Written by explorer, scientist and later clergyman William Scoresby (1789-1857), this two-volume guide to the Arctic regions was first published in 1820. Scoresby, himself the son of a whaler and Arctic explorer, first sailed to the polar regions at the age of eleven, and was later apprenticed to his father. He became a correspondent of Sir Joseph Banks, and his extensive research on the Arctic area included pioneering work in oceanography, magnetism, and the study of Arctic currents and waves. He surveyed 400 miles of the Greenland coast in 1822. This account was the first book published in Britain which was devoted solely to the whale fisheries. Volume 1 is a general geographical survey of the Arctic region and includes detailed observations of polar ice conditions, atmospherology, and zoology. The book also considers the much-debated question of northern sea communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Written by explorer, scientist and later clergyman William Scoresby (1789-1857), this two-volume guide to the Arctic regions was first published in 1820. Scoresby, himself the son of a whaler and Arctic explorer, first sailed to the polar regions at the age of eleven, and was later apprenticed to his father. He became a correspondent of Sir Joseph Banks, and his extensive research on the Arctic area included pioneering work in oceanography, magnetism, and the study of Arctic currents and waves. He surveyed 400 miles of the Greenland coast in 1822. This account was the first book published in Britain which was devoted solely to the whale fisheries. Volume 2 focuses on the fisheries and includes a history of whaling, the methods used to extract whale oil and prepare whalebone, and the impact of new developments. The book ends with a detailed account of a whaling expedition in 1816.

Howard Stansbury (1806 63) trained as a civil engineer and became a major in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. He oversaw a number of construction projects and later had geographical features and plant and animal species named after him. In 1849 51, Stansbury led an expedition to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah to carry out a scientific survey, as well as to scout possible locations for a transcontinental railroad and to evaluate emigration trails. This book, first published in 1852, is Stansbury's account of that expedition, and of his party's encounters with Brigham Young and the recently-founded Mormon community, of which he formed a favourable opinion. As well as being illustrated with scenes from the expedition and examples of fauna and flora, the report includes appendices on zoology, botany, geology and palaeontology, written by experts of the time in those fields.

The attack on London between 1939 and 1945 is one of the most significant events in the city's modern history, the impact of which can still be seen in its urban and social landscapes. As a key record of the attack, the London County Council Bomb Damage Maps represent destruction on a huge scale, recording buildings and streets reduced to smoke and rubble. The full set of maps is made up of 110 hand-coloured 1:2500 Ordnance Survey base sheets originally published in 1916 but updated by the LCC to 1940. Because they use the 1916 map, they give us a glimpse of a 'lost London', before post-war redevelopment schemes began to shape the modern city. The colouring applied to the maps records a scale of damage to London's built environment during the war - the most detailed and complete survey of destruction caused by the aerial bombardment. A clear and fascinating introduction by expert Laurence Ward sets the maps in the full historical context of the events that gave rise to them, supported by archival photographs and tables of often grim statistics.

The English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780 1866) was commissioned to undertake a survey of the Arkansas territory in America, and spent 1834 5 travelling through the southern slave states to reach his destination. He was shocked by the slave system of the south, saying he 'had never seen so revolting a sight'. When he began to write about his experiences, Featherstonhaugh was urged not to publish his work in the US, as his opinions might 'irritate a powerful interest', and his manuscript remained unpublished until 1844, after his return to England. His lively two-volume account of his adventures contains a fascinating mixture of scientific and sociological detail. It is a closely observed record of Southern society in the period before the Civil War that candidly documents the violence experienced by Black slaves, Native Americans and frontier settlers. Volume 1 describes the Alleghany Mountains, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.

The English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780 1866) was commissioned to undertake a survey of the Arkansas territory in America, and spent 1834 5 travelling through the southern slave states to reach his destination. He was shocked by the slave system of the south, saying he 'had never seen so revolting a sight'. When he began to write about his experiences, Featherstonhaugh was urged not to publish his work in the US, as his opinions might 'irritate a powerful interest', and his manuscript remained unpublished until 1844, after his return to England. His lively two-volume account of his adventures contains a fascinating mixture of scientific and sociological detail. It is a closely observed record of Southern society in the period before the Civil War that candidly documents the violence experienced by Black slaves, Native Americans and frontier settlers. Volume 2 describes the geography and inhabitants of Arksansas and New Orleans.

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.

Jean Francois de Galaup, comte de La Perouse (1741-88) was a French explorer appointed by Louis XVI to lead an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, which ended in disaster when in 1788 the ships left Botany Bay in Australia on course for the islands of Oceania, and were never heard from again. However, La Perouse had sent back via a British ship letters, journals and charts which form the basis of these detailed volumes (first published in English translation in 1799), providing a fascinating account of the journey and the discoveries of the expedition. They provide valuable insights into the social and political context of contemporary scientific naval expeditions. Volume 2 contains a description of the remainder of the voyage to Botany Bay, navigational tables showing the route of the expedition and ethnological notes concerning the indigenous inhabitants of California and Easter Island.

Peter Kalm (1716-79) was a Finnish-Swedish botanist who travelled extensively to observe the natural world in Sweden, Finland, Russia and Ukraine and became a professor of 'oeconomie', - the economic application of subjects such as mineralogy, botany, zoology and chemistry - at the university of Turku. Between 1747 and 1751 he set out on a journey through eastern North America to gather specimens, especially from regions with a similar climate to Sweden. Because Kalm travelled though the area when much of it was still unknown to Europeans, this work has some of the first recorded accounts of places such as Niagara Falls. Kalm played an important part in forging scientific links between Sweden, England and North America. This three-volume work details his travels, and was first published in English in 1770-1. Volume 3 focuses on Kalm's observations of plants and animals in Canada, especially around the French-speaking settlements.

First published in 1956, as the second edition of a 1940 original, this book forms the companion volume to Medieval Fenland. Together these volumes provide a consummately researched account of changing conditions within a fascinating region. The text is ambitious in scope, reflecting the author's position as a historical geographer, and covers a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, ranging from geology to socio-economic analysis. Numerous illustrative figures are contained, including maps, diagrams and photographs of the area, and a bibliography is also provided. Detailed, yet highly readable, this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Fenland history and historical geography in general.

To what extent has a North-South divide been a structural feature of England's geography during the last millennium and to what extent has it been especially associated with, and recognized during, particular periods in the past? These are the central questions addressed in this pioneering exploration of the history of a fundamentally geographical concept. Six essays treating different historical periods in time are integrated by their common concern with two geographical questions: first, to what extent is it possible for us to detect a material or tangible North-South divide in England in those periods in terms of regional differences in, for example, population, economy, society and culture; and, secondly, how important was the idea of such a divide to the geographical imaginations of contemporaries? A concluding essay by the editors reviews the social construction of England's geography and history and the significance of the North-South divide as a cultural metaphor.

This 1949 book provides a fully illustrated description, from the field, of all the Roman remains in Scotland north of the Antonine Wall (i.e. the Forth Clyde line). It contains an introductory chapter describing the various kinds of antiquities to be met with in the course of the journey, and the methods of identification on the ground and from the air.

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was a British botanist and one of the most influential scientific patrons of the eighteenth century. After inheriting a fortune on the death of his father in 1761, Banks devoted his life to studying natural history. His fame following his participation in Captain Cook's epic voyage on the Endeavour between 1768 and 1771 led to his election as President of the Royal Society in 1778, a post which he then held until his death. This volume, first published in 1896, contains Banks' account of the voyage of the Endeavour across the Pacific Ocean. Edited by the great botanist Sir Joseph Hooker, it describes in fascinating detail the peoples, cultures and wildlife Banks encountered in Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. Banks' aptitude as a natural historian and the crucial role he played in cataloguing and illustrating exotic wildlife during the expedition are emphasised in the work.

First published in 1922, this is the third edition of a 1909 original intended to provide the general reader with an understanding of agricultural resources within the tropics. The book is structured around descriptions of these resources and their potential for future development, numerous illustrative figures are also included. Because the text is written from a broadly colonial perspective, such development is largely seen in terms of an engagement between the modernising influence of dominant states and the 'primitive' environments over which they hold sway. This volume will be illuminating for anyone with an interest in agriculture, botany, or the colonial mindset.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 2 (1814) contains extensive physical observations of latitude, longitude, weather conditions and ocean temperature recorded during the voyage, and describes the expedition's arrival in Venezuela.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 1 describes the beginning of the expedition, its departure from Spain, experiments conducted on board ship, and the scientists' arrival in the Canary Islands and exploration of Tenerife.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 3 (1818) describes the mountains, flora and fauna of Venezuela, and its indigenous peoples, especially the Chayma, focusing particularly on their language.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 4 (1819) describes an earthquake in Caracas (which Humboldt links to the volcanoes of the West Indies), and mountains, plains, hot springs and river systems observed as the expedition travelled onwards.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 5 (1821) describes Humboldt's travels through the Orinoco basin and across several sets of rapids, and the indigenous people, missionaries, animals and plants he encountered on the journey.

The Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was one of the most famous explorers of his generation. Charles Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. In 1799, Humboldt and the botanist Aime Bonpland secured permission from the Spanish crown for a voyage to South America. They left from Madrid and spent five years exploring the continent. Humboldt reported his findings in a total of thirty volumes, published in French over a period of more than twenty years beginning in 1805. This English translation by Helen Maria Williams of one important component of Humboldt's account, the Relation historique du voyage (1814-1825), consists of seven volumes and was published in London between 1814 and 1829. Volume 6 (1826) summarises many of Humboldt's findings about the North-East of South America, its topography and geology, and compares the societies of the mainland with those of the West Indies.

Peter Kalm (1716-79) was a Finnish-Swedish botanist who travelled extensively to observe the natural world in Sweden, Finland, Russia and Ukraine, and became a professor of 'oeconomie' - the economic application of subjects such as mineralogy, botany, zoology and chemistry - at the university of Turku. Between 1747 and 1751 he set out on a journey through eastern North America to gather specimens, especially from regions with a similar climate to Sweden. Because Kalm travelled though the area when much of it was still unknown to Europeans, this work has some of the first recorded accounts of places such as Niagara Falls. Kalm played an important part in forging scientific links between Sweden, England and North America. This three-volume work details his travels, and was first published in English in 1770-1. Volume 2 gives detailed descriptions of the plants and animals Kalm observes in New Jersey and New York.

Jean Francois de Galaup, comte de La Perouse (1741-88) was a French explorer appointed by Louis XVI to lead an expedition to explore the Pacific Ocean, which ended in disaster when in 1788 the ships left Botany Bay in Australia on course for the islands of Oceania, and were never heard from again. However, La Perouse had sent back via a British ship letters, journals and charts which form the basis of these detailed volumes (first published in English translation in 1799), providing a fascinating account of the journey and the discoveries of the expedition. They provide valuable insights into the social and political context of contemporary scientific naval expeditions. Volume 1 contains a short biography of La Perouse, copies of documents concerning the planning and provision of the expedition and a description of the voyage across the Pacific Ocean as far as Korea.

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.

When the experienced Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) was put in command of an expedition in 1845 to search for the elusive North-West Passage he had the backing of the Admiralty and was equipped with two specially-adapted ships and a three-year supply of provisions. Franklin was last seen by whalers in Baffin Bay in July 1845. When the expedition failed to return in 1848, enormous resources were mobilised to try to discover its fate. In 1852 H.M.S. 'Assistance' was sent to lead another search mission. It was captained by Edward Belcher (1799-1877), who eventually took the decision to abandon four ships in the pack-ice. He recounts his unsuccessful adventure, defending his actions against critics, in this illustrated two-volume book, first published in 1855, which also includes scientific contributions. Volume 1 describes Belcher's outward journey, Arctic animals such as walruses and whales, and the effects of extreme cold.