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The Seventy Great Journeys in History
The adventurous stories of the greatest explorers in history, illustrated with hundreds of evocative portraits, photographs, paintings, and maps.
Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, David Livingstone, Amelia Earhart, Neil these are some of the greatest travelers of all time. This book chronicles their stories and many more, describing epic voyages of discovery and exploration, from the extraordinary migrations out of Africa by our earliest ancestors to the latest voyages into space.
In antiquity, we follow Alexander the Great to the Indus and Hannibal across the Alps; in medieval times we trek beside Genghis Khan and Ibn Battuta. The Renaissance brought Columbus to the Americas and the circumnavigation of the world. The following centuries saw gaps in the global maps filled by Tasman, Bering, and Cook, and journeys made for scientific purposes, most famously by von Humboldt and Darwin. In modern times, the last inhospitable ends of the earth were reached—including both poles and the world's highest mountain—and new elements were conquered.
Here are human stories of great triumph and success, but also of terrible hardships, tragedy, and astonishing courage in adversity. An incredible team of contributors—from distinguished historians and writers to travelers and explorers—bring firsthand experience to the journeys and places they describe.
The contributors include Robert Ballard, Barry Cunliffe, Ranulph Fiennes, Pen Hadow, John Hemming, Robin Knox-Johnston, Christopher Ondaatje, and Simon Winchester. 398 illustrations, 320 in color.
Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, David Livingstone, Amelia Earhart, Neil these are some of the greatest travelers of all time. This book chronicles their stories and many more, describing epic voyages of discovery and exploration, from the extraordinary migrations out of Africa by our earliest ancestors to the latest voyages into space.
In antiquity, we follow Alexander the Great to the Indus and Hannibal across the Alps; in medieval times we trek beside Genghis Khan and Ibn Battuta. The Renaissance brought Columbus to the Americas and the circumnavigation of the world. The following centuries saw gaps in the global maps filled by Tasman, Bering, and Cook, and journeys made for scientific purposes, most famously by von Humboldt and Darwin. In modern times, the last inhospitable ends of the earth were reached—including both poles and the world's highest mountain—and new elements were conquered.
Here are human stories of great triumph and success, but also of terrible hardships, tragedy, and astonishing courage in adversity. An incredible team of contributors—from distinguished historians and writers to travelers and explorers—bring firsthand experience to the journeys and places they describe.
The contributors include Robert Ballard, Barry Cunliffe, Ranulph Fiennes, Pen Hadow, John Hemming, Robin Knox-Johnston, Christopher Ondaatje, and Simon Winchester. 398 illustrations, 320 in color.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 8, 2024
Nice addition to any "explorers" bookshelf; I'm filing as "reference" as I don't know if I'll ever fully read it, but it makes a great nightstand or home library book for a periodic browse. Much of the content is similar to other/better books such as The Great Explorers or DK's Explorers: Tales of Endurance and Exploration, but arranged chronologically (Ancient World, Medieval World, Renaissance, 17th/18th Century, 19th Century and Modern Times) rather than geographically, and so includes some VERY early journeys that pre-date specific individuals — mankind's initial journey out of Africa, the early Pacific voyagers, etc. — as well as recent unmanned trips such as the Voyager missions to "infinity and beyond!"
Anyway, another great used book find, and well worth the $3 price for a "like new" copy.
Anyway, another great used book find, and well worth the $3 price for a "like new" copy.
December 27, 2011
ok, short summaries, mostly enough to make you aware of it. Nice book for browsing and to find interesting stories worth pursuing further.
Want to Read
August 29, 2021The first few chapters on the old world journeys where people were beginning to explore probably could’ve been summarized in about one chapter. Maybe I say this because it seems as if I’ve read this several times in several different books. There didn’t seem to be much travel because no one really knows what happened in hell people decided to travel. What they know is that they did travel.
The one journey that stood out in this book was that of Paul. Paul. Being familiar with this journey in his travels throughout Rome I never really considered it as one of the journeys that changed history although that journey that he took did spread Christianity and it makes sense that it would be in this book. The thing I liked about this book was that I could find summaries of journeys which I had heard about but not investigated such as Marco Polo. I knew that he went to Italy but I wasn’t familiar with all the details. There are enough details in the book to spur further investigation at a later time. I am always in search of new information and so the thing that I am left with after reading this is the fact that I will be finding new things to learn about important journeys of exploration. I can’t help but have a very interesting observation. I bet you in those times although I’m basing this on observations that there was not an overwhelming interest in controlling one’s diet and because with all the mountain climbing and steering of the ships and the physical work involved I bet you they burned lots and lots of calories.
I was glad to see that the scientific journeys of Lewis and Clark and others were included. I thought it was nice that the sea of tranquility journey on the moon was included. There are some things I did not read in my first run through of this book but I am sure that I will find occasion to look through it again. Even though the book has a very academic flavor I still found it interesting enough to consider it a reference for further information at a later time. I did enjoy the bibliography at the end and probably will be consulting it sometime in the future. It’s always nice to have more information than I can digest at one time to look forward to exploring. I suppose in my own way I am an explorer although I like my air conditioning and the older I get the happier I am to stay in one place. I’ve made some interesting journeys in my day and I have written about them. I liked the book. :-)
The one journey that stood out in this book was that of Paul. Paul. Being familiar with this journey in his travels throughout Rome I never really considered it as one of the journeys that changed history although that journey that he took did spread Christianity and it makes sense that it would be in this book. The thing I liked about this book was that I could find summaries of journeys which I had heard about but not investigated such as Marco Polo. I knew that he went to Italy but I wasn’t familiar with all the details. There are enough details in the book to spur further investigation at a later time. I am always in search of new information and so the thing that I am left with after reading this is the fact that I will be finding new things to learn about important journeys of exploration. I can’t help but have a very interesting observation. I bet you in those times although I’m basing this on observations that there was not an overwhelming interest in controlling one’s diet and because with all the mountain climbing and steering of the ships and the physical work involved I bet you they burned lots and lots of calories.
I was glad to see that the scientific journeys of Lewis and Clark and others were included. I thought it was nice that the sea of tranquility journey on the moon was included. There are some things I did not read in my first run through of this book but I am sure that I will find occasion to look through it again. Even though the book has a very academic flavor I still found it interesting enough to consider it a reference for further information at a later time. I did enjoy the bibliography at the end and probably will be consulting it sometime in the future. It’s always nice to have more information than I can digest at one time to look forward to exploring. I suppose in my own way I am an explorer although I like my air conditioning and the older I get the happier I am to stay in one place. I’ve made some interesting journeys in my day and I have written about them. I liked the book. :-)
February 7, 2026
Hayranlık uyandırıcı insanlar --insanüstü insanlar-- hayranlık uyandırıcı işler.
Kitap haritalar, resimler ve kısa tanıtımlarla amacını yerine getiriyor. Verilen bilgiler ansiklopedik olmanın dışına çıkabilmiş, keyifle okunuyor.
Bu kitabın terapi etkisi yapabileceğini iddia edebilirim; insan her bunalıma girecek gibi olduğunda rastgele bir sayfa açıp okusa, herhalde tüm avam dertlerini unutur.
Her kitaplıkta bulunmalı.
Kitap haritalar, resimler ve kısa tanıtımlarla amacını yerine getiriyor. Verilen bilgiler ansiklopedik olmanın dışına çıkabilmiş, keyifle okunuyor.
Bu kitabın terapi etkisi yapabileceğini iddia edebilirim; insan her bunalıma girecek gibi olduğunda rastgele bir sayfa açıp okusa, herhalde tüm avam dertlerini unutur.
Her kitaplıkta bulunmalı.
January 9, 2025
It's always hard to read history that extols mostly European "discoveries". Surely the other continent's peoples were doing relatively fine without being discovered.
April 5, 2021
Super interessant boek! Wel jammer dat er niet meer Nederlandse ontdekkingsreizigers in worden besproken. Abel Tasman krijgt een hoofdstuk en Willem Barentsz een korte vernoeming in een hoofdstuk over reizen via de noordoost passage naar Azië.
Het leest lekker makkelijk weg en kan dienen als startpunt om verder te lezen over deze ontdekkingsreizigers. Ik mist wel eens wat achtergrond informatie want er worden maar twee tot vier pagina's per reis beschreven. Dit maakt het soms wat lastig te volgen omdat er zoveel informatie op een kleine ruimte word gepropt.
Het leest lekker makkelijk weg en kan dienen als startpunt om verder te lezen over deze ontdekkingsreizigers. Ik mist wel eens wat achtergrond informatie want er worden maar twee tot vier pagina's per reis beschreven. Dit maakt het soms wat lastig te volgen omdat er zoveel informatie op een kleine ruimte word gepropt.
December 20, 2008
really an interesting book for couch adventurers
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews