Erebus

Erebus
Author: Michael Palin
Publisher: Greystone Books Ltd
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2018-09-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1771644427

Driven by a passion for travel and history and a love of ships and the sea, former Monty Python stalwart and beloved television globe-trotter Michael Palin explores the world of HMS Erebus, last seen on an ill-fated voyage to chart the Northwest Passage. Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation—a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014. Palin travels across the world—from Tasmania to the Falkland Islands and the Canadian Arctic—to offer a firsthand account of the terrain and conditions that would have confronted the Erebus and her doomed final crew. Delving into the research, he describes the intertwined careers of the two men who shared the ship’s journeys: Ross, the organizational genius who mapped much of the Antarctic coastline and oversaw some of the earliest scientific experiments to be conducted there; and Franklin, who, at the age of sixty and after a checkered career, commanded the ship on its last disastrous venture. Expertly researched and illustrated with maps, photographs, paintings, and engravings, Erebus is an evocative account of two journeys: one successful and forgotten, the other tragic yet unforgettable.

Ice Ship

Ice Ship
Author: Charles W. Johnson
Publisher: ForeEdge from University Press of New England
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1611686040

In the golden age of polar exploration (from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s), many an expedition set out to answer the big questionÑwas the Arctic a continent, an open ocean beyond a barrier of ice, or an ocean covered with ice? No one knew, for the ice had kept its secret well; ships trying to penetrate it all failed, often catastrophically. NorwayÕs charismatic scientist-explorer Fridtjof Nansen, convinced that it was a frozen ocean, intended to prove it in a novel if risky way: by building a ship capable of withstanding the ice, joining others on an expedition, then drifting wherever it took them, on a relentless one-way journey into discovery and fame . . . or oblivion. Ice Ship is the story of that extraordinary ship, the Fram, from conception to construction, through twenty years of three epic expeditions, to its final resting place as a museum. It is also the story of the extraordinary men who steered the Fram over the course of 84,000 miles: on a three-year, ice-bound drift, finding out what the Arctic really was; in a remarkable four-year exploration of unmapped lands in the vast Canadian Arctic; and on a twoÐyear voyage to Antarctica, where another famous Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, claimed the South Pole. Ice Ship will appeal to all those fascinated with polar exploration, maritime adventure, and wooden ships, and will captivate readers of such books as The Endurance, In the Heart of the Sea, and The Last Place on Earth. With more than 100 original photographs, the book brings the Fram to life and light.

Epic Voyages

Epic Voyages
Author: Five Mile Press Pty Limited, The
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2010
Genre: Adventure and adventurers
ISBN: 9781742485058

Discover how adventurous mariners used their skill and resourcefulness to adapt to challenging conditions - unpredictable weather, physical hardship, unforeseen perils. Find out which strategies and survival techniques succeeded and which failed, sometimes with tragic results. Explore the vast oceans and wild seas navigates by these intrepid sailors on their long, dangerous voyages.

The Last Crusade

The Last Crusade
Author: Nigel Cliff
Publisher: Atlantic
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2013
Genre: Christianity and other religions
ISBN: 9781848870192

Originally published in hardcover as: Holy war. New York: HarperCollins, c2011.

The Voyages of Captain James Cook

The Voyages of Captain James Cook
Author: James Cook
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2016-11-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0760351562

The first-ever illustrated account of the explorer and cartographer’s epic eighteenth-century Pacific voyages, complete with excerpts from his journals. This is history’s greatest adventure story. In 1766, the Royal Society chose prodigal mapmaker and navigator James Cook to lead a South Pacific voyage. His orders were to chart the path of Venus across the sun. That task completed, his ship, the HMS Endeavour, continued to comb the southern hemisphere for the imagined continent Terra Australis. The voyage lasted from 1768 to 1771, and upon Cook’s return to London, his journaled accounts of the expedition made him a celebrity. After that came two more voyages for Cook and his crew—followed by Cook’s murder by natives in Hawaii. The Voyages of Captain James Cook reveals Cook’s fascinating story through journal excerpts, illustrations, photography, and supplementary writings. During Cook’s career, he logged more than 200,000 miles—nearly the distance to the moon. And along the way, scientists and artists traveling with him documented exotic flora and fauna, untouched landscapes, indigenous peoples, and much more. In addition to the South Pacific, Cook’s voyages took him to South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska, the Arctic Circle, Siberia, the East Indies, and the Indian Ocean. When he set out in 1768, more than one-third of the globe was unmapped. By the time Cook died in 1779, he had created charts so accurate that some were used into the 1990s. The Voyages of Captain James Cook is a handsome illustrated edition of Cook’s selected writings spanning his Pacific voyages, ending in 1779 with the delivery of his salted scalp and hands to his surviving crewmembers. It’s an enthralling read for anyone who appreciates history, science, art, and classic adventure.

The Epic Voyages of Maud Berridge

The Epic Voyages of Maud Berridge
Author: Sally Berridge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2018-02-22
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 147295422X

Maud Berridge (1845–1907) was the wife of a Master Mariner, and she travelled with him on at least five occasions (1869, 1880, 1882, 1883, 1886), sailing to Melbourne with emigrants and cargo. The first occasion was 1869 just after they were married, when Henry was Captain of the Walmer Castle, and they returned via New Zealand instead of travelling east and around Cape Horn. However, most of Henry and Maud's voyages were undertaken in the three-masted clipper Superb, sailing from Gravesend at the start of summer and leaving Melbourne for home at the end of the year (the southern summer, best for heading east with the trade winds and rounding Cape Horn). Record times taken from London to Melbourne under Captain Henry were 79 days (1878), 76 days (1881) and a final time of 74 days (1886). In 1880, Maud and Henry took their two sons (aged six and eight) with them. In 1883, they sailed on from Melbourne to Newcastle in New South Wales to take on a load of coal, then on through the Windward Isles to San Francisco (51 days). Here they stayed for two months exploring SF and surrounds, unloaded the coal and took on a load of wheat (in large bags) at Port Costa. They then sailed down the west coast of the Americas, around Cape Horn and on to Queenstown in County Cork (134 days). The whole voyage took 14 months. There are also some photographs of Henry, Maud and the crew taken in San Francisco, and a photo from the State Library of Victoria showing the Superb at dock in Melbourne. Maud wrote diaries of these voyages of which one in particular, that of the 1883 voyage, comprise some 50 000 words. The book will tell Maud's story through her own words and through a number of relevant contemporary documents and will paint a picture of the life of a captain's wife in the Victorian era as well as aspects of society in Britain, the US and Australia at the time. Her enthusiasm for new experiences shines through her writing.

Holy War

Holy War
Author: Nigel Cliff
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2011-09-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0061735124

A sweeping historical epic and a radical new interpretation of Vasco da Gama’s groundbreaking voyages, seen as a turning point in the struggle between Christianity and Islam In 1498 a young captain sailed from Portugal, circumnavigated Africa, crossed the Indian Ocean, and discovered the sea route to the Indies and, with it, access to the fabled wealth of the East. It was the longest voyage known to history. The little ships were pushed beyond their limits, and their crews were racked by storms and devastated by disease. However, their greatest enemy was neither nature nor even the sheer dread of venturing into unknown worlds that existed on maps populated by coiled, toothy sea monsters. With bloodred Crusader crosses emblazoned on their sails, the explorers arrived in the heart of the Muslim East at a time when the old hostilities between Christianity and Islam had risen to a new level of intensity. In two voyages that spanned six years, Vasco da Gama would fight a running sea battle that would ultimately change the fate of three continents. An epic tale of spies, intrigue, and treachery; of bravado, brinkmanship, and confused and often comical collisions between cultures encountering one another for the first time; Holy War also offers a surprising new interpretation of the broad sweep of history. Identifying Vasco da Gama’s arrival in the East as a turning point in the centuries-old struggle between Islam and Christianity—one that continues to shape our world—Holy War reveals the unexpected truth that both Vasco da Gama and his archrival, Christopher Columbus, set sail with the clear purpose of launching a Crusade whose objective was to reach the Indies; seize control of its markets in spices, silks, and precious gems from Muslim traders; and claim for Portugal or Spain, respectively, all the territories they discovered. Vasco da Gama triumphed in his mission and drew a dividing line between the Muslim and Christian eras of history—what we in the West call the medieval and the modern ages. Now that the world is once again tipping back East, Holy War offers a key to understanding age-old religious and cultural rivalries resurgent today.

As Long as It’'s Fun

As Long as It’'s Fun
Author: Herb McCormick
Publisher: Paradise Cay Publications
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2014-03-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1929214995

In As Long as It’s Fun, the biography of Lin and Larry Pardey, Herb McCormick recounts their remarkable sailing career—from their early days in Southern California to their two circumnavigations to their current life in a quiet cove in New Zealand. Through interviews with their families, friends, and critics, McCormick delves deeply into the couple’s often-controversial opinions, sometimes-tenuous marriage, and amazing list of accomplishments. As Long as It’s Fun is as much a love story as it is a sea yarn, and, like all such stories, it’s not without complications . . . which makes it not only a sailing tale but also a human one.

Endeavour

Endeavour
Author: Peter Aughton
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2002
Genre: Atlases, Historical
ISBN: 9780304362363

An illustrated account of life on board the Endeavour and its epic journey into the unknown between 1768 and 1771. Captain James Cook's voyage resulted in the mapping of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. According to the British government (who wished to deceive the world of its true purpose) it was merely a scientific expedition to observe the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun, a measurement that could help establish the scale of the universe itself. The real purpose was to find Terra Australis. Peter Aughton's narrative brings to life the main characters.

Zheng He

Zheng He
Author: Michael S. Yamashita
Publisher: White Star
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Over 28 years during the beginning of the 15th century, Admiral Zheng He made seven voyages, visiting 30 countries. With his fleet of hundreds of junks, he travelled from Southeast Asia to Africa, from India to the Middle East, gathering riches, scientific knowledge, fame, and power for his emperor. He came close to conquering the world, until the Ming Dynasty's power shrivelled and the explorer's accomplishments were all but forgotten. In this volume, acclaimed photojournalist Michael Yamashita traces each journey made by Zheng He, and pays tribute to the remarkable achievements of this early intrepid explorer. Following an insightful historical introduction, Yamashita presents the details of each voyage, chronicling the interactions and commercial exchanges, and documenting, through his exceptional photographs, the diverse locales Zheng He discovered over close to three decades of intense exploration.