Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
Lewis & Clark. Sir Edmund Hillary. Christopher Columbus. Captain Cook. Marco Polo. Explorers whose names are still in the history books, even as we question the way some of them treated the native peoples they encountered. My description is obviously centered on European(ish) males, but please feel free to include explorers from all cultures. Vote for your favorite nonfiction about explorers and/or their travels here.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
by
4.23 avg rating — 67,006 ratings
score: 398,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
by
4.04 avg rating — 10,423 ratings
score: 297,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
by
4.29 avg rating — 25,191 ratings
score: 267,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey
by
3.86 avg rating — 13,441 ratings
score: 256,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West
by
4.25 avg rating — 2,474 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes
by
3.98 avg rating — 1,934 ratings
score: 196,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World
by
3.97 avg rating — 9,353 ratings
score: 192,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
by
Nathaniel Philbrick (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 6,853 ratings
score: 172,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
by
4.34 avg rating — 21,642 ratings
score: 162,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
The Mapmaker's Wife : A True Tale of Love, Murder and Survival in the Amazon
by
3.63 avg rating — 1,836 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
A Maverick Inuit Way and the Vikings: How to connect with the peoples of the North
by
Mary Jane Walker (Goodreads Author)
3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Mind Over Matter: The Epic Crossing of the Antarctic Continent
by
3.97 avg rating — 342 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
The Story of Marco Polo
by
3.94 avg rating — 32 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Land of Tears: The Exploration and Exploitation of Equatorial Africa
by
4.02 avg rating — 87 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Exploring with Frémont
by
4.60 avg rating — 10 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City
by
3.98 avg rating — 2,337 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
The Year 1000: When Explorers Connected the World—and Globalization Began
by
3.69 avg rating — 1,865 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Captain Cook and the Voyage of the "Endeavour", 1768 1771
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
The Horse of the Americas
by
3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World
by
3.73 avg rating — 6,525 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Expeditions Unpacked: What the Great Explorers Took into the Unknown
by
4.06 avg rating — 66 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
The golden age of the galleon
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America
by
Russell Shorto (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 11,288 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America
by
3.73 avg rating — 2,308 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats
by
3.94 avg rating — 3,641 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
General at Sea: The Life of Admiral Robert Blake
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
My Life as an Explorer
by
4.03 avg rating — 391 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
River Master: John Wesley Powell's Legendary Exploration of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon
by
3.71 avg rating — 58 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
Marco Polo: Voyager to the Orient
by
3.33 avg rating — 6 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
Against All Opposition: Black Explorers in America
by
4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest
by
3.98 avg rating — 195 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration
by
Fergus Fleming (Narrator)
4.07 avg rating — 138 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
A Sailor with Captain Cook
by
0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali
by
4.29 avg rating — 146 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Adventures in Yellowstone: Early Travelers Tell Their Tales
by
M. Mark Miller (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 63 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air
by
Stewart Ross (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 293 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Who'd Believe John Colter?
by
3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
Darwin's First Theory: Exploring Darwin's Quest for a Theory of Earth
by
Rob Wesson (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 85 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
Where Did Sacagawea Join the Corps of Discovery?: And Other Questions about the Lewis and Clark Expedition
by
Linda Gondosch (Goodreads Author)
liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Explorers' Sketchbooks: The Art of Discovery & Adventure
by
4.39 avg rating — 249 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback
by
3.93 avg rating — 17,389 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
Pioneer Girl Perspectives: Exploring Laura Ingalls Wilder
by
3.91 avg rating — 129 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 43 |
|
The Plant Hunters: The Adventures of the World's Greatest Botanical Explorers
by
3.93 avg rating — 91 ratings
score: 90,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier
by
4.08 avg rating — 1,269 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration
by
3.65 avg rating — 819 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
Drawn to the Deep: The Remarkable Underwater Explorations of Wes Skiles
by
4.31 avg rating — 35 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons
by
3.91 avg rating — 2,009 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
My Life as an Explorer
by
3.76 avg rating — 297 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
The Explorers: A Story of Fearless Outcasts, Blundering Geniuses, and Impossible Success
by
Martin Dugard (Goodreads Author)
3.70 avg rating — 623 ratings
score: 84,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
On Top of the World: Five Women Explorers in Tibet
by
4.02 avg rating — 385 ratings
score: 83,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
Exploration and Discovery: Treasures of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
by
liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
Jefferson's America: The President, the Purchase, and the Explorers Who Transformed a Nation
by
3.87 avg rating — 317 ratings
score: 81,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration
by
3.88 avg rating — 5,016 ratings
score: 80,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 54 |
|
The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Exploration of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566-1568
by
4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings
score: 79,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
Vanguard of Empire: Ships of Exploration in the Age of Columbus
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 78,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
First Encounters: Spanish Explorations in the Caribbean and the United States, 1492-1570 (Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series)
by
Jerald T. Milanich (Editor)
3.38 avg rating — 8 ratings
score: 77,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
The Men Who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible
by
3.86 avg rating — 4,275 ratings
score: 76,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
A Dog's History of America: How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered, and Settled a Continent
by
3.50 avg rating — 96 ratings
score: 75,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America's Wild Frontier
by
4.23 avg rating — 67,006 ratings
score: 73,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
Exploring for Shipwrecks
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 72,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 61 |
|
Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game & the Race for Empire in Central Asia (Cornelia & Michael Bessie Book)
by
3.87 avg rating — 706 ratings
score: 71,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu
by
3.85 avg rating — 3,228 ratings
score: 70,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
The Travels of Ibn Battutah
by
3.91 avg rating — 2,742 ratings
score: 69,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 64 |
|
Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun
by
4.33 avg rating — 173 ratings
score: 68,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 65 |
|
The Last Place on Earth
by
4.35 avg rating — 3,519 ratings
score: 64,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
65 books ·
13 voters ·
list created July 1st, 2018
by JG (Introverted Reader) (votes) .
JG (Introverted Reader)
4354 books
438 friends
438 friends
Clare
8364 books
345 friends
345 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
3385 books
853 friends
853 friends
Chris
11 books
1 friend
1 friend
Jan
5087 books
128 friends
128 friends
Deb (Readerbuzz)
8016 books
3159 friends
3159 friends
Karen
1278 books
95 friends
95 friends
Tyler
99 books
2 friends
2 friends
More voters…
Related News
Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly...
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
