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On May 27, 1931, Auguste Piccard became the first human to enter the stratosphere, flying an experimental balloon he invented…
himself. Thirty years later, his son Jacques went to the bottom of the earth, descending to the Mariana Trench in a submarine built by him and Auguste. To this day, no one has gone deeper. Bertrand, the third generation, was the first person to fly around the world non-stop in a balloon. Now, he's building his own craft: a solar-powered plane to circumnavigate the globe. In "The Explorer Gene," Tom Cheshire asks how three generations of one family achieved such extraordinary feats, often with the consensus against them. None of the Piccards set out to explore: Auguste was a physicist, Jacques an economist and Bertrand a psychiatrist. Was it fate, a famous family name - or their explorer gene?Into the silence: the Great War, Mallory and the conquest of Everest
By Wade Davis. 2012
While the quest for Mount Everest may have begun as a grand imperial gesture, it ended as a mission of…
revival for a country and a lost generation bled white by war. In a monumental work of history and adventure, Davis asks not whether George Mallory was the first to reach the summit of Everest, but rather why he kept climbing on that fateful day. 2012.The last Viking: the life of Roald Amundsen
By Stephen R Bown. 2012
The most feted explorer of his generation, Roald Amundsen counted the discovery of the Northwest Passage, in 1905, as well…
as the North Pole amongst his greatest achievements. In the golden age of polar exploration Amundsen, whose revolutionary approach to technology transcends polar and nautical significance, was a titan among men, and helped put the newly independent Norway on the map. 2013.The Last Blank Spaces
By Dane Kennedy. 2013
The challenge of opening Africa and Australia to British imperial influence fell to a coterie of proto-professional explorers who sought…
knowledge, adventure, and fame but often experienced confusion, fear, and failure. The Last Blank Spaces follows the arc of these explorations, from idea to practice, intention to outcome, myth to reality.The Spanish cleric Bartolom de Las Casas is a key figure in the history of Spain's conquest of the Americas.…
Las Casas condemned the torture and murder of natives by the conquistadores in reports to the Spanish royal court and in tracts such as A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552). For his unrelenting denunciation of the colonialists' atrocities, Las Casas has been revered as a noble protector of the Indians and as a pioneering anti-imperialist. He has become a larger-than-life figure invoked by generations of anticolonialists in Europe and Latin America. Separating historical reality from myth, Daniel Castro provides a nuanced, revisionist assessment of the friar's career, writings, and political activities. Castro argues that Las Casas was very much an imperialist. Intent on converting the Indians to Christianity, the religion of the colonizers, Las Casas simply offered the natives another face of empire: a paternalistic, ecclesiastical imperialism. Castro contends that while the friar was a skilled political manipulator, influential at what was arguably the world's most powerful sixteenth-century imperial court, his advocacy on behalf of the natives had little impact on their lives. Analyzing Las Casas's extensive writings, Castro points out that in his many years in the Americas, Las Casas spent very little time among the indigenous people he professed to love, and he made virtually no effort to learn their languages. He saw himself as an emissary from a superior culture with a divine mandate to impose a set of ideas and beliefs on the colonized. He differed from his compatriots primarily in his antipathy to violence as the means for achieving conversion.Somewheres east of Suez
By Tristan Jones. 1988
This book follows the author's journey as he sets out from Istanbul in late July 1985 on an 11-month voyage…
to Phuket, Thailand. Together with two companions he faced many trials, some created by nature, some by man. 1988.Cousteau
By Richard Munson. 1991
Jacques Cousteau is a living legend as an undersea adventurer. He helped to invent the Aqualung, launched the science of…
undersea archaeology, discovered oil beneath the Persian Gulf and built undersea stations and small submarines for research. Here is a balanced portrait of this talented, charismatic and little-understood man. 2005.Wind, sand and stars
By Antoine de Saint Exupéry. 1939
Rope boy
By Dennis Gray. 1970
Maiden
By Tracy Edwards, Tim Madge. 1990
"Maiden" is the inspiring story of how Tracy Edwards, a modest 27-year-old, took a yacht and the first all-female crew…
ever to race round the globe through storms and savage seas. This is a book about great courage, great endeavour, and extraordinary determination. It is also a story of how anyone can have a dream and, against all odds, come through triumphant. 1990.Mud, sweat and tears
By Bear Grylls. 2011
Captain Phil Harris
By Steve Springer, Josh Harris, Jake Harris, Blake Chavez. 2013
The electrifying behind-the-scenes story of the late Deadliest Catch star, from his own two sons. Prior to his untimely death…
in 2010, Captain Phil Harris was a star of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, the hit show that follows the exhilarating lives of Alaskan crab fishermen as they brave the vicious Bering Sea. He led his crew through hurricane-force winds and fourstory- high waves, hauling in millions of pounds of crab and raking in millions of dollars. Phil worked hard, but he played even harder. His life on shore--from his rebellious days to his tempestuous marriages, from his addictive habits to his fundamental American success story--could serve as a reality show in itself. He lived his life at Mach speed: the blitz of crab season, the six-figure paydays, the thunderous motorcycles, and the drug-fueled parties. High-speed chases and all-night blackjack binges were par for the course. But as wild as Phil could be, he was always openhearted and infectiously friendly. He was a devoted friend, a loving father, a steadfast captain, and a hero to audiences across America and around the world. His death in 2010, the result of stroke and heart failure at the age of fifty-three, left a hole in the hearts of millions. In this exclusive authorized biography, Phil's two surviving sons, Josh and Jake Harris, team up with bestselling author Steve Springer and coauthor Blake Chavez to share the thrilling story of Phil's remarkable life.Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City
By Steven Collins, Latayne Scott. 2008
The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament's most infamous cities.Like many modern-day Christians, Dr.…
Steven Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history--a crisis of faith that inspired him to put both his education and the Bible to the test by embarking on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology. Recounting Dr. Collins's quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define Biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. The book follows Dr. Collins as he tracks down Biblical, archaeological, and geological clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing down the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive site called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Challenging the assumptions of academics around the world, Discovering the City of Sodom may well inspire a revision of the history books. Dr. Collins has become a new voice in the controversy over using the Bible as a credible source of understanding the past--and opened a new chapter in the struggle over the soul of Biblical archaeology.Discovering the City of Sodom: The Fascinating, True Account of the Discovery of the Old Testament's Most Infamous City
By Steven Collins, Latayne Scott. 2008
The fascinating, true account of the quest for one of the Old Testament's most infamous cities.Like many modern-day Christians, Dr.…
Steven Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history--a crisis of faith that inspired him to put both his education and the Bible to the test by embarking on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology. Recounting Dr. Collins's quest for Sodom in absorbing detail, this adventure-cum-memoir reflects the tensions that define Biblical archaeology as it narrates a tale of discovery. The book follows Dr. Collins as he tracks down Biblical, archaeological, and geological clues to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, narrowing down the list of possible sites as he weighs evidence and battles skeptics. Finally, he arrives at a single location that looms as the only option: a massive site called Tall el-Hammam in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Challenging the assumptions of academics around the world, Discovering the City of Sodom may well inspire a revision of the history books. Dr. Collins has become a new voice in the controversy over using the Bible as a credible source of understanding the past--and opened a new chapter in the struggle over the soul of Biblical archaeology.Born on a Mountaintop
By Bob Thompson. 2012
Combining the stories of the real hero and his Disney-enhanced afterlife, Born on a Mountaintop delves deep into our love…
for an American icon. Pioneer. Congressman. Martyr of the Alamo. King of the Wild Frontier. As with all great legends, Davy Crockett's has been retold many times. Over the years, he has been repeatedly reinvented by historians and popular storytellers. In fact, one could argue that there are three distinct Crocketts: the real David as he was before he became famous; the celebrity politician whose backwoods image Crockett himself created, then lost control of; and the mythic Davy we know today. In the road-trip tradition of Sarah Vowell and Tony Horwitz, Bob Thompson follows Crockett's footsteps from the Tennessee river valley where he was born, to Washington, where he served three terms in Congress, and on to Texas and the gates of the Alamo, seeking out those who know, love and are still willing to fight over Davy's life and legacy. Born on a Mountaintop will be more than just a bold new biography of one of the great American heroes. Thompson's rich mix of scholarship, reportage, humor, and exploration of modern Crockett landscapes will bring Davy Crockett's impact on the American imagination vividly to life.From the Hardcover edition.Amelia Earhart
By Jennifer Lesieur. 2010
Portrait de l'aviatrice américaine, star internationale et icône de la femme moderne dans l'Amérique des années 1930. Sa disparition en…
mer, alors qu'elle accomplit un tour du monde, reste encore un mystère aujourd'hui. 2010.Lewis and Clark (In Their Own Words)
By George Sullivan. 1999
Drawing on the explorers' journals and other primary sources, this book recounts the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition,…
exploring the uncharted western wilderness, placing it in its historical context. Includes historic prints, maps, photos, chronology, bibliography, and further reading lists.The Making of John Ledyard: Empire and Ambition in the Life of an Early American Traveler
By Edward G. Gray. 2007
During the course of his short but extraordinary life, John Ledyard (1751-1789) came in contact with some of the most…
remarkable figures of his era: the British explorer Captain James Cook, American financier Robert Morris, Revolutionary naval commander John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. Ledyard lived and traveled in remarkable places as well, journeying from the New England backcountry to Tahiti, Hawaii, the American Northwest coast, Alaska, and the Russian Far East. In this engaging biography, the historian Edward Gray offers not only a full account of Ledyard's eventful life but also an illuminating view of the late eighteenth-century world in which he lived. Ledyard was both a product of empire and an agent in its creation, Gray shows, and through this adventurer's life it is possible to discern the many ways empire shaped the lives of nations, peoples, and individuals in the era of the American Revolution, the world's first modern revolt against empire.Amazing Explorers - Volume 2 - A Short eBook
By Charles Margerison. 2012
The geography of our amazing world has come about through the contributions of many. The Amazing People Club invites you…
into the adventurous and inspirational lives of five amazing explorers, whose voyages around the earth have contributed to civilization as we know it today. Take to the skies with Amy Johnson as she explored new boundaries in aviation, setting world records along the way. Trek the wilderness lands west of the Mississippi with Meriwether Lewis on the historical Lewis and Clark Expedition which lasted 28 months. Join David Livingstone, Marco Polo and Jacques Cartier as they explored new worlds and paved the way for modern settlements. Their tenacious spirits combined with their sense of exploratory adventure have had a major impact on our modern world Each story comes to life through BioViews®. These are short biographical narratives, similar to interviews. They provide an easy way of learning about amazing people who made major contributions and changed our world.Amazing Colonists - A Short eBook
By Charles Margerison. 2012
Colonists are often defined as people who moved from a civilized country to a non-civilized country to form new communities…
modelled on their old country. The Amazing People Club would like to introduce you to five amazing people who embarked upon great adventurous journeys, in some cases not always voluntarily. Discover how they adapted to new worlds and cultures as they share their stories of survival and success. Be inspired by Anne Burras, the maidservant who became the first founding colonial mother of America - she is one of the most important women in the history of the USA. Follow in the footsteps of Cecil Rhodes, who despite ill health went from cotton farmer to diamond magnate and founder of the state of Rhodesia. Join Christopher Columbus, Samuel de Champlain and Susannah Holmes on their voyages to explore undiscovered worlds. Gain insights into what motivated these amazing explorers and colonists, and how they battled to form civilized communities. Be inspired by their notable achievements which have had major influences on the world as it is today. Each story comes to life through BioViews®. These are short biographical narratives, similar to interviews. They provide an easy way of learning about amazing people who made major contributions and changed our world.