Women of the World: Women Travelers and Explorers (Extraordinary Explorers) [Paperback]

Rebecca Stefoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 1994 | Series: Extraordinary Explorers

Adventure and exploration provide some of the most dramatic and exciting stories in history. Most readers know about the "big names" in exploration. The exploits and daring enterprises of Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama, and other men fill our history books and have become synonymous with the discovery and civilization of far areas of the world. But what about the women whose heroic journeys have added to the world's geographic knowledge. Until now, they've had to remain in the shadows of their male counterparts. But author Rebecca Stefoff has collected their fascinating stories in this book, new in paperback, that investigates the lives of women who explored new lands and challenged women's place in the world. They loved travel, not only as a passage to a destination but as an experience with its own meaning and magic. You'll read about Ida Pfeiffer who was a 19th century women with "an insatiable desire to travel" who circled the world--twice, Fanny Bullock Workman, the world's foremost woman mountaineer, an early feminist and one of the most controversial figures in modern geography, and Alexandra David-Neel, the first western woman to enter Lhasa, the Forbidden City of Tibet. Their stories, plus those of five other intrepid women adventurers are beautifully illustrated with rare photographs, maps, and drawings. Also included is an 8-page color insert of explorer Mary Kingley's African discoveries and artifacts, Women of the World follows the facintating byways of wanderlust and anecdote to offer little known chapters in the history of exploration. It's the ideal escape for armchair travellers of all ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kids--particularly girl kids--may find that these stories of intrepid explorers lend some piquancy to geography and history as well as providing excitement in their own right."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The writing is lively and the subjects are intriguing."--Booklist

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195076885
• ISBN-13: 978-0195076882
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,249,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca Stefoff published her first books when she was in college and has been writing ever since. She is the author of more than 150 books, with more on the way. Her writing motto: "Ideas are easy. Pages are hard."

Rebecca has written many nonfiction books for children and young adults, with an emphasis on science and history. Through her books teenage readers can explore topics as varied as ghosts, robots, bacteria, evolution, women pioneers, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, and forensic crime solving.

Over the course of her freelance writing career Rebecca has also published romance novels, celebrity biographies, reference works, and even a self-help book. In addition, she has adapted the works of historian Howard Zinn, science writer Charles C. Mann, and ethnic studies pioneer Ronald Takaki for young audiences.

After growing up in Indiana, Rebecca moved to Philadelphia for graduate school. Later she moved to the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

When Rebecca was in the fifth grade she picked up a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Space Cadet in her school library. That got her hooked on speculative fiction: science fiction at first, then fantasy and later horror. As a grad student in English at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the school's first undergraduate classes in science fiction and fantasy. She still loves speculative fiction and reads a lot of nonfiction as well. Her interests include evolutionary biology, Himalayan travel and polar exploration, and archaeology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An irrestitible read to a certain kind of woman (the adventuress), October 16, 2011

By 

Julia L. Simpsonurrutia "Julia_au_chateau" (Fresno,CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women of the World: Women Travelers and Explorers (Extraordinary Explorers) (Paperback)

There are nine major chapters in this book, dealing with nine fascinating women. The chapters are ordered by the women's date of birth. What most of them share, besides love of travel and rugged adventure, is the fact that they accomplished their greatest feats in mid life. Most didn't embark on their travels until their thirties, with the exception of Florence Baker, wife of Samuel Baker, who was bought as a teenager in a slave auction.

Ida Pfeiffer was born in Austria in 1797 and by the time she was forty five years old, she had already been separated many times from an elderly husband. She traveled through the Middle East, from Turkey to Cairo, and wrote a book afterwards. She went twice around the world, through Tahiti, South America and China. Of all people she met, she found the Diyak people of Borneo, who practiced ritual headhunting, most to her liking.

There is not a woman in this book without unusual quirks. The peculiarity of Isabella bird Bishop, born in Britain in 1831, was that at home she was sickly and frail, yet during her travels she was happy and robust. It happened more than once in her life--off on an adventure; she was fine, once home, she became ill. When she was about 40, she set off for Australia and New Zealand (doctor's orders) and then went on to the USA, where alone, on horseback in the Rocky Mountains she met and fell in love with a hunter and scout named Jim Nugent, who guided her around Colorado.

In 1905, Fanny Bullock Workman, one of the two best known American travelers and explorers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries became the second woman invited to speak to the Royal Geographical Society. She was one of the first women to climb the Matterhorn in Switzerland.

Some women, like Mary Kingsley, choose travel as a means to seek solace from solitude. Born in 1862, she spent much of her life wandering through West Africa.

This book is endearing and a keeper for women who have been bit by the travel bug.Under a Crescent Moon: Stories of Arabia

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book about Women Explorers, April 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Women of the World: Women Travelers and Explorers (Extraordinary Explorers) (Hardcover)

The author really brings these women to life in 9 short biographies using interesting details and anecdotes from good primary sources. She also discusses some of the women's less admirable qualities which presents the reader with a more complete picture of each woman's life. The pictures and photographs are wonderful too. A great source for reports and school projects, but also truly inspirational.