Subjects:  1. Expeditions & Discoveries    2. Photo Essays    3. Photoessays & Documentaries    4. Photography    5. Subjects & Themes - Erotica    6. Subjects & Themes - Nudes    7. Erotic art    8. Photographs: portraits   

Reviews (85)

A Hard Adventure
A Hard Adventure
Unbelievable!
Can you imagine an overweight, past-his-prime ex-president with lingering injuries today disappearing into an unexplored part of the world for many months, with mostly useless provisions, without any communication with the outside world, while the world wonders if he is dead or alive?The first part of the journey is a trek through a barren wasteland, with pack animals dying all around you.The second part is down a river that no has ever traversed.What is around the next bend?A village of Indians who have never seen a white person, who would rather pump you full of poison arrows than befriend you?A series of impassable rapids, only to be followed by more rapids?
Millard finds a hidden gem of a story and tells it wonderfully.
Reading this book makes you wonder how many great stories from the past we never get to hear because someone like Candice Millard doesn't find them and tell them.As you read this wonderful book, you realize how easy it would have been for this amazing adventure tale featuring one of the premier figures in US history to just slip unknown into the past.Fortunately for all of us, Millard found this story, polished it up and presented it to us for our enjoyment.
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Subjects:  1. 20th Century World History    2. Amazon River Valley    3. Biography    4. Discovery And Exploration (General)    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Latin America - South America    10. Modern - 20th Century    11. Natural history    12. Presidents    13. Presidents & Heads of State    14. Rain forests    15. United States    16. United States - 20th Century    17. History / General   

Reviews (203)

BS
That's all I have to say.The ideas presented in this book are BS, pure and simple.While the Chinese explorations are worth learning about, the delusional fantasies and "facts" put forth by this book can only serve to make humanity far less intelligent than it already is.

Interesting and even credible...
... and the credibility is supported by Australian Broadcasting's radio program in july this yeas (2006) regarding the book, where all scientists supporting Menzies' theory were censored ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H edited out (now, why would they do that?).
interesting science fiction; poor history; poorly written
The topic addressed is this book is extremelly interesting. It is inspiring, intriguing, and fascinating. However, speculation is presented as a fact everywhere. Potential possibilities are presented as proven facts. The conclusions are thus misleading. The text is poorly written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asia - China    2. Chinese    3. Discoveries in geography    4. Discovery And Exploration (General)    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Military - Naval    10. Voyages around the world    11. World - General    12. History / World   

Reviews (17)

Genuinely worthy of five stars
I have had this book on my shelf for quite a while, and finally got around to reading it after watching a documentary on Columbus on the Discivery Channel. I got inspired to overcome my intellectual laziness, and how pleased I am I did! This book really deserves its reputation as a timeless classic, and the author, a giant of maritime history, did such a fine job that I now want to read his well known biography of John Paul Jones. The text is gripping and the author's insights abound. This is a fine book.

A colorful narrative, rich in detail.
This book is the definitive work on Columbus.Morison is famous for making the same journey that Columbus made with largely the same equipment in order to prepare for writing this book.His experience shines through in the detail thatMorison lavishes on his subject.
Misleading entities...
While Morison does admit to the genocide of the Indians lead by Columbus and his henchmen, it idolizes him for the duration of the book. A brief admittance of guilt, for Morison, is a surefire way of allowing a much more bias, idealistic portrayal of a man with "questionable" character traits. Bartolome De Las Casas, a European minister who lived in the same time as Colombus, gives a much more realistcally bleek look at the Spanish invasion of the Americas. Because Morison's focus shifts so rapidly from the bad to the good, it loses major points for realism. The book reads more like a 3rd grade textbook; Morison would have us believe Santa Claus and the toothfairy exists along side a saintly Christopher Columbus. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. America    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Columbus, Christopher    7. Expeditions & Discoveries    8. Explorers    9. Historical - General    10. Spain    11. Biography: historical    12. Geographical discovery & exploration    13. History / General    14. North America    15. South America    16. World history: c 1750 to c 1900    17. c 1500 to c 1600   

Editorial Review

Melding superb research and the extraordinary expedition photography of Frank Hurley, Read more

Reviews (147)

An essential book
This is such a good book, because of the way it is written, and also because of the incredible adventure it describes.It is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to Antarctica.Shackleton had been to the Antarctic twice before.The first time he accompanied Robert Falcon Scott in 1901 in an attempt to reach the as yet unclaimed South Pole and claim it for Great Britain.They were unsuccessful and came very close to losing their lives.The significant problems that went with traveling in the Antarctic were that no one lived there (and so no one was there to help if you got into trouble), nothing lived in the interior (no plants or animals to feed on), and the climatic conditions were horrific (snow, ice, wind speeds of up to 200 miles an hour and temperatures as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit).Scott proved to be a very difficult man to travel with -arrogant, abusive and not particularly competent, which is not what you are looking for in the leader of such an expedition.The next time he journeyed south, in 1908, Shackleton, as the leader, chose his own men, and made his own mistakes, such as taking a team of ponies that were supposed to pull the sledges.The ponies were very ill-suited to such an environment and were eventually shot and eaten.This expedition was also a failure, but Shackleton had again learned a lot from the experience.By the end of 1912 the South Pole had been conquered by the Norwegian Amundson, and Shackleton's rival, Scott, had perished with all of his men only eleven miles from a supply depot that would have saved their lives.Now the only significant prize left to be achieved in the Antarctic was the traversing of the continent from one side to the other.Thus Shackleton's 1914 expedition was called the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Real adventure
It's a book that takes you to an incredible adventure. Photogrpahs make it even more exciting !

What an Adventure, and Pictures,Too.
I don't know why I keep reading these sagas of sufferring and adventure about polar expeditions,but I do.Of course, Shackleton's Anarctic expedition is one of the best of the bunch.
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Subjects:  1. (1914-1917)    2. 1874-1922    3. Discovery And Exploration (General)    4. Earth Sciences - Geography    5. Endurance (Ship)    6. Expeditions & Discoveries    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition    11. Polar Regions    12. Shackleton, Ernest Henry,    13. Sir,    14. Special Interest - Adventure    15. Travel    16. Biography: general    17. Geographical discovery & exploration    18. Ireland    19. Journeys    20. Shackleton, Ernest Henry    21. Travel / Adventure   

Reviews (12)

Great Read!
This is exciting stuff! I enjoy the honest portrayal of Columbus, showing his strengths and weaknesses and how he was both an opportunist and a victim of the system. The narrative is spell binding and gripping. It is a great story and very well written. One thing the reader should be aware of is that the first half of the body of the book is background information. It interesting and important information to have before you read the account of the voyage, but there is a lot of it and the title may mislead you into thinking that the body of the book primarily consists of the account of Columbus's fourth voyage, when the account is really about half. Secondly, I wished that there were more maps marking the important places the book mentions in Spain, Africa and the New World. There is a map of the New World and the lines marking Columbus's four voyages, but not enough of the important points are included on that map. Having that would have aided my mental picture of what was happening. Also, one of the other reviewers mentioned the lack of source citations. I have noticed the same thing about other recent reader's-history books lately. I wonder if it is becoming a trend to cite less, in order to prevent distraction to the reader. I hope not. Citing sources is an important part of validating one's research and it reassures folks that undue embellishments are not being made. Nonetheless, these are all nit-picky points compared to the almost magical way that Dugard draws you into the story. Buy the book! You won't be able to put it down you will be amazed at what Columbus and his crew endured.
Very good but a few problems for historians
Martin Dugard's riveting account of Christopher Columbus's last voyage in the New World is not without its flaws. Though the book is very compelling and a great read it suffers a bit from a jumping narrative in the first section to a lack of citations regarding sources throughout.
Enticing, energetic
Whereas the first half of this book is a summary of Columbus' prior three voyages and the Spanish political arena of those days, along with tales of other adventurous voyagers scouting the New World, the remaining half of the book plunges into an exciting examination of his fourth and final voyage.
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Subjects:  1. Adventurers & Explorers    2. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Discovery And Exploration (General)    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. Historical - General    7. History    8. History: American    9. History / General   

Reviews (4)

Amundsen was funny!
This book was a lot of fun, in a geeky documentary sort of way.
The Norwegian Method
Roald Amundsen's "The South Pole" is a detailed, even exhaustive account of his successful 1910-1912 expedition to the South Pole.Amundsen's expedition was the first to reach the South Pole, after failures by other expeditions.
Preparedness Leads To Success
In the Foreword, Roland Huntford describes Amundsen's narrative as "all that Scott's is not".How right he is!This a very large book, but nonetheless an easy read.Amundsen relates a fascinating tale of fortune, misfortune, hardship, and ultimately - success.The narrative is detailed, but not overly so.In many places, a dose of humor is weaved in.Complete with numerous photos, maps, and scientific data, this book should be considered one of the great narratives of exploration.The great moral lesson of this tale is that preparedness ultimately leads to success.Is it any wonder that Roald Amundsen and his comrades won the race to the South Pole? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1872-1928    2. Amundsen, Roald,    3. Antarctica    4. Discovery and exploration    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Norwegian    11. Polar Regions    12. South Pole    13. Travel    14. Geographical discovery & exploration    15. History / General    16. True stories of endurance & survival    17. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (14)

An excellent expansion on Adventures in the Unknown Interior
`Brutal Journey' retells one of the most incredible (and least know) chapters of the early European exploration of the Americas - the spectacular failure ofPanfilo de Narvaez in his attempt to conquer the Gulf Coast of North America, and the ordeal of the four men (out of an original four hundred) who survived. Though the story had already been told in a first hand account by survivor Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in his `Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America', there was amble reason for Schneider to revisit and expand upon this fascinating story.
Apt title
Exciting and, like the title, brutal account of the ill-fated attempt by Panfilo Narvaez to claim Florida - and the unexplored regions to the north and west - for Spain in the early 1530s. 400 conquistadors and slaves set out on this mission for King, God and the Church - only 4 survived. Largely based on the document by one of the survivors, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, this account reads like an adventure novel, history lesson and anthropology study all in one. After storms at sea, encounters with native tribes both peaceful and bloody, extreme starvation, disease, slavery and even cannibalism, the narrative takes an amazing turn as the final four survivors are mistaken for faith healers by an Indian tribe. They become massive celebrities and embark on a cross-country tour across the country, 250 years before Lewis and Clark followed their route. I've never heard of this story or read much into this time period, but it's fascinating stuff and this was an excellent read. The budget would be enormous, but this would make a fantastic movie. 5/5.

Great Reading for the Armchair Explorer
This is a story you want to read about as an armchair explorer.You certainly wouldn't want to live it.It is a tale of suffering.Starvation, torture, cannibalism, slavery, and dealing with various Indian tribes in addition to endurance survivors didn't realize they were capable of all were factors that had to be dealt with in this trip from Florida across the Gulf of Mexico, down the southeast coast of Texas and into Mexico.The author uses Cabeza de Vaca's journal as his primary source for his information, and admits that guesses have to be made at times in determining what may have occurred.Cabeza de Vaca's account of the trip was written some years following the trip in an attempt to acquire recognition and favors from the king of Spain and the public for his suffering, so this must be taken into account as well in determining how factual the account is.Of close to 400 people who started out on this trip only four survived.In addition to Cabeza de Vaca the only survivors were three others named Dorantes, Castillo, and a black Moroccan named Esteban.There are many excellent books involving exploration, especially those of Samuel Eliot Morison, and this one by author Paul Schneider provides us with a neglected subject regarding North American exploration. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. America    3. Biography    4. Europe - Spain & Portugal    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. Explorers    7. General    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Indians of North America    12. North American    13. Spain   

Reviews (5)

Perfect for All Ages...
I purchased this book for my daughter after we visited Fort Clatsop, Oregon where The Lewis and Clark Expedition settled for the winter.My daughter is ten years old and absolutely loves the interative features of the book, such as the replicas of the maps and journal entries from the expedition. The book was such a hit for my daughter's birthday that my parent's ordered the book and a little girl at the party ordered one also.
A Book that is like a museum!
This is a very fun book to read. It has many pockets that contain maps, receipts, and letters that look and feel like the real artifacts. One gets the feeling of history looking through these things. It is appropriate for young people, and adults. It is not a book to read though for the "details" however. I highly recommend this book to school libraries or young people with an interest in Lewis and Clark history. For details of the expedition look at Undaunted Courage, and/or Moulton's book.

Hard to believe--Only 200 years ago!

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Subjects:  1. (1804-1806)    2. Description and travel    3. Discovery and exploration    4. Expeditions & Discoveries    5. Explorers    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: American    9. Lewis and Clark Expedition    10. Specimens    11. Toy and movable books    12. United States - 19th Century    13. United States - General    14. West (U.S.)    15. History / United States / 19th Century   

Reviews (21)

Talk about life on the road!
Okay, what to say about Marco Polo based on his own recounting. First of all, it's amazing how much this guy saw. Even accounting for his embellishments, he was obviously getting around quite a bit. Over a period of decades he travelled through China and parts of India, usually at the behest of the Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan, one of their noteworthy historical figures. Some of the tales he tells are obviously fabricated, but others are familiar even to modern day historians. When the text recounts some of the actual events he either saw or at least heard about, the reader is treated to a succinct and pleasant story.
Marco Polo-The Travels
The Travels by Marco Polo. Penguin Books. 1958.
Fascinating and Enduring
This is a fascinating and timeless narrative for many reasons. On a somewhat superficial level, Polo's book is a must read for lovers of travel or adventure stories, as it reads like a great lost book of the Bible, rife with historic vengeance, heroic warriors, eccentric mystics, penultimate battles and rallying speeches that seem torn out of the best passages of Thucydides. Many of the practices and beliefs Polo witnessed -- specifically, polygamous peoples, perspectives on sexuality, methods of execution and the dazzling ways in which the people Polo came across attempted to please the gods and interpret the cosmos -- offer a memorable glimpse into a unique historical epoch. Particularly engrossing are the stories of violent tensions between Christian and Islamic sects in Polo's day and region. One gets a sense that not much has changed in the past 800 years as Polo details the struggles between the eastern and western world even then, many of which redound to financial issues (sound familiar?). Polo's insistence on portraying Moslems and Buddhists as savage rogues does make for a one-dimensional and distinctly Christian view of the world as it was in Polo's day, and his language is hardly the most attractive aspect of the book, which is written in a particularly conversational and redundant style. But the stories and characters contained within these pages are epic and unforgettable. I encourage lovers of Tolkein, C.S. Lewis and Rowling to read this book. Lovers of ancient history and philosophy are also bound to adore it. Most impressively, though, is the insight Polo offers into the birth of the now-infamous rift between the western and eastern worlds. This enduring relevance guarantees that we will be reading Polo's "Travels" for centuries to come. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Expeditions & Discoveries    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. Italy    9. Mongols    10. Travelers    11. Voyages and travels    12. Biography & Autobiography / Adventurers & Explorers    13. Classic travel writing   

Editorial Review

This controversial book by Ivan Van Sertima, the Guyanese historian, linguist, and anthropologist, claims that Africans had been to the New World centuries before Columbus arrived there in 1492. Citing--among other things--the huge Negroid-looking Olmec heads of Central Mexico and the similarities between the Aztec and Egyptian calendars and pyramid structures, Van Sertima pieces together a hidden history of pre-Columbian contact between Africans and Native Americans. He also puts forth the possibility that Columbus may have already known about a route to the Americas from his years in Africa as a trader in Guinea.The ideas in this book have been debated and discussed since its first publication in 1976; even those who choose not to believe Van Sertima's theories should take his argument seriously. Read more

Reviews (66)

No, my friend, they didnt
Had I been hyper-sensitive and 110% politically correct, I would have filed a complaint against this book at some suitable community college, since I happen to have some American Indian ancestry. First, "we" were forced to endure claims that the Whites built the pyramids in Central America, now "we" are forced to endure claims that the Chinese or the Africans built them instead. Hyper-diffusionism is multi-culturalist these days! They only forgot the cultures that actually built the pyramids in Central America: the American Indians, First Nations, Native Americans, whatever short-hand you prefer.
More than Olmec Heads
Ivan Van Sertima's argument cannot be reduced to the apparent negroid features of the Olmec heads, and to even suggest it is to deny the thoroughness of the work, the overwhelming presence of references and notes, and is clearly based on an instinctive contempt for any attempt to show that africans have contributed to world history outside of slavery and colonization.
please
Thick lips and a flap nose is not african, just like light skin and straight here ain't european. The olmecs were not black and the egyptians were not black not white nor arabic but semitic. If you need proof theirs a pic of king tut shooting at nubians. The nubians look black and tut looks semitic.
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Subjects:  1. African influences    2. Africans    3. America    4. Blacks    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Indians    11. North American    12. To 1500    13. History / General   

Reviews (2)

Beyond the voyages of Cook; examine the brushing of cultures
When an anthropologist writes history one expects a differant perspective. Still, I was stunned by the insight Ms. Salmond exhibited. Most surprising is how densely this book is filled with small, "throwaway" insights that reveal the nature of Georgian England, the impact of the Enlightenment and even the impact of a society, like our own, where the division of wealth has become so radical.
spanning the cultural divide
Salmond's superb account of Cook's Pacific exploration tells the story from the perspectives of both Europeans and Polynesians. It places Cook as a 'player' in the islands' internal intrigues and power struggles, especially of the Maori and the Taihitians, while beautifully delineating the various and changing responses of their 'discovers' to the Pacific 'paradise'. Cook's portrayal is highly convincing, and the book assembles a brilliant argument for its conclusions about his violent end. Salmond's work is informed by an impressive anthropological knowledge, but it reads also as a sensitive exploration of personality and as a compelling adventure narrative. I have read a good many historical treatments of this material, and Salmond's work is among the best. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1728-1779    2. 18th century    3. Biography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cook, James,    6. Expeditions & Discoveries    7. Explorers    8. General    9. Great Britain    10. History    11. History - General History    12. Maritime History    13. Modern - 18th Century    14. Oceania    15. Travel    16. Voyages around the world    17. History / General   

Reviews (15)

A good history
Fewer things are better than a good sea story dealing with unexplored regions of the world. Captain James Cook's British Naval expeditions in the late 1700's were some of the last expeditions to the unexplored parts of the world. For introducing the subject and telling a good story, Thomas does an excellent job of introducing the reader to the inherent problems in leading a naval and scientific expedition and first contact with Pacific Islanders.
The People on the Beach
Before reading this book, most of what I knew about Captain Cook was from high school (not much) and from a vacation or two in Hawaii complete with visits to historic sites.I saw it at the library and checked it out because I am enrolled in a "Pacific Islanders in the U.S." course at my local junior college, and because I'm planning another vacation in Hawaii and want to feel more grounded in the history of the place while I'm there.
A good read, strange word choice at times.
The history, anthropology and sociology presented are well written at least 90% of the time.At other times the writer seems to get bogged down in making hindsighted judgments about certain situations and injects quite a bit of his personal thoughts... but hey it's his book and it's not sold as being a dry history book.It is all about Cook and the impact his expeditions had on the local islanders.
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Subjects:  1. 1728-1779    2. 18th century    3. Adventurers & Explorers    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Cook, James,    7. Europe - Great Britain - General    8. Expeditions & Discoveries    9. Explorers    10. Great Britain    11. History    12. History: World    13. Maritime History    14. Modern - 18th Century    15. Travel    16. Voyages around the world    17. World - General   

Reviews (18)

TALE OF HISTORY, ADVENTURE, LOVE AND SCIENCE
This book is actually a collection of different topics weaved together with the background of the love story between a lowly French scientist and an upperclass Ecuadorian lady.
A history book whose story kept me reading
I was very surprised by this book.First off, I loved it.It was hard for me to put it down.I was a bit skeptical by the sub title "A true tale of love..."However I was pleasantly surprised when much of the book turned out to be a wonderful history -- a narrative history -- of science, exploration, adventure, and adversity. Whitaker has woven a history book that was neither dull nor boring.I wish the history books I read in school were more like this.
Fascinating bit of history

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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Amazon River Region    3. Description and travel    4. Ecuador    5. Expeditions & Discoveries    6. General    7. Godin des Odonais, Isabelle de    8. Godin des Odonais, Isabelle de Grandmaison,    9. Historical - General    10. History    11. History: World    12. Latin America - South America    13. Science    14. Scientific expeditions    15. Travel    16. b. 1728?    17. History / General   

Editorial Review