When Sir Edmund Hillary made his famous comment about climbing Mount Everest because it was there , he summed up the raison d 'être behind every explorer's drive to leave safe boundaries and tackle the unknown. The thrill and honor of being the first to explore any geographical region outweighed the enormous risks for those with a special brand of courage and imagination. Adventurers from Strabo, the Roman explorer in the Mediterranean, to Marco Polo in China, David Livingstone in Central Africa and Robert Falcon Scott in the Antarctic all shared the common traits of bravery, valor and perseverance in their endeavors to make known the unknown. They became the envy of others and won a place in history, their tales of adventure and hardship at once fascinating, fulfilling, and strangely perplexing. Historical Atlas of Expeditions brings this pioneer breed of men, and women, to life in thrilling detail.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Attractively illustrated, this atlas is bound to delight students who are weary of old, dry textbook stories of the world's leading explorers. The chapters, which are divided by geographical region, contain maps, biographical information on the explorers, timelines, information on the various cultures and illustrations, making it a good resource for classrooms and teachers. Some of the names are familiarAPizarro, Sir Walter Raleigh, Daniel Boone, Ernest ShackletonAbut others profiled are not usually included in standard history books. For example, Mary Kingsley left England and traveled to Africa, where she helped care for Boer prisoners of war, writing three books about that continent before dying of typhoid. Sir Randulph Fiennes explored Antarctica at the advanced age of 60, despite frostbitten toes. In the 1870s, Nikolai Przwalski wanted to be one of the few Europeans to reach the palace of the Dalai Lama and ended up traveling to the most remote regions of Tibet, refusing to return to Russia despite illness and the harsh terrain. Farrington's writing is lively, and she makes these explorations interesting, but the sheer number of explorers discussed results in descriptions that are necessarily superficial. A good tool for junior high and high school students who would otherwise learn little about these explorers, this book may not sell as vigorously to adults, although clearly it will benefit from the ongoing adventure-book craze. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-An overview of explorers and adventurers from 3200 B.C.E. to the late 20th century. Individuals active during the Age of Discovery-Columbus, Magellan, Verrazano, etc.-are omitted without explanation, but are included in Angus Konstam's Historical Atlas of Exploration 1492-1600 (Checkmark, 2000). Farrington covers travels before 1600 in two chapters and divides the remainder of the book by geographic area (Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Arctic and Antarctic, and Australasia). Each section includes full-color and black-and-white photos, reproductions, maps, and time lines. While this is an attractive and comprehensive book, it is also flawed. The writing is awkward and uninspiring; the limited maps don't include all places mentioned in the text; Farrington neglects to discuss why the contributions of particular people are important; and there are far too many typos and other errors. Atlas of Exploration (Oxford, 1997) is similar in content and arrangement but is more thorough, better organized, and has superior maps.
Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not an atlas, but useful just the same,
By
This review is from: Historical Atlas of Expeditions (Hardcover)
This book is really mis-titled, as the maps are only a minor part of it. It does have great pictures and graphics and good basic information about many explorers. I would recommend it as a reference, but not as an atlas!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Follows the journeys of adventurers around the world,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Historical Atlas of Expeditions (Hardcover)
Karen Farrington's Historical Atlas of Expeditions follows the journeys of adventurers around the world, using the atlas format to provide a set of maps on famous explorers, their expeditions, and their encounters. From the machines they used to the concepts they based their travels on, this provides timelines, maps and plenty of easy at-a-glance details.
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