The History Book Club discussion
EXPLORE-INVENT-PIONEERS-WEATHER
>
EXPLORERS AND EXPLORATION
message 51:
by
'Aussie Rick'
(new)
Dec 02, 2011 07:33PM
Sounds good Jill, thanks for the information.
reply
|
flag
At one time I actually thought about visiting Pitcairn Island until I figured out (after reading a book about it which I think we mentioned on one of the threads several months ago) that it is almost impossible to get there. I have a friend that went to Easter Island and thought it was totally fascinating. I guess I will just remain an armchair explorer as far as the remote island are concerned. You are closer to some of the ones mentioned in the book....almost all are in the Pacific.
I have always wanted to take a berth on an Icebreaker going to the Antarctic, apparently you can book a berth on some of the Russian Icebreakers, what a trip that would be!
It would be one heck of a trip......but reallllly cold. I am thinking of something a little more tropical but surely wouldn't turn down the Antarctic trip. Years ago I hiked in the Denali (Alaska) and that was enough cold weather for me for a long time.....and it wasn't even winter!!
You gotta watch out for Polar bears up that way as well, down South you just have to worry about stepping in penguin pooh :)
Here is a new release which sounds like it may be a very interesting account:
by Alec WilkinsonDescription:
In this grand and astonishing tale, Alec Wilkinson brings us the story of S. A. Andrée, the visionary Swedish aeronaut who, in 1897, during the great age of Arctic endeavor, left to discover the North Pole by flying to it in a hydrogen balloon. Called by a British military officer “the most original and remarkable attempt ever made in Arctic exploration,” Andrée’s expedition was followed by nearly the entire world, and it made him an international legend.
The Ice Balloon begins in the late nineteenth century, when nations, compelled by vanity, commerce, and science, competed with one another for the greatest discoveries, and newspapers covered every journey. Wilkinson describes how in Andrée several contemporary themes intersected. He was the first modern explorer—the first to depart for the Arctic unencumbered by notions of the Romantic age, and the first to be equipped with the newest technologies. No explorer had ever left with more uncertainty regarding his fate, since none had ever flown over the horizon and into the forbidding region of ice.
In addition to portraying the period, The Ice Balloon gives us a brief history of the exploration of the northern polar regions, both myth and fact, including detailed versions of the two record-setting expeditions just prior to Andrée’s—one led by U.S. Army lieutenant Adolphus Greely from Ellesmere Island; the other by Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer who initially sought to reach the pole by embedding his ship in the pack ice and drifting toward it with the current.
Woven throughout is Andrée’s own history, and how he came by his brave and singular idea. We also get to know Andrée’s family, the woman who loves him, and the two men who accompany him—Nils Strindberg, a cousin of the famous playwright, with a tender love affair of his own, and Knut Fraenkel, a willing and hearty young man.
Andrée’s flight and the journey, based on the expedition’s diaries and photographs, dramatically recovered thirty-three years after the balloon came down, along with Wilkinson’s research, provide a book filled with suspense and adventure, a haunting story of high ambition and courage, made tangible with the detail, beauty, and devastating conditions of traveling and dwelling in “the realm of Death,” as one Arctic explorer put it.
Review:
"Before the twentieth century, more than a thousand people tried to reach the (north) pole,” Alec Wilkinson writes in his entertaining new book. Most of those attempts were by ship, sled, and foot. The odds of reaching the pole alive were terrible. About three-fourths of those explorers died. But that one-in-four chance of success didn’t deter Swedish explorer S.A. Andree, who in 1897 attempted the most unlikely means of reaching the North Pole: by hydrogen balloon. What makes this more than another adventure story is Wilkinson’s exploration of mankind’s compulsion to reach the extreme points of the Earth, despite all the absurd and obvious risks." - Neal Thompson (Amazon Best Books of the Month, January 2012)
Thanks for the addition, Tom. That does look intriguing.
I just finished a book on the sinking of the Titanic (cited below) and was surprised to learn that the great explorer Ernest Shackleton testified before the British Board of Trade inquiry of the sinking of that ship. He was invited to present his opinions of how the captain of the Titanic should have reacted when entering an ice field. An interesting footnote to the Titanic tragedy.
by
Frances Wilson
What a great thread.I would like to add
Fawn M. Brodie (I hope I have this citation thing down now I have found it confusing in the past so apologies if it is not quite correct)Burton was an explorer par excellence and this is a fantastic biography.
I have not yet read
Mary S. Lovell yet but I understand it is very good and it provides more information on Isabel who was a fascinating woman in her own right.I enjoyed the Patrick Hopkirk books as well - mostly concerning the Great Game in Central Asia and the tremendous feats of exploration (and espionage) that this involved.
Peter Hopkirk
Gentian, good job with the citations. Thanks for the recommendations, looks like some good stuff!
Gentian, I'd recommend Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton
by Edward Rice over Fawn Brodie. Yes, Brodie is a great writer. She writes with the flair of a fiction writer, which is great. The problem is she's not a good historian.
For her time (mid-20th century), she's fine. But I've noted many occasions when she willfully misreads her sources, for example. I do not find her research trustworthy. I prefer writers with a little more current historiographical rigor.
by Edward Rice over Fawn Brodie. Yes, Brodie is a great writer. She writes with the flair of a fiction writer, which is great. The problem is she's not a good historian.For her time (mid-20th century), she's fine. But I've noted many occasions when she willfully misreads her sources, for example. I do not find her research trustworthy. I prefer writers with a little more current historiographical rigor.
Rebecca wrote: "Gentian, I'd recommend Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton by Edward Rice over Fawn Brodie. Yes, Brodie is a great writer. She writes with the f..."Fair point - I guess that, despite my age (definitely latter 1/4 of the 20th Century) I am rather stuck in an earlier period when it comes to reading. The Lovell book is on my list to supplement the Brodie one simply because my husband already has it so no need to buy a new one. We will look out for your recommendation, however.
This sounds intriguing.Icebound: the Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole
by Leonard F. GuttridgeSynopsis
"On all levels, not least as a psychological tale of polarexploration, Icebound is a book well worth reading." (The New York Times Book Review)
On July 8, 1879, thirty-three men set off from San Francisco on the small sailing ship Jeannette planning to reach the North Pole and return. Their ship became trapped in the pack ice for two years and the survivors were forced to trek on foot across the ice to Siberia. This is their remarkable true story.
"Leonard Guttridge has performed a valuable service in setting the record straight. More to the point, however, he has told a gripping tale uncommonly well." (The Washington Post)
"This is a dramatic story and Guttridge tells it well. He has uncovered some intriguing new information, including the reason the expedition's full story was never revealed." (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
"A beautifully executed narrative of sacrifice for science's sake. Guttridge has researched the story well and spices it up with the gossipy details that made life on the ship the stuff of Victorian soap opera." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Guttridge unfolds a gripping story of suspense and adventure. He has ferreted out the facts about the Jeannette and the ship's company, and the colorful characters abound." (Publishers Weekly)
Another offering:Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration
by
David RobertsSynopsis
On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface.
This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley's famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States.
Mod
A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca: The Extraordinary Tale of a Shipwrecked Spaniard Who Walked Across America in the Sixteenth Century
by Andres ResendezSynopsis
In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed by a disastrous decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival. Of the four hundred men who had embarked on the voyage, only four survived-three Spaniards and an African slave. This tiny band endured a horrific march through Florida, a harrowing raft passage across the Louisiana coast, and years of enslavement in the American Southwest. They journeyed for almost ten years in search of the Pacific Ocean that would guide them home, and they were forever changed by their experience. The men lived with a variety of nomadic Indians and learned several indigenous languages. They saw lands, peoples, plants, and animals that no outsider had ever before seen. In this enthralling tale of four castaways wandering in an unknown land, Andrés Reséndez brings to life the vast, dynamic world of North America just a few years before European settlers would transform it forever.
message 67:
by
Jerome, Assisting Moderator - Upcoming Books and Releases
(last edited Feb 04, 2013 02:56PM)
(new)
Mod
Brutal Journey: The Epic Story of the First Crossing of North America
by
Paul SchneiderSynopsis
One part Heart of Darkness, one part Lewis and Clark, Brutal Journey tells the story of a group of explorers who came to the new world on the heels of Cortés; bound for glory, only four of four hundred would survive. Eight years and some five thousand miles later, three Spaniards and a black Moroccan wandered out of the wilderness to the north of the Rio Grande and into Cortes' gold-drenched Mexico.
The four survivors brought nothing back from their sojourn other than their story, but what a tale it was. They had become killers and cannibals, torturers and torture victims, slavers and enslaved. They became faith healers, arms dealers, canoe thieves, spider eaters, and finally, when there were only the four of them left in the high Texas desert, they became itinerate messiahs. They became, in other words, whatever it took to stay alive long enough to inch their way toward Mexico, the only place where they were certain they would find an outpost of the Spanish empire.
The journey of the Cabeza De Vaca expedition is one of the greatest survival epics in the history of American exploration. By drawing on the accounts of the first explorers and the most recent findings of archaeologists and academic historians, Paul Schneider offers a thrilling and authentic narrative to replace a legend of North American exploration.
Jerome wrote: "Here's an interesting-sounding title from my to-read shelf:A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca: The Extraordinary Tale of a Shipwrecked Spaniard Who Walked Across America in the..."
Fantastic book it's like going back in time and looking at a place you know and seeing what was there before. Great story and fun read.
is a easy to read and fascinating narrative also read
Frank, good effort on the citations, add the author link as well even when there is an author photo.
by
Laurence Bergreen
by
Jack Weatherford
The exciting adventures of those British explorers who were fascinated by the source of the Nile. The author also wrote a biography of Henry Stanley, which I enjoyed immensely.Explorers of the Nile
by Tim JealSynopsis
Nothing obsessed explorers of the mid-nineteenth century more than the quest to discover the source of the White Nile. It was the planet's most elusive secret, the prize coveted above all others. Between 1856 and 1876, six larger-than-life men and one extraordinary woman accepted the challenge. Showing extreme courage and resilience, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, James Augustus Grant, Samuel Baker, Florence von Sass, David Livingstone, and Henry Morton Stanley risked their lives and reputations in the fierce competition. Award-winning author Tim Jeal deploys fascinating new research to provide a vivid tableau of the unmapped "Dark Continent," its jungle deprivations, and the courage—as well as malicious tactics—of the explorers.
On multiple forays launched into east and central Africa, the travelers passed through almost impenetrable terrain and suffered the ravages of flesh-eating ulcers, paralysis, malaria, deep spear wounds, and even death. They discovered Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria and became the first white people to encounter the kingdoms of Buganda and Bunyoro. Jeal weaves the story with authentic new detail and examines the tragic unintended legacy of the Nile search that still casts a long shadow over the people of Uganda and Sudan.
by Tim Jeal
Hi JillI totally agree!
I have read both those books and they are truly Excellent!
by Tim Jeal
by Tim JealThese explorers were intreprid, self-driven and courageous
He also wrote a book on Dr. Livingstone but I haven't read it yet.......but I will eventually.
by Tim Jeal
New release, sounds interesting. Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
by Monte ReelSynopsis
The unbelievably riveting adventure of an unlikely young explorer who emerged from the jungles of Africa with evidence of a mysterious, still mythical beast--the gorilla--only to stumble straight into the center of the biggest debate of the day: Darwin's theory of evolution.
In 1856 Paul Du Chaillu marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth. Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the biggest issues of the time--the evolution debate, racial discourse, the growth of Christian fundamentalism--and helped push each to unprecedented intensities. He experienced instant celebrity, but with that fame came whispers--about his past, his credibility, and his very identity--which would haunt the young man. Grand in scope, immediate in detail, and propulsively readable, Between Man and Beast brilliantly combines Du Chaillu's personal journey with the epic tale of a world hovering on the sharp edge of transformation.
Alisa wrote: "New release, sounds interesting. Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm
[bookcover:Between Man and B..."
That does sound interesting. Looking forward to your review
Higher and Faster: Memoir of a Pioneering Air Force Test Pilot
Robert M. WhiteSynopsis
In 1961, pilot Robert M. White flew a hypersonic rocket-powered airplane six times faster than the speed of sound and higher than 300,000 feet above the Earth's surface. This is his story. Tracing his childhood on the rough streets of Manhattan during the Depression, his years as a pilot and POW during World War II, his service in Korea and Vietnam and his rise as an experimental test pilot in the Air Force, this autobiography is a testament to the role of persistence and excellence in the life of a man whose aeronautical feats are now legend. It is the portrait of an extraordinary man in pursuit of the American dream and a glimpse into a remarkable time in America's aviation history.
The Indianization of Lewis and Clark
William R. SwagertySynopsis
Although some have attributed the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition primarily to gunpowder and gumption, historian William R. Swagerty demonstrates in this two-volume set that adopting Indian ways of procuring, processing, and transporting food and gear was crucial to the survival of the Corps of Discovery. The Indianization of Lewis and Clark retraces the well-known trail of America’s most famous explorers as a journey into the heart of Native America—a case study of successful material adaptation and cultural borrowing.
Beginning with a broad examination of regional demographics and folkways, Swagerty describes the cultural baggage and material preferences the expedition carried west in 1804. Detailing this baseline reveals which Indian influences were already part of Jeffersonian American culture, and which were progressive adaptations the Corpsmen made of Indian ways in the course of their journey. Swagerty’s exhaustive research offers detailed information on both Indian and Euro-American science, medicine, cartography, and cuisine, and on a wide range of technologies and material culture. Readers learn what the Corpsmen wore, what they ate, how they traveled, and where they slept (and with whom) before, during, and after the return.
Indianization is as old as contact experiences between Native Americans and Europeans. Lewis and Clark took the process to a new level, accepting the hospitality of dozens of Native groups as they sought a navigable water route to the Pacific. This richly illustrated, interdisciplinary study provides a unique and complex portrait of the material and cultural legacy of Indian America, offering readers perspective on lessons learned but largely forgotten in the aftermath of the epic journey.
Jill wrote: "The exciting adventures of those British explorers who were fascinated by the source of the Nile. The author also wrote a biography of Henry Stanley, which I enjoyed immensely.Explorers of the N..."
They will be going on my list
The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk
by
Jennifer NivenSynopsis
The Karluk set out in 1913 in search of an undiscovered continent, with the largest scientific staff ever sent into the Arctic. Soon after, winter had begun, they were blown off course by polar storms, the ship became imprisoned in ice, and the expedition was abandoned by its leader. Hundreds of miles from civilization, the castaways had no choice but to find solid ground as they struggled against starvation, snow blindness, disease, exposure and each other. After almost twelve months battling the elements, twelve survivors were rescued, thanks to the heroic efforts of their captain, Bartlett, the Ice Master, who traveled by foot across the ice and through Siberia to find help. Drawing on the diaries of those who were rescued and those who perished, Jennifer Niven re-creates with astonishing accuracy the ill-fated journey and the crews desperate attempts to find a way home.
by
Jon KrakauerThis is probably my favorite mountaineering/exploration book. Krakauer really makes the account come to life. A harrowing tale of life and death on Everest.
Great job on citations and great book; I liked it too.
Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
by
Nathaniel PhilbrickSynopsis:
America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his bestselling In the Heart of the Sea Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever seen the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842. On a scale that dwarfed the journey of Lewis and Clark, six magnificent sailing vessels and a crew of hundreds set out to map the entire Pacific Ocean and ended up naming the newly discovered continent of Antarctica, collecting what would become the basis of the Smithsonian Institution, and much more.
The Vast Unknown: America's First Ascent of Everest
by Broughton Coburn (no photo)Synopsis:
By the author of the New York Times bestselling Everest: Mountain Without Mercy, this chronicle of the iconic first American expedition to Mt. Everest in May 1963 – published to coincide with the climb's 50th anniversary – combines riveting adventure, a perceptive analysis of its dark and terrifying historical context, and revelations about a secret mission that followed.
In the midst of the Cold War, against the backdrop of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the space race with the Soviet Union, and the quagmire of the Vietnam War, a band of iconoclastic, independent-minded American mountaineers set off for Mt. Everest, aiming to restore America's confidence and optimism. Their objective is to reach the summit while conducting scientific research, but which route will they take? Might the Chinese, in a public relations coup, have reached the top ahead of them? And what about another American team, led by the grandson of a President, that nearly bagged the peak in a bootleg attempt a year earlier?
The Vast Unknown is, on one level, a harrowing, character-driven account of the climb itself and its legendary team of alternately inspiring, troubled, and tragic climbers who suffered injuries, a near mutiny, and death on the mountain. It is also an examination of the profound sway the expedition had over the American consciousness and sense of identity during a time when the country was floundering. And it is an investigation of the expedition's little-known outcome: the selection of a team to plant a CIA surveillance device on the Himalayan peak of Nanda Devi, to spy into China where Defense Intelligence learned that nuclear missile testing was underway.
Mentioned:
by Broughton Coburn (no photo)
The Conquest of the Ocean
by Brian Lavery (no photo)Synopsis:
A captivating tale spanning 5,000 years of the oceans' history, The Conquest of the Ocean tells the stories of the remarkable individuals who sailed seas, for trade, to conquer new lands, to explore the unknown.
From the early Polynesians to the first circumnavigations by the Portuguese and the British, these are awe-inspiring tales of epic sea voyages involving great feats of seamanship, navigation, endurance, and ingenuity. Explore the lives and maritime adventures, many with first-person narratives of land seekers and globe charters such as Christopher Columbus, Captain James Cook, and Vitus Bering.
I was reminded this morning that today, Valentine's Day, is also the day Captain James Cook was killed on Hawaii (February 14, 1779). My favorite book on Cook, a fun twist on the history of his exploration:
by
Tony Horwitz
Thanks, Gregory, for bringing this book to my attention. It sounds fascinating. I just requested it from the library.
by
Tony Horwitz
This book showed up in my book club this month. It looks like a winner!Chasing Shackleton: Re-creating the World's Greatest Journey of Survival
by Tim Jarvis(no photo)Synopsis
In this extraordinary adventure memoir and tie-in to the PBS documentary, Tim Jarvis, one of the world's leading explorers, describes his modern-day journey to retrace, for the first time ever—and in period clothing and gear—the legendary 1914 expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
In early 1914, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team sailed for Antarctica, attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole. Instead of glory, Shackleton and his crew found themselves in an epic struggle for survival: a three-year odyssey on the ice and oceans of the Antarctic that endures as one of the world’s most famous tales of adventure, endurance, and leadership ever recorded.
In the winter of 2013, celebrated explorer Tim Jarvis, a veteran of multiple polar expeditions, set out to recreate Sir Ernest Shackleton’s treacherous voyage over sea and mountain, outfitted solely with authentic equipment—clothing, boots, food, and tools—from Shackleton’s time, a feat that has never been successfully accomplished.
Shackleton's Epic is the remarkable record of Jarvis and his team’s epic journey. Beautifully designed and illustrated with dozens of photographs from the original voyage and its modern reenactment, it is a visual feast for readers and historians alike, and an essential new chapter in the story that has inspired adventurers across every continent for a century.
Jill wrote: "This book showed up in my book club this month. It looks like a winner!Chasing Shackleton: Re-creating the World's Greatest Journey of Survival
Jill -- this is great. I had heard about the PBS documentary (though I have not seen it yet) but did not know there was a book. Thanks for posting.
Mod
Release date: June 3, 2014
The Explorers: A Story of Fearless Outcasts, Blundering Geniuses, and Impossible Success
by
Martin DugardSynopsis:
The riveting account of one of history's greatest adventures and a study of the seven character traits all great explorers share.
In 1856, two intrepid adventurers, Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke, set off to unravel mankind's greatest geographical mystery: finding the source of the Nile River. They traveled deep into a forbidding and uncharted African wilderness together, coming near death on several occasions. Ultimately, Burton and Speke arrived at two different conclusions about the Nile's origin. Before leaving Africa they became sworn enemies. The feud became an international sensation upon their return to England, and a public debate was scheduled to decide whose theory was correct. What followed was a massive spectacle with an outcome no one could have ever foreseen.
In The Explorers, New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard shares the rich saga of the Burton and Speke expedition. To better understand their motivations and ultimate success, Dugard guides readers through the seven vital traits that Burton and Speke, as well as many of history's legendary explorers, called upon to see their impossible journeys through to the end: curiosity, hope, passion, courage, independence, self-discipline, and perserverence. In doing so, Dugard demonstrates that we are all explorers, and that these traits have a most practical application in everyday life.
The Explorers is a book about survival and courage. It is also a book about stepping into the darkness with confidence and grace, aware on some profound level's - as were Burton and Speke - that the Promised Land we are searching for is not some lost corner of the world, but a place within ourselves.
The story of the ill-fated journey of Scott in which there were no survivors.A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole
by Diana Preston (no photo)Synopsis:
On November 12, 1912, a rescue team trekking across Antarctica's Great Ice Barrier finally found what they sought -- the snow-covered tent of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Inside, they made a grim discovery: Scott's frozen body lay between those of two fellow explorers. They had died just eleven miles from the depot of supplies that might have saved them. The remaining two members of the party were nowhere in sight, but Scott's eloquent diary revealed their nightmarishly similar fate. It is a story that continues to haunt the popular imagination, and which has never been told more grippingly or with greater compassion than in this book.
I'd like to recommend
by
.Synopsis:
Explorer Meriwether Lewis has been stuck in Nowhere since his mysterious death nearly two centuries ago. His last hope for redemption is helping nine-year-old Emmaline Cagney flee her madame mother in New Orleans and find her father in Nashville. To get there, Merry must cross his own grave along the Natchez Trace, where he duels the corrupt Judge, an old foe who has his own despicable plans for Em.
Mod
by
Felipe Fernández-ArmestoSynopsis:
With characteristic flair, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto gives us an entertaining and insightful history of world exploration. Presenting the subject for the first time on a truly global scale, Fernandez-Armesto tracks the pathfinders who, over the last five millennia, lay down the routes of contact that have drawn together the farthest reaches of the world. From the maritime expeditions connecting Queen Hatshepsut's Egypt to the exotic land of Punt in the second millennium BCE, through the merchants and missionaries of the ancient Silk Roads and the great Iberian explorers of the fifteenth century, to the nineteenth-century explorations of the polar regions, interior Africa, North America, and the South Pacific, Fernandez-Armesto spins a grand narrative full of character and story. Deftly embedding these explorations in the cultures, politics, and technologies of their times, he creates a history with unusual depth and breadth. Here is an intellectual adventure as rewarding as it is thrilling.
Mod
by
Douglas HunterSynopsis:
The final decade of the fifteenth century was a turning point in world history. The Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus sailed westward on the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, famously determined to discover for Spain a shorter and more direct route to the riches of the Indies. Meanwhile, a fellow Italian explorer for hire, John Cabot, set off on his own journey, under England's flag. Here, Douglas Hunter tells the fascinating tale of how, during this expedition, Columbus gained a rival. In the space of a few critical years, these two men engaged in a high-stakes race that threatened the precarious diplomatic balance of Europe-to exploit what they believed was a shortcut to staggering wealth. Instead, they found a New World that neither was looking for. Hunter provides a revelatory look at how the lives of Columbus and Cabot were interconnected, and how neither explorer can be understood properly without understanding both. Together, Cabot and Columbus provide a novel and important perspective on the first years of European experience of the New World.
Mod
by David Boyle (no photo)Synopsis:
The untold story of the rivalries and alliances between Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and John Cabot during the Age of Exploration.When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the long-established trade routes to the East became treacherous and expensive, forcing merchants of all sorts to find new ways of obtaining and trading their goods. Enterprising young men took to the sea in search of new lands, new routes, new markets, and of course the possibility of glory and vast fortunes.
Offering an original vision of the race to discover America, David Boyle reveals that the race was, in fact, as much about commerce and trade as it was about discovery and conquest. Contrary to popular belief, Cabot, Columbus, and Vespucci not only knew of each other, they were well acquainted—Columbus and Vespucci at various times worked closely together; Cabot and Columbus were born in Genoa about the same time and had common friends who were interested in Western trade possibilities. They collaborated, knew of each other’s ambitions, and followed each other’s progress. As each attempted to curry favor with various monarchs across Europe, they used news of the others’ successes and failures to further their claims and to garner support from investors. The intrigue, espionage, and treachery that abounded in the courts of Europe provide a compelling backdrop for the intersection of dreams and business ventures that led the way to our modern world.
Mod
by Anthony Brandt (no photo)Synopsis:
The enthralling and often harrowing history of the adventurers who searched for the Northwest Passage, the holy grail of nineteenth-century British exploration.
After the triumphant end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the British took it upon themselves to complete something they had been trying to do since the sixteenth century: find the fabled Northwest Passage, a shortcut to the Orient via a sea route over northern Canada. For the next thirty-five years the British Admiralty sent out expedition after expedition to probe the ice-bound waters of the Canadian Arctic in search of a route, and then, after 1845, to find Sir John Franklin, the Royal Navy hero who led the last of these Admiralty expeditions and vanished into the maze of channels, sounds, and icy seas with two ships and 128 officers and men.
In The Man Who Ate His Boots, Anthony Brandt tells the whole story of the search for the Northwest Passage, from its beginnings early in the age of exploration through its development into a British national obsession to the final sordid, terrible descent into scurvy, starvation, and cannibalism. Sir John Franklin is the focus of the book but it covers all the major expeditions and a number of fascinating characters, including Franklin’s extraordinary wife, Lady Jane, in vivid detail. The Man Who Ate His Boots is a rich and engaging work of narrative history that captures the glory and the folly of this ultimately tragic enterprise.
Mod
by Martin W. Sandler (no photo)Synopsis:
Almost everyone knows the photo of John F. Kennedy, Jr., as a young boy, peering out from under his father’s desk in the Oval Office. But few realize that the desk itself plays a part in one of the world’s most extraordinary mysteries—a dramatic tale that has never before been told in its full scope. Acclaimed historian Martin Sandler—a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, winner of seven Emmy® Awards, and author of more than 50 books—finally brings the entire story to light. This amazing high-seas adventure encompasses the search for the Northwest Passage in the early 1800s; a renowned explorer and his crew of 128 men who vanish during an 1845 expedition; 39 incredible, heroic attempted rescue missions; a ghost ship that drifts for more than 1,200 miles; a queen’s gratitude; and that famous desk. Fascinating rare photographs, paintings, engravings, and maps illustrate the book throughout.
It all began when, in one of the biggest news stories of the 19th century, Sir John Franklin and his ships the Erebus and the Terror disappeared while attempting to locate the fabled Northwest Passage. At the request of Franklin’s wife, Lady Jane, the first mission set out from England in hopes of finding him; many others followed in its wake, none successful.
Among these was the Resolute, the finest vessel in Queen Victoria’s Navy. But in 1854 it became locked in Arctic ice and was abandoned by its captain. A year later, a Connecticut whaler discovered it 1,200 miles away—drifting and deserted, a 600-ton ghost ship. He and his small crew boarded the Resolute, and steered it through a ferocious hurricane back to New London, Connecticut. The United States government then reoutfitted the ship and returned it to the thankful Queen. In 1879, when the Resolute was finally retired, she had the best timbers made into a desk for then-President Rutherford B. Hayes. It is still used by U.S. presidents today...one of the most celebrated pieces of furniture in the White House.
Mod
by Glyn Williams (no photo)Synopsis:
The elusive dream of locating the Northwest Passage—an ocean route over the top of North America that promised a shortcut to the fabulous wealth of Asia—obsessed explorers for centuries. While global warming has brought several such routes into existence, until recently these channels were hopelessly choked by impassible ice. Voyagers faced unimaginable horrors—entire ships crushed, mass starvation, disabling frostbite, even cannibalism—in pursuit of a futile goal. In Arctic Labyrinth, Glyn Williams charts the entire sweep of this extraordinary history, from the tiny, woefully equipped vessels of the first Tudor expeditions to the twentieth-century ventures that finally opened the Passage. Williams’s thrilling narrative delves into private letters and journals to expose the gritty reality behind the often self-serving accounts of those in charge. An important work of maritime history and exploration—and as exciting a tale of heroism and fortitude as readers will find—Arctic Labyrinth is also a remarkable study in human delusion.
message 100:
by
Jerome, Assisting Moderator - Upcoming Books and Releases
(new)
Mod
by Glyn Williams (no photo)Synopsis:
The eighteenth century—the Age of Reason—was characterized by determined attempts by philosophers, scientists, and political theorists to dispel myth, superstition, and ignorance. But the Age of Reason also witnessed some of the most irrational and vainglorious attempts by sailors and speculators to find a navigable Northwest Passage that would lead through the icy seas of the Arctic from Hudson Bay to the wealth of the Pacific Ocean. Lured by the promise of fame and riches, men endured paralyzing cold, malnutrition, and terrifying storms. Many lives and fortunes were lost in the quest for the elusive "maritime philosopher’s stone." In this gripping work of narrative history, Glyn Williams describes the adventures and mishaps of these misguided expeditions. Vividly written and replete with fascinating characters, Voyages of Delusion is a riveting contribution to the history of North American exploration.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark (other topics)Extraordinary Expeditions: The People and Journeys That Changed History (other topics)
The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions (other topics)
River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (other topics)
The Great Ages of Discovery: How Western Civilization Learned About a Wider World (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Craig Fehrman (other topics)Anne Della Guardia (other topics)
Amanda Bellows (other topics)
Candice Millard (other topics)
Stephen J. Pyne (other topics)
More...
