Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a trading route to China, and his unexpected landfall in the Americas, is a watershed event in world history. Yet Columbus made three more voyages within the span of only a decade, each designed to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. These later voyages were even more adventurous, violent, and ambiguous,...

In March 2014, Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters set out to traverse nearly 500 miles across the melting Arctic Ocean, unsupported, from Northern Ellesmere Island to the geographic North Pole. Despite being one of the most cold and hostile environments on the planet, the Arctic Ocean has seen a steady and significant reduction of sea ice over the past seven years due to climate change. Because of this, Larsen's and Waters' trip, dubbed the "Last North Expedition",...

"A quick examination of her roots, and one may never have guessed that Mireya Mayor would become the woman she is today. Yet, against all odds, this self-professed former "girly girl" daughter of overprotective Cuban immigrants blossomed from NFL cheerleader to Fulbright Scholar to field scientist and ultimately, quintessential adventurer. Now, with more than a decade's worth of thrilling exploits under her belt, Mayor recounts her life in a riveting,...

A chronicle of the period in American history between Columbus's discovery of the New World and Jamestown's founding evaluates the voyages and first-contact experiences of numerous European adventurers.

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first map of the trans-Mississippi West, provided invaluable scientific data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and established the American claim...

Traces the effort of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke to discover the source of the Nile River, analyzing seven character traits shared by forefront explorers and how their examples can be applied to modern problems.

In this biographical guide, students and patrons will find lively accounts of the lives and exploits of more than 300 explorers. Well equipped with photographs, maps and illustrations, this fascinating source takes you over the earth, under the sea and into space with more than 300 men and women whose accomplishments shaped the modern world. In addition to well-known explorers such as Columbus, Magellan and Lewis & Clark, you'll find important but...

Presents biographical sketches of twenty-five significant individuals in the history of world exploration, arranged alphabetically from Roald Amundsen to Amerigo Vespucci.