North American Exploration

by John Stewart Bowman, John Stewart Bowman, Michael Gotay

An authoritative reference book that provides chronological information on every major explorer expedition, and event involved in the discovery and exploration of North America.

Genres: History

528 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2003

About the author

John Stewart Bowman was an American author and librettist. He received a B.A. in English literature from Harvard University and attended Trinity College, Cambridge University, and the University of Munich. Bowman worked as an editor for more than 40 years and as a freelance writer for almost as long.

Reviews

[Julianna]

This serves as a good introduction to important individuals, expeditions and terms coined during Northwest exploration from the 15th Century (even before) to the 1990s. I found Part IV ("Exploring West of the Mississippi 1635-800") and Part V ("From the Appalachians to the Mississippi 1540-1840") the most useful, especially given the obscurity of various Spanish explorers that predated American Manifest Destiny.

I would not rely on this book alone for learning about the West however, as some key details contradict with other books on the west I am reading. However it is an encyclopedia of figures, terms and events from the West that would be difficult to gather on one's own.

[Fredrick Danysh]

A mini-encyclopedia concerning the explorers, groups, and regions involved in the exploration of North America covering the period from pre-Columbus to modern times. It is alphabetized and contains a bibliography broken down by content unit. The entries are brief and there are some illustrations. This work is a fair starting point on the subject.

[Johns]

A perfect reference book for the armchair explorer! This details every major exploration attempt to or across the North American continent. Over 500 interesting pages of information.