Author: Tom McCarthy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493071017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Book Description
The newspaper advertisement for volunteers to accompany Ernest Shackleton on his planned traverse of Antarctica in 1914 was frank in its offering. “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Still, hundreds applied. There were few chances left to be the first to reach the last challenge on Earth. As the 20th Century came of age, explorers had uncovered most of the world’s mysteries, sailing to the far corners of the globe, ascending many of its most forbidding peaks, crossing its greatest deserts and penetrating its thickest jungles. Frozen, alien, inhospitable, dangerous, and close to impossible to reach, there were only two tiny dots on the globe that human beings had not yet set foot on—the North and South Poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told is a visceral, exciting and stunning collection of twelve stories recounting the bravery, resoluteness, and strength of the men who willingly traversed frozen hells to be the first to reach the North or South Pole. It is a collection that will both inspire and inform—and answer questions about the limits of human endurance. Many men would die during their challenging, frozen journeys, and their deaths were not pleasant. Yet they continued to try again. Here are stories, wrought by the challenging landscape and weather, that made these explorers household names and heroes: Peary, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Franklin,Cherry-Garrard, Scott, Kane, Cook—and others lost to history whose bravery was nonetheless as admirable. Each of these men knew success would bring glory for their countries and financial security and fame and eminent places in history for themselves. Each knew also the odds of success were slim and the chance of dying great. Nations held their collective breaths for news of each expedition and those years later were termed the Heroic Age of Exploration—there were simply no other endeavors that captured the world’s attention the various races to the poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told recaptures the spirit, drama, and tragedy of a time in history that will never come again.
The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told
Author: Tom McCarthy
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493071017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Book Description
The newspaper advertisement for volunteers to accompany Ernest Shackleton on his planned traverse of Antarctica in 1914 was frank in its offering. “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Still, hundreds applied. There were few chances left to be the first to reach the last challenge on Earth. As the 20th Century came of age, explorers had uncovered most of the world’s mysteries, sailing to the far corners of the globe, ascending many of its most forbidding peaks, crossing its greatest deserts and penetrating its thickest jungles. Frozen, alien, inhospitable, dangerous, and close to impossible to reach, there were only two tiny dots on the globe that human beings had not yet set foot on—the North and South Poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told is a visceral, exciting and stunning collection of twelve stories recounting the bravery, resoluteness, and strength of the men who willingly traversed frozen hells to be the first to reach the North or South Pole. It is a collection that will both inspire and inform—and answer questions about the limits of human endurance. Many men would die during their challenging, frozen journeys, and their deaths were not pleasant. Yet they continued to try again. Here are stories, wrought by the challenging landscape and weather, that made these explorers household names and heroes: Peary, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Franklin,Cherry-Garrard, Scott, Kane, Cook—and others lost to history whose bravery was nonetheless as admirable. Each of these men knew success would bring glory for their countries and financial security and fame and eminent places in history for themselves. Each knew also the odds of success were slim and the chance of dying great. Nations held their collective breaths for news of each expedition and those years later were termed the Heroic Age of Exploration—there were simply no other endeavors that captured the world’s attention the various races to the poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told recaptures the spirit, drama, and tragedy of a time in history that will never come again.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493071017
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269
Book Description
The newspaper advertisement for volunteers to accompany Ernest Shackleton on his planned traverse of Antarctica in 1914 was frank in its offering. “Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.” Still, hundreds applied. There were few chances left to be the first to reach the last challenge on Earth. As the 20th Century came of age, explorers had uncovered most of the world’s mysteries, sailing to the far corners of the globe, ascending many of its most forbidding peaks, crossing its greatest deserts and penetrating its thickest jungles. Frozen, alien, inhospitable, dangerous, and close to impossible to reach, there were only two tiny dots on the globe that human beings had not yet set foot on—the North and South Poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told is a visceral, exciting and stunning collection of twelve stories recounting the bravery, resoluteness, and strength of the men who willingly traversed frozen hells to be the first to reach the North or South Pole. It is a collection that will both inspire and inform—and answer questions about the limits of human endurance. Many men would die during their challenging, frozen journeys, and their deaths were not pleasant. Yet they continued to try again. Here are stories, wrought by the challenging landscape and weather, that made these explorers household names and heroes: Peary, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Franklin,Cherry-Garrard, Scott, Kane, Cook—and others lost to history whose bravery was nonetheless as admirable. Each of these men knew success would bring glory for their countries and financial security and fame and eminent places in history for themselves. Each knew also the odds of success were slim and the chance of dying great. Nations held their collective breaths for news of each expedition and those years later were termed the Heroic Age of Exploration—there were simply no other endeavors that captured the world’s attention the various races to the poles. The Greatest Polar Exploration Stories Ever Told recaptures the spirit, drama, and tragedy of a time in history that will never come again.
The Greatest Exploration Stories Ever Told
Author: Darren Brown
Publisher: Globe Pequot
ISBN: 9781585747771
Category : Adventure and adventurers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This captivating anthology brings together in one volume the most amazing accounts of exploration and discovery from every part of the globe, including the American interior, South America, the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, as well as the seas and polar regions. These fascinating tales are told by the people whose bravery, determination, willpower, and strength contributed to our vast knowledge about the world. True accounts include such bold exploits as John Wesley Powell's first float through the Grand Canyon; Captain Cook's voyages through the Pacific; Marco Polo's travels to China and Mongolia; Sir Richard Francis Burton, the first Westerner to visit Mecca in disguise; Teddy Roosevelt's trip up the Amazon in Brazil; Xenophon's march of 10,000 through unexplored areas of Turkey and the Middle East and many, many more.
Publisher: Globe Pequot
ISBN: 9781585747771
Category : Adventure and adventurers
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This captivating anthology brings together in one volume the most amazing accounts of exploration and discovery from every part of the globe, including the American interior, South America, the Middle East, the Far East, and Africa, as well as the seas and polar regions. These fascinating tales are told by the people whose bravery, determination, willpower, and strength contributed to our vast knowledge about the world. True accounts include such bold exploits as John Wesley Powell's first float through the Grand Canyon; Captain Cook's voyages through the Pacific; Marco Polo's travels to China and Mongolia; Sir Richard Francis Burton, the first Westerner to visit Mecca in disguise; Teddy Roosevelt's trip up the Amazon in Brazil; Xenophon's march of 10,000 through unexplored areas of Turkey and the Middle East and many, many more.
The Best Adventure and Exploration Stories Ever Told
Author: Stephen Brennan
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1626365032
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 600
Book Description
An exciting collection of dangerous adventures and groundbreaking exploration, The Best Adventure and Exploration Stories Ever Told compiles the works of authors from all over the world and from the very distant past to recent eras. Popular and well-known authors such as Herman Melville, Jack London, Joseph Conrad, and Jules Verne are featured, as well as Homer’s mythic tales and Iceland’s mesmerizing sagas from the tenth and eleventh centuries. Nonfiction stories add a riveting, realistic aspect of adventure to the collection. These include accounts from Shackleton’s polar expeditions; early American stories from the famed Lewis and Clark; spellbinding accounts of Magellan’s perilous expeditions to uncharted areas; and many more no less exciting. The stories compiled in this priceless collection represent a thousand years of adventure, expedition, danger, and discovery. They inspire as well as awe, and readers will find themselves with an urge to follow in these great adventurers’ footsteps. Ancient and modern escapades placed side by side make this book perfect for all who crave the adrenaline of adventure and discovery. This title is part of Skyhorse’s respected The Best Stories series, each of which is selectively edited and handcrafted to include only the best stories from the best writers of the genre.
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1626365032
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 600
Book Description
An exciting collection of dangerous adventures and groundbreaking exploration, The Best Adventure and Exploration Stories Ever Told compiles the works of authors from all over the world and from the very distant past to recent eras. Popular and well-known authors such as Herman Melville, Jack London, Joseph Conrad, and Jules Verne are featured, as well as Homer’s mythic tales and Iceland’s mesmerizing sagas from the tenth and eleventh centuries. Nonfiction stories add a riveting, realistic aspect of adventure to the collection. These include accounts from Shackleton’s polar expeditions; early American stories from the famed Lewis and Clark; spellbinding accounts of Magellan’s perilous expeditions to uncharted areas; and many more no less exciting. The stories compiled in this priceless collection represent a thousand years of adventure, expedition, danger, and discovery. They inspire as well as awe, and readers will find themselves with an urge to follow in these great adventurers’ footsteps. Ancient and modern escapades placed side by side make this book perfect for all who crave the adrenaline of adventure and discovery. This title is part of Skyhorse’s respected The Best Stories series, each of which is selectively edited and handcrafted to include only the best stories from the best writers of the genre.
The Best Survival Stories Ever Told
Author: Jon E. Lewis
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1620876655
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 533
Book Description
This collection of classic tales comprises over thirty accounts of true-life adventure taken from contemporary memoirs, letters, and journals. They span the years from 1800 to the end of the twentieth century, in a period which can be termed the modern age of exploration. Among the writers are: Ernest Shackleton Douglas Mawson Salomon Andrée Sebastian Snow Ed Drummond Edmund Hillary Maurice Herzog Lewis and Clark Thor Heyerdahl Theodore Roosevelt Jacques Cousteau Sven Hedin Norbert Casteret Jim Corbett Charles A. Lindbergh The Best Survival Stories Ever Told recounts stories of ordinary mortals who achieved extraordinary things. Spanning the ice-locked Poles and the endless deserts of Arabia to the storm-tossed South Atlantic, the rain forests of the Amazon, and sheer peaks of the Himalayas, it charts the dangerous relationship between men and nature.
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1620876655
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 533
Book Description
This collection of classic tales comprises over thirty accounts of true-life adventure taken from contemporary memoirs, letters, and journals. They span the years from 1800 to the end of the twentieth century, in a period which can be termed the modern age of exploration. Among the writers are: Ernest Shackleton Douglas Mawson Salomon Andrée Sebastian Snow Ed Drummond Edmund Hillary Maurice Herzog Lewis and Clark Thor Heyerdahl Theodore Roosevelt Jacques Cousteau Sven Hedin Norbert Casteret Jim Corbett Charles A. Lindbergh The Best Survival Stories Ever Told recounts stories of ordinary mortals who achieved extraordinary things. Spanning the ice-locked Poles and the endless deserts of Arabia to the storm-tossed South Atlantic, the rain forests of the Amazon, and sheer peaks of the Himalayas, it charts the dangerous relationship between men and nature.
Greatest Escape Stories Ever Told
Author: Darren Brown
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1461748755
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
To reach freedom, the most famous escapers of all time have been willing to endure the most horrific conditions—and the direst consequences if caught. The collection of tales in The Greatest Escape Stories Ever Told is gripping as only true life-and-death struggles can be: Papillon fighting through the jungles of Guiana only to commit himself to the open ocean in a sixteen-foot boat rather than face a life in exile; Rocky Gause dodging bullets as he swims through shark-infested waters to escape the Japanese at Bataan, while those around him simply quit; Latude battling against the dreaded Bastille; Baron Trenck—with chains covering almost every inch of his body—digging and digging to free himself from wrongful imprisonment; Andre Devigny, so weak from starvation and poor treatment that he could barely lift himself, shimmying across a rope only yards above a German sentry during World War II on the eve of his execution. These are just a few of the twenty-five bold and ingenious tales of escape included in this collection. The Greatest Escape Stories Ever Told will hold readers captive for years to come!
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1461748755
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301
Book Description
To reach freedom, the most famous escapers of all time have been willing to endure the most horrific conditions—and the direst consequences if caught. The collection of tales in The Greatest Escape Stories Ever Told is gripping as only true life-and-death struggles can be: Papillon fighting through the jungles of Guiana only to commit himself to the open ocean in a sixteen-foot boat rather than face a life in exile; Rocky Gause dodging bullets as he swims through shark-infested waters to escape the Japanese at Bataan, while those around him simply quit; Latude battling against the dreaded Bastille; Baron Trenck—with chains covering almost every inch of his body—digging and digging to free himself from wrongful imprisonment; Andre Devigny, so weak from starvation and poor treatment that he could barely lift himself, shimmying across a rope only yards above a German sentry during World War II on the eve of his execution. These are just a few of the twenty-five bold and ingenious tales of escape included in this collection. The Greatest Escape Stories Ever Told will hold readers captive for years to come!
The Greatest Treasure-Hunting Stories Ever Told
Author: Charles Elliott
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493083546
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
"There is something about a treasure," says Joseph Conrad in Nostromo, "that fastens on a man's mind." And, yes, there is something about the subject of treasure hunting that continues to fascinate us. One only needs to browse the Web to discover a whole netherworld of treasure-hunting magazines, metal-detector clubs, and lost-mine information exchanges that apparently engage the funds and spare time of thousands of hopefuls. But digging up tin cans and discarded horseshoes or crashing through the Superstitions in a "recreational vehicle" somehow goes against the romantic grain. Charles Elliott recaptures the essential romance of the search in this collection of classic stories. Many are true - or purport to be. They encompass all the great themes - obsession, tragedy, danger, crime, frustration, terrible physical challenge, success and disappointment. They take place under the sea, in jungles, on desert islands, even in the attics of old houses. The treasure itself is not always gold, silver, and diamonds - it may be lost documents, the solution to a historical puzzle, or an unexpected archaeological discovery. What is common to them all is the excitement of the chase and the possibility - irrational, perhaps, but unavoidable -that treasure really is there for the finding.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493083546
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
"There is something about a treasure," says Joseph Conrad in Nostromo, "that fastens on a man's mind." And, yes, there is something about the subject of treasure hunting that continues to fascinate us. One only needs to browse the Web to discover a whole netherworld of treasure-hunting magazines, metal-detector clubs, and lost-mine information exchanges that apparently engage the funds and spare time of thousands of hopefuls. But digging up tin cans and discarded horseshoes or crashing through the Superstitions in a "recreational vehicle" somehow goes against the romantic grain. Charles Elliott recaptures the essential romance of the search in this collection of classic stories. Many are true - or purport to be. They encompass all the great themes - obsession, tragedy, danger, crime, frustration, terrible physical challenge, success and disappointment. They take place under the sea, in jungles, on desert islands, even in the attics of old houses. The treasure itself is not always gold, silver, and diamonds - it may be lost documents, the solution to a historical puzzle, or an unexpected archaeological discovery. What is common to them all is the excitement of the chase and the possibility - irrational, perhaps, but unavoidable -that treasure really is there for the finding.
The Greatest Mountain Men Stories Ever Told
Author: Lamar Underwood
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493032887
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
Long the dominant icon embodying the spirit of America's frontier past, the image of the cowboy no longer stands alone as the ultimate symbol of independence and self-reliance. The great canvas of the western landscape-in art, books, film-is today shared by the figures called "Mountain Men." They were the trappers of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the years following Lewis and Clark's Expedition of 1804-1806. With their bold journeys peaking, during the period of 1830-1840, they were the first white men to enter the vast wilderness reaches of the Rockies in search of beaver "plews," as the skins were called. They feasted on the abundant buffalo, elk and other game, while living the ultimate free-spirited wilderness life. Often they paid the ultimate price for their ventures under the arrows, tomahawks, and knives of those native Americans whose lands they had entered. Tales of the Mountain Men, presents in one book many of the most engaging and revealing portraits of mountain men ever written. Ranging from nonfiction classics like Bernard DeVoto's Across the Wide Missouri through fiction from such acclaimed novels as A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s The Big Sky, this collection is destined to be well appreciated by the huge and dedicated audience fascinated by mountain man lore and legend. These readers include many who today participate in reenactments of the mountain man "Rendezvous," with colorful costumes and competitions of traditional skills with authentic guns, knives, and tools. No book exists today with such a diverse and engaging collection of mountain man literature. For an already-large and still-growing audience, Tales of the Mountain Men will be a valued extension of their interest in the mountain man as a compelling and uniquely American figure.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493032887
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
Long the dominant icon embodying the spirit of America's frontier past, the image of the cowboy no longer stands alone as the ultimate symbol of independence and self-reliance. The great canvas of the western landscape-in art, books, film-is today shared by the figures called "Mountain Men." They were the trappers of the Rocky Mountain fur trade in the years following Lewis and Clark's Expedition of 1804-1806. With their bold journeys peaking, during the period of 1830-1840, they were the first white men to enter the vast wilderness reaches of the Rockies in search of beaver "plews," as the skins were called. They feasted on the abundant buffalo, elk and other game, while living the ultimate free-spirited wilderness life. Often they paid the ultimate price for their ventures under the arrows, tomahawks, and knives of those native Americans whose lands they had entered. Tales of the Mountain Men, presents in one book many of the most engaging and revealing portraits of mountain men ever written. Ranging from nonfiction classics like Bernard DeVoto's Across the Wide Missouri through fiction from such acclaimed novels as A. B. Guthrie Jr.'s The Big Sky, this collection is destined to be well appreciated by the huge and dedicated audience fascinated by mountain man lore and legend. These readers include many who today participate in reenactments of the mountain man "Rendezvous," with colorful costumes and competitions of traditional skills with authentic guns, knives, and tools. No book exists today with such a diverse and engaging collection of mountain man literature. For an already-large and still-growing audience, Tales of the Mountain Men will be a valued extension of their interest in the mountain man as a compelling and uniquely American figure.
The Greatest Story Ever Told--So Far
Author: Lawrence M. Krauss
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476777632
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
From award-winning physicist, public intellectual, and the bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing Lawrence Krauss, comes “a masterful blend of history, modern physics, and cosmic perspective that empowers the reader to not only embrace our understanding of the universe, but also revel in what remains to be discovered” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Museum of Natural History). In this grand poetic vision of the universe, Lawrence Krauss tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world that underlies reality—and our place within it. Reality is not what you think or sense—it’s weird, wild, and counterintuitive, and its inner workings seem at least as implausible as the idea that something can come from nothing. With his trademark wit and accessible style, Krauss leads us to realms so small that they are invisible to microscopes, to the birth and rebirth of light, and into the natural forces that govern our existence. His unique blend of rigorous research and engaging storytelling invites us into the lives and minds of remarkable scientists who have helped unravel the unexpected fabric of reality with reasoning rather than superstition and dogma, and to explain how everything we see—and can’t see—came about. A passionate advocate for reason, Krauss gives the rationale for the seemingly irrational—and the mysteries and apparent contradictions of quantum physics, and explores what that means for our lives here on Earth—and beyond. At its core, The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far is about the best of what it means to be human—an epic history of our ultimately purposeless universe that addresses the question, “Why are we here?”
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476777632
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
From award-winning physicist, public intellectual, and the bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing Lawrence Krauss, comes “a masterful blend of history, modern physics, and cosmic perspective that empowers the reader to not only embrace our understanding of the universe, but also revel in what remains to be discovered” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Museum of Natural History). In this grand poetic vision of the universe, Lawrence Krauss tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world that underlies reality—and our place within it. Reality is not what you think or sense—it’s weird, wild, and counterintuitive, and its inner workings seem at least as implausible as the idea that something can come from nothing. With his trademark wit and accessible style, Krauss leads us to realms so small that they are invisible to microscopes, to the birth and rebirth of light, and into the natural forces that govern our existence. His unique blend of rigorous research and engaging storytelling invites us into the lives and minds of remarkable scientists who have helped unravel the unexpected fabric of reality with reasoning rather than superstition and dogma, and to explain how everything we see—and can’t see—came about. A passionate advocate for reason, Krauss gives the rationale for the seemingly irrational—and the mysteries and apparent contradictions of quantum physics, and explores what that means for our lives here on Earth—and beyond. At its core, The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far is about the best of what it means to be human—an epic history of our ultimately purposeless universe that addresses the question, “Why are we here?”
The Greatest Circus Stories Ever Told
Author: Stephen Vincent Brennan
Publisher: Globe Pequot
ISBN: 9781592287406
Category : Circus
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A collection of stories from the earliest circus to the most modern. Author Stephen Vincent Brennan has worked as a circus clown, book editor, teacher, cabaret artist, actor, director, sheepherder and playwright. He is the editor of Classic Adventure Stories, Classic Exploration Stories, The Greatest Cowboy Stories Ever Told, and Classic American Hero Stories. He is now an actor and director with the Theater Wing of the Kaufman Center in New York City.
Publisher: Globe Pequot
ISBN: 9781592287406
Category : Circus
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A collection of stories from the earliest circus to the most modern. Author Stephen Vincent Brennan has worked as a circus clown, book editor, teacher, cabaret artist, actor, director, sheepherder and playwright. He is the editor of Classic Adventure Stories, Classic Exploration Stories, The Greatest Cowboy Stories Ever Told, and Classic American Hero Stories. He is now an actor and director with the Theater Wing of the Kaufman Center in New York City.
The Oxford Book of Exploration
Author: Robin Hanbury-Tenison
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0192805568
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 595
Book Description
Selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, whom the Sunday Times called the 'greatest explorer of the last twenty years', this is a comprehensive anthology of the writings of explorers through the ages, now fully revised and updated. The ultimate in travel writing, these are the words of those who changed the world through their pioneering search for new lands, new peoples, and new experiences. Divided into geographical sections, the book takes us to Asia with Vasco da Gama, Francis Younghusband, and Wilfred Thesiger, to the Americas with John Cabot, Sir Francis Drake, and Alexander Von Humboldt, to Africa with Dr David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley, to the Pacific with Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and to the Poles with Robert Peary and Wally Herbert. Driven by a desire to discover that transcends all other considerations, the vivid writings of these extraordinary people reveal what makes them go beyond the possible and earn the right to be known as explorers.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0192805568
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 595
Book Description
Selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, whom the Sunday Times called the 'greatest explorer of the last twenty years', this is a comprehensive anthology of the writings of explorers through the ages, now fully revised and updated. The ultimate in travel writing, these are the words of those who changed the world through their pioneering search for new lands, new peoples, and new experiences. Divided into geographical sections, the book takes us to Asia with Vasco da Gama, Francis Younghusband, and Wilfred Thesiger, to the Americas with John Cabot, Sir Francis Drake, and Alexander Von Humboldt, to Africa with Dr David Livingstone and Mary Kingsley, to the Pacific with Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook, and to the Poles with Robert Peary and Wally Herbert. Driven by a desire to discover that transcends all other considerations, the vivid writings of these extraordinary people reveal what makes them go beyond the possible and earn the right to be known as explorers.