It describes the seven years he spent in India, where he trained as a surgeon, and his five African expeditions from 1844 to 1852.

James Clark Ross (1800-1862) was an explorer who served in the Royal Navy and made his first Arctic trip in 1818 on an unsuccessful mission to find the North-West Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the basis of his polar experience, he was appointed to lead further expeditions, and by 1839 he found himself on the opposite side of the world in the Antarctic, with Joseph Dalton Hooker as his on-board naturalist. This two-volume account of the four-year voyage was published in 1847. Ross' findings led him to the conclusion that there was life on the sea floor to at least 730 metres, and the work is an important contribution to the development of oceanography and scientific knowledge about the Antarctic. Volume 1 covers Ross' journey from England to the Antarctic Circle, detailing the oceanic and climatic observations made along the way.

James Clark Ross (1800-1862) was an explorer who served in the Royal Navy and made his first Arctic trip in 1818 on an unsuccessful mission to find the North-West Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On the basis of his polar experience, he was appointed to lead further expeditions, and by 1839 he found himself on the opposite side of the world in the Antarctic, with Joseph Dalton Hooker as his on-board naturalist. This two-volume account of the four-year voyage was published in 1847. Ross' findings led him to the conclusion that there was life on the sea floor to at least 730 metres, and the work is an important contribution to the development of oceanography and scientific knowledge about the Antarctic. Volume 2 continues the story of the expedition, which eventually reached 78S, and discovered the deep bay in the southern ocean now called the Ross Sea.

Originally published in 1897, this two-volume work chronicles the polar expedition of Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861 1930), who came closer than any previous explorer to the North Pole. Beginning on board his boat, the Fram, which was deliberately driven into pack-ice off Siberia in order to drift north, Nansen and his companions later resorted to sleds and kayaks. Running to over six hundred pages, Volume 1 includes descriptions of the expedition's preparation and equipment, the farewell to Norway and voyage through the Kara Sea, ending with the party's second autumn on the ice. The Fram served as an oceanographic-meteorological-biological laboratory during its time in the Arctic and Nansen eventually published six volumes of scientific observations. He later became Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations, directing humanitarian projects, and is famous for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 as well as for his polar achievements.

Originally published in 1897, this two-volume work chronicles the polar expedition of Norwegian scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), who came closer than any previous explorer to the North Pole. Beginning on board his boat, the Fram, which was deliberately driven into pack-ice off Siberia in order to drift north, Nansen and his companions later resorted to sleds and kayaks. Volume 2 describes the journey over the ice - setting out with 28 dogs, 3 sledges and 2 kayaks - and ends with an account of the return journey. (It also includes Captain Otto Sverdrup's report of the expedition.) The Fram served as a laboratory during its time in the Arctic, and Nansen eventually published six volumes of scientific observations. He later became Norwegian delegate to the League of Nations, directing humanitarian projects, and is famous for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 as well as for his polar achievements.

John Hanning Speke (1827 1864) was a British army officer and explorer, remembered for his expeditions in search of the source of the Nile and his disputes with Richard Burton on that subject. On an expedition begun in 1856 Burton and Speke reached Lake Tanganyika together, but Speke travelled on alone to Lake Victoria. He controversially gave lectures about the lakes in London in 1859, without awaiting Burton's return. Speke returned to Africa later that year, leading an expedition organised by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore Lake Victoria and investigate whether it really was the source of the Nile. This book, published in 1863, describes the 1859 expedition's challenging and eventful journey through present-day Zanzibar, Tanzania and Uganda, and the indigenous peoples the explorers encountered. Speke made invaluable surveys of the area, but it was only after his death that his views about the Nile were finally proved correct.

In a book that is part memoir and part history, David Roberts looks back at his personal relationship to extreme risk and tries to make sense of why so many have committed their lives to the desperate pursuit of adventure. In the wake of his diagnosis with throat cancer, Roberts seeks the answer with sharp new urgency. He explores his own lifelong commitment to adventuring, as well as the cultural contributions of explorers throughout history. He looks at what it meant in 1911 for Amundsen to reach the South Pole or in 1953 for Hillary and Norgay to summit the highest point on earth. And he asks what the future of adventure is in a world we have mapped and trodden all the way to the most remote corners of the wilderness.

"Islandology" is a fast-paced, fact-filled comparative essay in critical topography and cultural geography that cuts across different cultures and argues for a world of islands. The book explores the logical consequences of geographic place for the development of philosophy and the study of limits (Greece) and for the establishment of North Sea democracy (England and Iceland), explains the location of military hot-spots and great cities (Hormuz and Manhattan), and sheds new light on dozens of world-historical productions whose motivating islandic aspect has not heretofore been recognized (Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung"). Written by Shell in view of the melting of the world's great ice islands, "Islandology" shows not only new ways that we think about islands but also why and how we think by means of them.

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. The name of Anthony Jenkinson (1529 1610/11), the Elizabethan traveller and diplomat, is perhaps better known in Russia than in Britain. As agent for the Muscovy Company, he made four journeys to Russia to negotiate trade terms with Tsar Ivan IV ('Ivan the Terrible'), and travelled as far as Persia and the Caspian Sea. This two-volume work, published in 1886, contains an account of Jenkinson's journeys, and transcriptions of documents from the State Papers. The Victorian editors provided an introductory essay and explanatory notes.

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. This volume, first published in 1866, is the first of two compilations edited by Colonel Henry Yule on contacts with China before the discovery of sea routes to the east. Yule's detailed introductory essay surveys the history of European contacts with the east, beginning with the Greek geographers and going up to the thirteenth century. He then presents the narratives of the Franciscan Odoric of Pordenone and other missionary friars in the fourteenth century.

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. This volume, first published in 1866, is the second of two compilations edited by Colonel Henry Yule on contacts with China before the discovery of sea routes to the east. It contains extracts from the work of Rashiduddin (1247 1318) describing China during the Mongol rule, Ibn Batuta's account of travel in Bengal and China in the fourteenth century, and a record of the journey of the Portuguese Jesuit Benedict Go s from Agra to Cathay (1602 1607).