The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Book Description

At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.

The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.

After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.

Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.

From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.

Customer Reviews:

river of doubt.......2007-10-06

This book was great, if you like adventure, exploration, or teddy roosevelt this is the book for you.
not boaring at all this book is awsome

A Gripping Tale of Men of Character.......2007-09-21

Oh, for a President who had even one tenth of the character and integrity of the Teddy Roosevelt portrayed in this book. This is a real-life version of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but the central figure never loses his sense of dedication and honor. Although there is plenty of suspense, even horror, in the story, I found it to be ultimately quite inspiring.

Awesome.......2007-09-20

This book went into so much detail about TR's expedition in Brazil that is hardly mentioned in other books on his life. And what a story it is! I heartily recommend it to anyone.

They Don't Make Presidents Like this Anymore..........2007-09-20

And that's not a statement of partisan politics, but it does say a lot about leadership. Volumes have been written about Theodore Roosevelt, the soldier, the statesman, the adventurer, and the president, but if there is a single book that captures the vitality, the determination, and the indomitable spirit of this great American, it is "The River of Doubt." Former National Geographic writer and editor Candice Miller pulls no punches and leaves no stone unturned in spinning this vibrant and suspense-packed tale of risk and discovery cutting through the heart of the Amazonian jungle on an uncharted Brazilian river. Miller brings the Amazon to life in all its bloody glory, an unfathomably dangerous place where even the frogs are deadly, where schools of piranhas can turn an ox - or a man - to a skeleton in minutes, a place where, despite caymans and poison dart-wielding natives, it is the insects - insects of all types and descriptions - that pose the greatest risk.

This is an epic journey facing not only the challenges of a wild river cascading over rapids and waterfalls through an impenetrable jungle, but also treachery and even murder. Roosevelt and expedition co-lead Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, an officer of the Brazilian military and renowned Amazon explorer, find themselves surprisingly ill-equipped for their voyage through one of the planets most inhospitable regions, and ironically are soon near starvation in a green hell that while teaming with life, food is stubbornly unattainable. Meanwhile, it is a poignant tale of the bond between father and son, as Roosevelt and second son Kermit alternately sacrifice and suffer for each other while proudly denying emotion. This is one of those stories that, after weeks of terror, when Roosevelt and the tattered remains of his party emerge feverish from malaria and near starvation, you'll ask, "why haven't I heard about this before now."

Were this fiction, it would strain the bounds of credibility. But that this is the story of a former President of the United States is truly staggering. A remarkable achievement, "The River of Doubt" is a must read, illuminating a fascinating slice of world history in the twilight of the age of exploration while providing an intimate peak into the unparalleled character of Theodore Roosevelt. Bully!

Real-life adventure.......2007-09-20

River of Doubt is a cominbation of very interesting history and great adventure. This is the first book I have read about TR and as a result I plan to read more. Candice Millard does an outstanding job of presenting a grand adventure, while at the same time, letting you into the personal and interesting lives of the explorers. Ms. Millard has renewed my interest in historical books.

The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino

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A Portrait of a Hero and Nut
The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino
Great Book
The Freedom of Movement

The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino
Alec Wilkinson
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting
Returning to Earth: A Novel
Dog Years: A Memoir

ASIN: 1400065437
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Book Description

The Happiest Man in the World buoyantly describes seventy-four-year-old David Pearlman, a restless and migratory soul, a mariner, a musician, a member of the Explorers Club and a friend of the San Francisco Beats, a former preacher and sign painter, a polymath, a pauper, and a football strategist for the Red Mesa Redskins of the Navajo Nation. When Pearlman was fifty, he was bitten on the hand by a dog in Mexico and for two years got so sick that he thought he would die. When he recovered, he felt so different that he decided he needed a new name. He began calling himself Poppa Neutrino, after the itinerant particle that is so small it can hardly be detected. To Neutrino, the particle represents the elements of the hidden life that assert themselves discreetly.

Inspired by Thor Heyerdahl and Kon-Tiki, Neutrino is the only man ever to build a raft from garbage he found on the streets of New York and sail it across the North Atlantic.
The New York Daily News described the accomplishment as “the sail of the century.” National Geographic broadcast an account of the trip as part of its series on extreme adventures. And now he is on a quest to cross the Pacific on a raft. If he makes it, he plans to continue around the world. No one has ever sailed around the world on a raft. Meanwhile, he has invented the Neutrino Clock Offense, an unstoppable football play, which a former coach of the New York Jets describes as being as innovative as the forward pass.

The philosophical underpinnings of Neutrino’s existence are what he calls Triads, a concept worked out after years of reading and reflection. He believes that each person, to be truly happy, must define his or her three deepest desires and pursue them remorselessly. Freedom, Joy, and Art are Neutrino’s three.
The Happiest Man in the World is a lavish, exotic, funny, and deeply serious book about a man who has led a life of profound engagement and ceaseless adventure.

Customer Reviews:

A Portrait of a Hero and Nut.......2007-07-17

Alec Wilkinson has written for _The New Yorker_ for years, and has ideas about who makes a good subject for his prose. "I do not believe that someone is a proper subject, or a laudable figure, only if he has made a lot of money or been a politician, an actor, a freakish public figure, or a criminal," he writes in _The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino_ (Random House). Indeed, Poppa Neutrino is none of these. He is a rafter, a football strategist, a street musician, and most of all an independent being who in his seventy-odd years has relentlessly done things his own way. This makes him a real hero, but it also makes him a nut; there is no reason the two cannot be conjoined, but his way of living his life is not one readers can expect to be completely comfortable with. "I wouldn't suggest that anyone regard Neutrino as a model," Wilkinson confesses. "It wouldn't be sensible. I don't even myself regard him entirely as one." Model or not, Neutrino is unique, and he is happy, and if you jettison materialistic standards (as Neutrino surely has) he is a success, and Wilkinson's delightful, amused, and affectionate portrait lets us in on the life of an eccentric who is as worth knowing in his way as any tycoon or president.

Neutrino's mother was an incorrigible gambler, and his father was a sailor who wasn't around. He flunked school and was thrown out of the Army because he enlisted at fifteen. He attended seminary and was thrown out, and then headed a group called the Salvation Navy, which traveled on waterways and made money by painting signs. He formed a ragtag musical group and got some money by it, but money wasn't important, just getting by was: "His poverty had exposed him again and again to the harshest torments, and yet he behaved as if no one could be as fortunate as he was to wake up with the whole day long to invent." He invented a football tactic by which a quarterback can send signals to a receiver after a play is underway, and part of the book is devoted to Neutrino's traveling to different schools to interest them in his revolutionary tactic, which seems to work but is just too different for the teams to incorporate (so far). The main arena for his invention, however, is that of rafting. "Neutrino was not the first man to build a raft and sail it across the Atlantic," writes Wilkinson. "He was the first to cross the Atlantic on a raft built from garbage." Neutrino may have spent his life as a drifter, but he did so literally, and made an adventure and an art form of it.

He also made it a spiritual quest. He created the Church of the Seven Levels, which incorporates his metaphysics based on triads. "There's only one thing in my soul," Neutrino says. "It's attack. Whether it's musical, spiritual, emotional, it's a multileveled attack. If you don't attack, you're just receiving all the blows of life." And yet paradoxically, he is on a non-offensive and introspective quest: "I am always asking myself, How can I become more involved, more passionate, and less vulnerable?" If Neutrino had taken his philosophy and energy and expended it in business, he would have been a millionaire many times over, but then he would just be one of millions of millionaires, and he would not have been the fascinating character profiled here. At the end of the book, Neutrino, elderly but hanging on after heart attacks, is still making rafts, perhaps one to go across the Pacific. Few who read this intimate and absorbing book will want to imitate his particular style of life, but there is much to admire about Neutrino's eccentricity. "I'm going out of this life as what I have worked and striven my whole life to be, a free man - free of possessions, free of greed, free of worry and strife. Free of anything superfluous."

The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino.......2007-07-17

I question the title. There are certainly happier people than Poppa Neutrino. However, Poppa Neutrino is an interesing character for a well written book. After reading the latest books on major polical figures, it is a pleasure to read a book about someone who "marches to his own drummer" and is not at least concerned with his image. I don't think many people will like this man, but it is inspiring to read about someone who is truly an individual in the age of conformity.

That being said, by the end of the book, I find myself disappointed. I ended the book feeling sad for Poppa Neutrino, although, the author clearly admires him. I found myself feeling that Neutrino wasted much of his opportunites to leave the world a better place.

Great Book.......2007-05-12

Great reading, seemed to remind me of On The Road. Highly recommended.

The Freedom of Movement.......2007-04-05

Alec Wilkinson's book has one big thing going for it: Poppa Neutrino, aka David Pearlman. Even a hack writer couldn't ruin this story.

Wilkinson begins with a 3-pronged hook - (1) Neutrino has just created a football play that will revolutionize the game; (2) he is planning to build a raft from scraps and sail across the Pacific; and (3) he's so eccentric that he changed his name after a dog bite in Mexico.

The first part of the book, in my opinion, is the best. It's a history Poppa Neutrino from birth to age 70. Peppered throughout are his philosophical musings. We learn of his childhood in San Francisco as the son of a Gambling mother, memories of falling asleep under card tables and living on the road, joining the army at 15, fights, love affairs; other highlights include Neutrino and others starting a religion, creating a band, sailing across the Atlantic in a raft. At first, I thought I was reading the greatest put-on ever written; the book seemed to be pretending to be non-fiction, and yet had to be totally, outrageously, fabricated. There are many elements of tall-tale here, and since Neutrino is the one retelling his story, one has to believe he is stretching the truth a little. Getting his teeth punched out, and then sticking them back in his gums backwards, where they remained for 30 years, is one example. Nevertheless, fact or fiction, the history of this itinerant man, his adventures, his outlook on life, are golden. Wilkinson sticks well to the meat of the narrative; but at times he treats major events too brusquely. Some of Neutrino's adventures need more space - they are that compelling. I think an extra 100 pages to the man's history would have benefited the book.

The last 2 sections of the book settle into the present, with Neutrino a 70 year-old man recovered from several heart attacks, trying to pursue 2 more ideas/adventures. The football play ends up being merely an interesting idea, although not so revolutionary - but reading how Neutrino follows his ideas through to the end, and his time on an Indian reservation in NM with a high school team is compelling. The final 1/3 of the book is the weakest, I feel, as we spend far too many pages with Neutrino as he prepares to sail a raft across the pacific. For a book that has such punch, such an engaging pace, much of this section feels redundant and at times page-filler. The interesting parts are the adventures, not the mundane details of a man procrastinating.

Neutrino's rafts are unbelievable looking - I suggest going online to see them - as there are no pictures in the book, and they defy description.

Overall, I can't help but regaling my friends and neighbors with the details of this man's life. On another level, one has to feel that Wilkinson's book could have been at least 1/3 better. I await the documentary - Random Lunacy: Videos from the World Less Traveled.

Average customer rating:

1421
Interesting, hard to put down, true?
Little research, lots of conjecture
1421
lost history

1421: The Year China Discovered America
Gavin Menzies
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Expeditions & Discoveries | World | History | Subjects | Books

When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433
1421: The Year China Discovered America
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

ASIN: 006054094X
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Book Description

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony.

When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in China's long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. Also concealed was how the Chinese colonized America before the Europeans and transplanted in America and other countries the principal economic crops that have fed and clothed the world.

Unveiling incontrovertible evidence of these astonishing voyages, 1421 rewrites our understanding of history. Our knowledge of world exploration as it has been commonly accepted for centuries must now be reconceived due to this landmark work of historical investigation.

Customer Reviews:

1421 .......2007-09-29

1421 is a book that should be required reading from high school to the board room.

Interesting, hard to put down, true?.......2007-09-23

I found the book fascinating and easy to read. While the claims made by the author are stunning, he presents a plausible case for their authenticity. If true, the thesis of 1421 turns history upside down. If even partly true, the book sheds light on a part of history often ignored by American schools, 15th century China. I personally find it hard to digest all the claims made by Menzies, however, some of the evidence is tremendously compelling. As a history teacher I will be reading other articles and books related to this topic to gain a more comprehensive view from all sides of the issue.

Little research, lots of conjecture.......2007-09-20

This is a terrible book that is supposed to be based on credible research but which is mainly filled with guessing and conjecture. The book revolves around a map that could describe, with proper stretching, changing of markings and such, the New World, reminding me of the "science" that is the translation of Nostradamus' prophecies. Menzies links any unexplained artifacts around the world that may date to the early 1400s to this particular expedition, and repeatedly discounts without argument other logical explanations that would likely have created these artifacts.

The likelihood of this story being true is further degraded by fact that the Chinese, a civilization known for keeping detailed records of its history, have never, before or after the publication of this book, attempted to claim any role in the discovery of the Americas.

Placed in the fiction section I would give it two stars. Promoted as a serious piece of research and historical fact, it deserves zero.

1421.......2007-09-15

Absolutely fascinating read. Winds, current, stars, latitude, longitude, ship design, historical maps all play a part in the supposition that the Chinese were the first to discover the western hemisphere and to have had the most efficient trading empire in their own hemisphere years before the Italian, Portuguese, Spaish and English captains made their historic voyages. The author makes a believable statement that the Chinese got to the western hemisphere first. His suppositions and conclusions come after careful and complicated studies which at times cause the reader to take a jump of faith. Now looking at Latin American pottery, Inuit faces, etc., you see Chinese eyes, art designs and wonder. And the crossing of fruits, vegetables, trees, flowers, horses, etc. between east and west is amazing and convincing. The book highly recommended.

lost history.......2007-09-06

Gavin has spent years chaseing leads that suggest america was populated by chinese peoples.With Mertz and Vinning as backup not to mention Hendon Harris Gaven has pin pointed the physical landmarks through his journeys.As a best seller it is a long and fast read.

Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival

Average customer rating:

A modern retelling of one of the most influential books in U.S. history
Too Much Camel Urine
One Heck of a Ride
It'll take your breath away
Devoured by the Desert

Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival
Dean King
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Africa | Travel | Subjects | Books

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.)
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance
Caliban's Shore: The Wreck of the Grosvenor and the Strange Fate of Her Survivors
The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom

ASIN: 0316159352

Amazon.com

Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. With Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King's version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure. The book begins with a seeming false start: tracing the lives of two merchants from North Africa, Seid and Sidi Hamet, who lose their fortunes—and almost their lives—when their massive camel caravan arrives at a desiccated oasis. King then jumps to the voyage of the Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew. After stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar, the ship falls off course en route to the Canary Islands and ultimately wrecks at the infamous Cape Bojador. After the men survive the first predations of the nomads on the shore, they meander along the coast looking for a way inland as their supplies dwindle. They subsist for days by drinking their own urine. Eventually, to their horror, they discover that they have come aground on the edge of the Sahara Desert. They submit themselves, with hopes of getting food and water, as slaves to the Oulad Bou Sbaa. After days of abuse, they are bought by Hamet, who, after his own experiences with his failed caravan (described at the novels opening), sympathizes with the plight of the crew. Together, they set off on a hellish journey across the desert to collect a bounty for Hamet in Swearah. King embellishes this compelling narrative throughout with scientific and historical material explaining the origins of the camel, the market for English and American slaves, and the stages of dehydration. He also humanizes the Sahrawi with background on the tribes and on the lives of Hamet and Seid. This material, doled out in sufficient amounts to enrich the story without derailing it makes Skeletons on the Zahara a perfectly entertaining bit of history that feels like a guilty pleasure. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

Some stories are so enthralling they deserve to be retold generation after generation. The wreck in 1815 of the Connecticut merchant ship, Commerce, and the subsequent ordeal of its crew in the Sahara Desert, is one such story. With Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival, Dean King refreshes the popular nineteenth-century narrative once read and admired by Henry David Thoreau, James Fenimore Cooper, and Abraham Lincoln. King's version, which actually draws from two separate first person accounts of the Commerce's crew, offers a page-turning blend of science, history, and classic adventure. The book begins with a seeming false start: tracing the lives of two merchants from North Africa, Seid and Sidi Hamet, who lose their fortunes#151;and almost their lives#151;when their massive camel caravan arrives at a desiccated oasis. King then jumps to the voyage of the Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew. After stops in New Orleans and Gibraltar, the ship falls off course en route to the Canary Islands and ultimately wrecks at the infamous Cape Bojador. After the men survive the first predations of the nomads on the shore, they meander along the coast looking for a way inland as their supplies dwindle. They subsist for days by drinking their own urine. Eventually, to their horror, they discover that they have come aground on the edge of the Sahara Desert. They submit themselves, with hopes of getting food and water, as slaves to the Oulad Bou Sbaa. After days of abuse, they are bought by Hamet, who, after his own experiences with his failed caravan (described at the novels opening), sympathizes with the plight of the crew. Together, they set off on a hellish journey across the desert to collect a bounty for Hamet in Swearah.King embellishes this compelling narrative throughout with scientific and historical material explaining the origins of the camel, the market for English and American slaves, and the stages of dehydration. He also humanizes the Sahrawi with background on the tribes and on the lives of Hamet and Seid. This material, doled out in sufficient amounts to enrich the story without derailing it makes Skeletons on the Zahara a perfectly entertaining bit of history that feels like a guilty pleasure.--Patrick O'Kelley

Download Description

An incredible story of shipwrecked American sailors sold into slavery in North Africa and dragged through the hellish interior of the Sahara.

Customer Reviews:

A modern retelling of one of the most influential books in U.S. history.......2007-10-09

We read this book for our book club and had the honor of discussing it with the author, Dean King. As someone without any sort of nautical background, I was a bit worried as I started reading that the book was going to be too technical for me, but I quickly got to the point where I didn't want to put it down. The story, which is true and yet reads like a novel, had a certain "Apollo 13" feel to it...it is hard to fathom that so much could go wrong and yet be overcome. Dean King really did his research and was able to verify seemingly unverifiable elements of the story through his own trek on camel - and in some cases on foot - through the Sahara (such as the branding treatment used for illness and the belief that one cannot be hurt if fallen from a camel).

The original manuscript of Captain Riley's has been documented as being one of a handful of books that was influential to Abraham Lincoln. After his own stint as a slave, Riley - a white man - was able to give voice to the inhumanity of slavery here in the U.S. in a way that, at that time, no black man or woman could. Captain Riley's experiences and the telling of his story certainly had an impact on the consciousness of the American people and its leaders. This book brings history alive in a truly thrilling way. I highly recommend reading the footnotes for each chapter and the extra features (like an excerpted interview with the author) included in the paperback version of this book.

Too Much Camel Urine.......2007-09-20

Skeletons of the Zahara certainly has moments of high drama, and the fact that the story is (mostly) true, adds to the sense of adventure and disbelief. And the poor sailors stranded on the Western Shore of Africa could not have been treated much worse than they were. But for me, the retelling of this story suffered from the same monotony as the sailors themselves must have felt. There are lengthy passages of their travels through the desert that are too similar to other lengthy passages of their travels through the desert. This was interspersed occasionally with the graphic depiction of the devouring of an entire camel. I don't really have a weak stomach, but the numerous references to the green goo inside the camel stomach which became the main entree on the menu was a little too much even for me. Then there was the camel urine, which one and all slurped down like a nice chardonnay. Maybe I need to spend more time with the Touareg to get a better feel for things.

One Heck of a Ride.......2007-07-23

This book rips your throat out and stuffs it up your nose!!!!!!!!!
If you think you are tough.....or if you waste your time watching the goofy fake Survival Reality TV shows.......then you need to cleanse your brain with this book......It will show you what a wimp you really are...I do not know anyone who could take for 24 hours what these human beings endured for the extraordinary amount of time they were subject to these conditions from hell......... Dean King did his homework ...from the library to the turf...He actually ventured into this region and DID SOME REAL HOMEWORK

It'll take your breath away.......2007-06-25

Americans shipwrecked in 1815 and held captive by Muslim slavers in the Sahara.

I was considering ordering Sufferings in Africa by James Riley and Robbins' journal: by Archibald Robbins, the two books King based his book on, but after reading this I didn't think I could stomach anymore of their suffering.

The cruelty and ignorance of the arabs/islamist/muslims is stunning. How could and why would anyone be so cruel? If you don't take care of your servants how are they going to be able to continue to serve you?. These arabs were either too dumb to logic that out or just inherently vicious.

Devoured by the Desert.......2007-05-13

This incredible tale captures the true recollections of survivors of shipwreck and enslavement by nomadic Arabs in the western Sahara in 1815. It's a time when the US is striving to assert itself on the world stage. American men seeking to provide for their families willingly take great risk and leave their homeland and find themselves in the Islamic world, stranded and forced to pay a high price to escape. Survival in this world requires enduring constant threat to life and limb. While some of the Arabs are worthy of respect and admirable in their bravery, even the best examples have a moral code that is hard to reconcile with Western values. Equally true is how Islamic values mirror some of the best and worst of Western values (slavery, cruelty for economic profit, strong familial bonds, communal coherance in a time of threat, and dissonance in a time of abundance). While the story of Captain Riley and his fellow American sailors may stand as one of the world's great survival tales, it is enriched by moral themes relevant to today's world experience.

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History done right
The Jamestown Project
A Good "Atlantic" Reworking of the Jamestown Story

The Jamestown Project
Karen Ordahl Kupperman
Manufacturer: Belknap Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

17th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

Expeditions & Discoveries | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Jamestown, the Buried Truth
Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America
The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James
Land As God Made It: Jamestown And the Birth of America
Pocahontas, Powhatan, Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown

ASIN: 0674024745

Book Description

Listen to a short interview with Karen Ordahl Kupperman
Host: Chris Gondek | Producer: Heron & Crane

Captain John Smith's 1607 voyage to Jamestown was not his first trip abroad. He had traveled throughout Europe, been sold as a war captive in Turkey, escaped, and returned to England in time to join the Virginia Company's colonizing project. In Jamestown migrants, merchants, and soldiers who had also sailed to the distant shores of the Ottoman Empire, Africa, and Ireland in search of new beginnings encountered Indians who already possessed broad understanding of Europeans. Experience of foreign environments and cultures had sharpened survival instincts on all sides and aroused challenging questions about human nature and its potential for transformation.

It is against this enlarged temporal and geographic background that Jamestown dramatically emerges in Karen Kupperman's breathtaking study. Reconfiguring the national myth of Jamestown's failure, she shows how the settlement's distinctly messy first decade actually represents a period of ferment in which individuals were learning how to make a colony work. Despite the settlers' dependence on the Chesapeake Algonquians and strained relations with their London backers, they forged a tenacious colony that survived where others had failed. Indeed, the structures and practices that evolved through trial and error in Virginia would become the model for all successful English colonies, including Plymouth.

Capturing England's intoxication with a wider world through ballads, plays, and paintings, and the stark reality of Jamestown--for Indians and Europeans alike--through the words of its inhabitants as well as archeological and environmental evidence, Kupperman re-creates these formative years with astonishing detail.

Customer Reviews:

History done right.......2007-06-24

Kupperman does an excellent job of establishing the cultural, religious, and political atmosphere at the time of the colony's origins. I found it fascinating to immersive myself in the whys of the colony: why was it started, why were people interested in investing in it, etc. I also felt there were a lot of interesting parallels to the story of the colony and to that today--of how government and corporations often place financial interests far above humanitarian interests. The book also gave me a much more accurate idea of what it must have meant to be a colonist and helped dispel the myth that in fleeing England these people found a land of freedom and opportunity. It also gave me a very deep appreciation for the first settlers as without them, I surely would never be here. This excellent work does a wonderful job of providing an intelligent, in-depth examination of our origins as a country and it does so in an engaging manner so that it reads more like a novel and nothing like a dry textbook.

The Jamestown Project.......2007-05-13

Once I started it I couldn't put it down! Very factual and riveting. The author did an exceptional job of relating what these poor people actually lived to start our great nation.

A Good "Atlantic" Reworking of the Jamestown Story.......2007-03-28

Karen Ordahl Kupperman revisits territory she knows well with this latest history of Jamestown. What distinguishes Kupperman's history from the slew of other books which have come before is the very self conscious effort to put the founding of Jamestown within an Atlantic history context.

For people who are looking for a detailed history of Jamestown itself this is not the book. Instead you should perhaps try one of Dr Kupperman's other books. She only gets to the actual founding of the colony in the last two chapters of the book. Instead she discusses the world which brought about the colonization. That is the true purpose of this book and why it is called the Jamestown PROJECT. By placing the story of the colony within the larger background of financial expansion, political maneuvering, and geopolitics, Kupperman makes us very conscious of the contingency of Jamestown. This was not an inevitable event, the precursor to American history. Rather, it was the END of a long series of events and trends which contributed to the settlement there and the way it developed.

Along the way Kupperman takes us on a sweeping journey of the Early Modern world. Her topics range from the waxing and waning of Islamic powers, to the routes of Spanish expansion, to the creation of Caribbean colonies, the continental wars of 16th century Europe, and the life of Native Americans both in America and Europe. All of this is, while at times disjointed, a welcome background to the colonization of Jamestown and reframes the familiar story in illuminating ways. The background explains why the colony was founded the way it was: why did the colonists refuse to grow food? Why did they interact with the Natives the way they did? Kupperman's book is a useful one for anyone interested in the early history of America or the Atlantic world.

Average customer rating:

Great Book!
An Honest Story
Unsettled
Moving
Adventurous

The Only Road North
Erik Mirandette
Manufacturer: Zondervan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0310274354
Release Date: 2007-04-01

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-07-07

This book was not only exciting, it was also toucning and deeply moving. It also wasn't too "Christiany". It was an honest look at one man's faith and it didn't end like you want it to, but that's how life is. This was one of the best books I've read in a while.

An Honest Story.......2007-06-11

This is a well written recounting of a great adventure, an adventure that ends in tradjedy. While the majority of the book is the story preceeding the horrific events, it is the story that portrays life, adventure, and faith that doesn't look like typical cookie-cutter Christianity. It is filled with questions and real struggles...and this is how the story concludes with the terrorist events in Cairo. A gripping story, one that will challenge and comfort all at the same time. A very worthwhile read.

Unsettled.......2007-06-06

Many "Christian" books today offer too much of a formulaic approach while addressing popular topics such as "3 keys to become a better Christian"..."creating a more effective prayer life"...or even..."7 steps to realizing God's plan for your life". I am not pointing this out to say these types of books are wrong or bad. Rather, my intention is to contrast these with "The Only Road North". I recommend this book to anyone, like me, that has an easier time relating to real life examples. Erik's story will challenge you to seek Truth, and help you grow in ways only possible by asking the hard questions associated with tragic experiences. As a reader, I am left unsettled. Unsettled and asking questions that can only lead toward a greater understanding of God's Truth.

But, if you absolutely must follow a formula to seek truth in your own life, than try this...
1)read this book
2)imagine yourself in Erik's situation
3)allow yourself to become unsettled
4)ask tough questions

Moving.......2007-05-22

This is an excellent book that causes one to respond with wonder and action.

Adventurous.......2007-05-21

Once you read the first few pages, this is a very hard book to put down! The author and his brother and their other friends have an adventurous side to them that most of us only dream (or read)about. The book was very well written, especially for a young first time author. These guys certainly have a heart for ministry and for service and for adventure. The honesty of the author's doubts and questions were very honest and forces the reader to do some thinking of their own. If you are looking for a book that is a happy, feel good book about following Christ and the wonderful things He can do in your life...read this book! It is none of those things, but it will stretch you in ways that makes you uncomfortable...and as Christians we all need to feel uncomfortable sometimes!

Captain John Smith: Writings with Other Narratives of Roanoke, Jamestown, and the First English Settlement of America

Average customer rating:

A must have for all who are interested in the early settlement of Virginia and New England

Captain John Smith: Writings with Other Narratives of Roanoke, Jamestown, and the First English Settlement of America
John Smith
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1598530011
Release Date: 2007-03-22

Book Description

One of the truly legendary figures of American history, the soldier, explorer, and colonist Captain John Smith was a vivid and prolific chronicler of the beginnings of English settlement in the New World. This volume brings together seven of his works, along with 16 additional narratives by 13 other writers, that recount firsthand the tragic, harrowing, and dramatic events of the settlement of Roanoke and Jamestown.

A founder of Jamestown in 1607, Smith's courage, determination, and leadership proved crucial to its survival. A True Relation tells of the colony's perilous first year, while The Proceedings and The Generall Historie continue the story of its struggle to survive and prosper. A Description of New England and New Englands Trials describe Smith's exploration of the northern coast and the prospects for its settlement. In The True Travels Smith recalls his adventures as a soldier in Eastern Europe and his amazing escape from Turkish slavery. Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters, his last book, is a critical examination of the successes and failures of the English colonial enterprise. Written in a consistently lively style, Smith's works are filled with suspense, astonishment, and keen observations of American Indian cultures and New World landscapes.

The 16 additional narratives include accounts of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke, the horrific "starving time" at Jamestown, and a shipwreck off Bermuda. Amplifying and sometimes challenging Smith's version of events, these narratives capture the fear and fascination of early encounters with the Indians; the brutality, desperation, and ingenuity of settlers facing extreme hardship; the complex interplay of feuds and rivalries, both between the English and the Powhatan Indians and within the colony itself; and the enduring story of Pocahontas, who came to occupy a unique place between two cultures. Included in the volume are 29 pages of contemporary drawings, 15 of them full-color illustrations by John White.

Customer Reviews:

A must have for all who are interested in the early settlement of Virginia and New England.......2007-04-05

Captain John Smith did an amazing amount of living in the fifty-one years he lived on Earth. His life's journey began in 1580 at Willoughy, England. He left home at 16 after his father's death to become a soldier fighting in France for Dutch Independence from Spain. In other words, he was a mercenary. He went to work in the Mediterranean Sea on a merchant ship in 1598. In 1600 he went to the Austrians to fight in Hungary against the Turks and fought so valiantly that he was promoted to Captain. Fighting in Transylvania in 1602, he was wounded, captured, and sold as a slave to a Turk. He was then given to a girl who sent him to her brother to get training for Imperial service. Being very ill treated by this Pasha, Smith killed him and escaped. He fled through Russia and then Poland, was released from service, received a large reward and spent time traveling throughout Europe. During the winter of 1604-05 he returned to England. All this before the events we know him for began in Virginia and New England!

His restless nature somehow got him involved with the plans to colonize the Virginia territory for profit. King James I granted the charter and the expedition set sail on December 20, 1606. While this is more than a century after Columbus, it was still a huge and costly undertaking to what was almost unknown territory. The three tiny ships were the Discovery (20 tons), Susan Constant (120 tons), and Godspeed (40 tons). They did not land in Virginia until April 1607 after a voyage of more than four months. Smith was on the list of seven council members that was designated to govern the colony. The winter was harsh, fresh water was hard to come by, sickness ravaged the colonists, and the local Indians, ruled by Powhatan (Wahunsonacock), were antagonistic to the newcomers. Smith became the leader and led the fight against the Indian raids and negotiating with them for food enough to supplement their meager stores.

In December of 1607, the famous incident of Smith being taken to Powhatan and being saved by Pocahontas occurred. Like much in Smith's writings, it is hard to separate the braggadocio from the fact. Apparently there was some kind of ceremony that involved a ritual death and renewal of life whereby Smith became some kind of subordinate chief member of the tribe. Smith may not have understood the ceremony well and indeed may well have believed that the 11 year old princess saved his life.

Life was very hard at Jamestown and dissent grew. Smith was elected President in September 1608 and has the fort reinforced and emphasizes military training among the colonists. During the winter, Powhatan refused to provide food because he believes that the colonists are not there to trade but to take Indian lands. After difficult negotiations they trade swords and guns for food. Things continue to be difficult and now the resentment focuses on Smith. He is badly burned when his powder keg caught fire. A group leading colonists deposes Smith and he sails back to England part in resentment and part for treatment of his injuries in October.

He is active in promoting colonization of the new territories and heads back in 1614, but he cannot go to Virginia. He focuses on the area north that he called New England. Smith traveled to many areas there and in 1615 founded a colony in Maine. He is captured by a French privateer and is unable to return to England until December. In 1622, Indians kill more than 300 colonists. Smith's offer to lead the military fight against the natives is rejected.

During these years in England, Smith published some works to provide him some much needed income. He finds the right stories to tell and several of his writings sold quite well. He died in 1631 at 51 years old and was buried at St. Sepulchres in the City of London.

This summary of his life is there merest outline of events. There is much much more covered in this treasure trove of a book.

The wonderful Library of America provides us with Smith's "A True Relation", "The Proceedings of the English Colony in Virginia" (parts written by a variety of folks), "A Description of New England", "New Englands Trials" [sic], "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles", "The True Travels", and his "Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of New-England". The words in these titles such as "trials" and "advertisements" had a much different meaning four hundred years ago. The point was that by 1620 thousands of people were risking their lives to try to settle in Virginia and New England and they wanted information. Smith gave them good information about what they were going to face. Oh, he certainly boasted and gave himself credit for things that others did, but his descriptions of what it takes to survive there are quite good.

This volume does not contain Smith's two books on sea travel. However, it does contain an additional four hundred pages of writings by others about the settling of Virginia. One covers the settlement of Roanoke before the Jamestown voyage. Others are written independently of Smith, at least one was written in response to his "Generall Historie" that upset some who felt he took to himself their deeds. They are all fascinating.

There are also pages of black and white plates showing aspects of Smith's life and other aspects of the early settlement including etchings of Smith and even of Pocahontas (Lady Rebecca) in her English finery during her one, fatal, year in England. There is another set of plates that are in color and show Indian life at the time of the events of this book. We get many useful maps, and index, notes on the text, notes on the plates, and a chronology of Smith's life.

This is a rich text that provides important history of early American settlement that everyone interested in the founding and history of our nation will want to read and know. The early events with the Indians are fascinating as are the descriptions of the trade and battles. Even the variety of spellings are fascinating. Yes, orthography was not standardized, but it is interesting how the same words are spelled differently even within the same writing let alone between authors.

A must have for all who appreciate American history.

Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration

Average customer rating:

Excellent!
Not really explaining all the reasons why things happen
My dad loved this!
exploring who we are and who we were
Pathfinders, a book to read and reread

Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393062597

Book Description

High adventure and grand history from a master of the craft in a beautifully illustrated volume.

With characteristic flair, Felipe Fernández-Armesto gives us an entertaining and insightful history of world exploration. Presenting the subject for the first time on a truly global scale, Fernández-Armesto tracks the pathfinders who, over the last five millennia, lay down the routes of contact that have drawn together the farthest reaches of the world. From the maritime expeditions connecting Queen Hatshepsut's Egypt to the exotic land of Punt in the second millennium BCE, through the merchants and missionaries of the ancient Silk Roads and the great Iberian explorers of the fifteenth century, to the nineteenth-century explorations of the polar regions, interior Africa, North America, and the South Pacific, Fernández-Armesto spins a grand narrative full of character and story. Deftly embedding these explorations in the cultures, politics, and technologies of their times, he creates a history with unusual depth and breadth. Here is an intellectual adventure as rewarding as it is thrilling. 16 pages of color; 48 maps; 44 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!.......2007-05-10

I only write reviews for books I like, and this one I liked a lot. An excellent overview of global exploration. The author looks at pretty much every culture on the planet, and how each searched the world around it, and how humanity spread and intermingled. This is extremely readable lay history, transforming much of the dry narrative we encountered in history texts at school into engaging story. Many new insights into familiar historical scenarios. For example, L'anse aux Meadows, the famous 'Norse' ruins on Newfoundland, may in fact be the remains of a settlement of Irish monks, not vikings. They shared a similar technology. Anything found there could have been brought by St. Brendan wannabes (spindle whorls and such). Great stuff!
Might buy this one as Christmas gifts for people.

Not really explaining all the reasons why things happen.......2007-03-07

Based on the reviews below, I was very much expecting a book that will explain to me why certain facts in history REALLY happened. To be true, the book offered some interesting insights to me, like it was better to sail into (against) the wind than with the wind, as the sailors have much better chance of coming home.

On the other hand, the author sometimes makes enormous statements without somehow backing them by evidence - like he claims that American civilizations (North and South) are so different that they must clearly be coming from different origins. I am actually believing this, but I would expect more analysis and not just one paragraph stating this.

However, what I lacked the most in the book is the non-attempt to explain why things happened. I mean the author tries to do it and sometimes he succeeds. But for the most interesting events, his reasoning and solutions provided are of the "scratch-the-surface" type. His long elaboration why the Americas were discovered in 1490s (and not in other time), ends with a statement that this is because the events that happened in 1480s - WHOA, but then he does not really come back to say, what made the 1480s happen in that time...making all his analysis standing naked as it could have happened any time. And there are many more of these unfinished or unfulfilling (at least to me) statements - sort-of half-solutions.

In summary, what I really liked about the book is:
1. It frames your thinking so that you can at least ask some of the very important questions... and try to find the answers to the questions. 2. It also does a really excellent job of summarizing the key facts in the history of exploration.

But if you are looking for well-reasoned answers to questions why the events happened, you will not always find the most satisfying ones.

My dad loved this!.......2007-01-04

This was a gift for my dad, who's a voracious reader and fascinated by people and history. He loved this book!

exploring who we are and who we were.......2006-12-02

I was always fascinated by the great explorers; Columbus, Magellan, Da Gama. The stories that we learned about these men in school seemed like cliche's. What were they really like? What were they really looking for?

This scholarly yet accessible book tells their stories as well as the tales of many explorers we have not heard about. Dr. Fernandez-Armesto probes deeply yet prudently. In a mere 400 pages he covers the history of exploration in chronological fashion. We travel across the sea to Brasil with Cabral. We visit the polar regions with Amundsen and Scott. Captain Cook takes us everywhere. We go into the Amazon and the heart of Africa.

This book is a marvel. Your children will be enriched. Adults will be illuminated. Beautifully written, smoothly flowing, a wonder to read. This reviewer came away stunned and delighted.

Pathfinders, a book to read and reread.......2006-09-12

I have had the opportunity of reading Professor Fernandez-Armesto`s book that describes the history of global exploration. I must confess that it has enlightened my mind up to the point of finding answers to many of the questions I have quoted since my school years. His original and provoking theories justify why Europeans seek the discovery of new then unknown lands (when boats where able to sail upwind, when the Canary Islands entered the map and when the determination of rulers and financiers made it possible) whilst other peoples with similar or even great development of sailing technology and enjoying of similar trade winds did not succeed in conquering other territories as they lacked the sense of long term view. I have it on my bedside table to refresh my memory on who did what. It has already given me the opportunity of sharing what I have learnt through its lecture with my friends and I am sure each time I review it, will be able to gather new interesting information. I strongly recommend scholars and everyone interested in history to browse its pages and glean ideas from our history to learn about our future.

Average customer rating:

A good read, but some disturbing tendencies
An Old Fashioned Idea..
A bold project, dragged down by showiness
Great Book with many answers to life itself. :)
A history of knowledge and understading

The Discoverers
Daniel J. Boorstin
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0394402294
Release Date: 1983-10-12

Amazon.com

Perhaps the greatest book by one of our greatest historians, The Discoverers is a volume of sweeping range and majestic interpretation. To call it a history of science is an understatement; this is the story of how humankind has come to know the world, however incompletely ("the eternal mystery of the world," Einstein once said, "is its comprehensibility"). Daniel J. Boorstin first describes the liberating concept of time--"the first grand discovery"--and continues through the age of exploration and the advent of the natural and social sciences. The approach is idiosyncratic, with Boorstin lingering over particular figures and accomplishments rather than rushing on to the next set of names and dates. It's also primarily Western, although Boorstin does ask (and answer) several interesting questions: Why didn't the Chinese "discover" Europe and America? Why didn't the Arabs circumnavigate the planet? His thesis about discovery ultimately turns on what he calls "illusions of knowledge." If we think we know something, then we face an obstacle to innovation. The great discoverers, Boorstin shows, dispel the illusions and reveal something new about the world.

Although The Discoverers easily stands on its own, it is technically the first entry in a trilogy that also includes The Creators and The Seekers. An outstanding book--one of the best works of history to be found anywhere. --John J. Miller

Book Description

An original history of man's greatest adventure: his search to discover the world around him.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

A good read, but some disturbing tendencies.......2007-10-14

The Discoverers is a facinating book, and tackles a very big topic: in effect, the history of knowledge of our world. The book is very readable, and Boorstin uses generally conversational, rather than pedantic, language.

All that being said, I was somewhat disappointed by Boorstin's constant portrayal of the Western Church as perhaps the single greatest obstacle to the advancement of knowledge. [Disclosure: I am a devout Catholic who has some familiarity with both the beauties and flaws of the Church.] While it is easy to play to common understandings -- and perhaps comfortable bigotries -- I would expect more from a scholar of Boorstin's reputation.

Boorstin never makes clear whether the Church, as he sees it, promoted ignorance deliberately as some nefarious program (in the spirit of the tendencious The Di Vinci Code) or more innocently out of its own intellectual limitations. In any case, he proceeds to neglect some obvious facts that run counter to his theme, the most notable of which is that the medieval church more than any other institution sponsored and guided the development of the university. This is not the sort of thing one would expect from an instution seeking to thwart learning.

There is a long list of church clerics who were literally "founding fathers" of scientific disciplines ranging from genetics and atomic theory to geology and seismology. None of these is even hinted at in The Discovers (although Boorstin finds room, oddly, for such "discoveries" as Keynesian economic theory). Most fundamentally, Boorstin never seems to recognize the peculiarity of his position -- that Western culture, so thoroughly and inextricably linked to a benighted Christian church, could produce the wide array of discoverers documented in his text.

An Old Fashioned Idea.........2007-09-25

Admittedly, while I'm jumping into the fold a tad late, I think my review might benefit some who haven't yet read this glorious compendium of information. Yes, like one reviewer says, it is an encyclopedic collection of essential and non-essential information -- and at times a verbose one -- about life, history, culture and civilization. But in this wired age of getting information on the fly -- off a talking head on a wide screen, squinting at a one-inch-square cellphone web page, or listening to a scratchy bluetooth connection -- it is refreshing to learn of vast ideas and minutia and everything in between by turning 600+ pages of a heavy book.

A bold project, dragged down by showiness.......2007-06-25

I must join the minority report. I've owned this book for years, find it a remarkable accomplishment full of fascinating facts and biographies... but halfway through trying to finish Book III, Section 3, Part 5.1.B for the 32nd time, I'm throwing in the towel. There's something about Boorstin's writing style that puts me to sleep, and I think it's what an earlier reviewer noted -- a certain smugness, a certain showiness that needlessly complicates the story he's trying to tell.

Certainly, there's a bit of audacity and vainglorious ambition to anyone who would attempt what Boorstin does here, and I don't begrudge him that ambition. He's clearly an incredibly brilliant man.

But, jeez, does he have to make sure you know it.

I just can't shake the sense that the author is more interested in showing off just how much he's read and retained, the brilliant scope of his knowledge, than in making that knowledge accessible to the reader. For example, as noted by others, Boorstin will use an obscure term for dozens of pages before he finally gets around to defining it. While possibly not intended, the effect on this reader is of being intellectually bullied. One is pummeled by so many names, terms and Latin phrases, that the reader must just swallow Boorstin's interpretations, because clearly the man knows more than any of us mere mortals could ever aspire towards.

So much fascinating history is here, but I have to find a source that doesn't cause my eyes to glaze over as The Discovers does.

Great Book with many answers to life itself. :).......2007-06-14

Title says it all.
This is a super book for anyone having questions in life.
Super bathroom reader, and you don't have to read cover to cover to get anything out of it.

Even though I'm not a big history buff, I find the book facinating...
Bought a copy for my father and brother so that we have a common subject while chatting on phone... he he he

A history of knowledge and understading.......2007-03-19

Like most readers, I thoroughly enjoyed Boorstin's "The Discoverers" - all 684 pages. At the same time, I'll admit to understanding somewhat, and having been amused by, the one negative review below. Without diminishing the book in any way, it's a bit of a cross between a history book and an encyclopedia. It is a history of human knowledge. As such, a wide range of critical areas of human endeavor and inquiry are treated in detail - clocks and calendars, cartography and discovery, astronomy, medicine, human physiology, mathematics, scientific method, the study of plants, animals and evolution, language and communication, and the study of history itself. In tracing human understanding of these and other subjects, Boorstin introduces the reader to critical times, places, circumstances and personalities. Thus, while focusing on specific topics that are very interesting in and of themselves, the book also provides the reader with a deeper, richer and more colorful understanding of world history generally. I liked the book so much, in fact, I bought another copy to give away.

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition

Average customer rating:

Excellent
beautiful pictures
Excellent!
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Incredible read for any fan of an Adventure Story

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Caroline Alexander
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Antarctica | Polar Regions | Travel | Subjects | Books

The Endurance - Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
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Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How To Do It Right
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ASIN: 0375404031
Release Date: 1998-11-03

Amazon.com

Melding superb research and the extraordinary expedition photography of Frank Hurley, The Endurance by Caroline Alexander is a stunning work of history, adventure, and art which chronicles "one of the greatest epics of survival in the annals of exploration." Setting sail as World War I broke out in Europe, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, led by renowned polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, hoped to become the first to cross the Antarctic continent. But their ship, Endurance, was trapped in the drifting pack ice, eventually to splinter, leaving the expedition stranded on floes--a situation that seemed "not merely desperate but impossible."

Most skillfully Alexander constructs the expedition's character through its personalities--the cast of veteran explorers, scientists, and crew--with aid from many previously unavailable journals and documents. We learn, for instance, that carpenter and shipwright Henry McNish, or "Chippy," was "neither sweet-tempered nor tolerant," and that Mrs. Chippy, his cat, was "full of character." Such firsthand descriptions, paired with 170 of Frank Hurley's intimate photographs, which are comprehensively assembled here for the first time, penetrate the hulls of the Endurance and these tough men. The account successfully reveals the seldom-seen domestic world of expedition life--the singsongs, feasts, lectures, camaraderie--so that when the hardships set in, we know these people beyond the stereotypical guise of mere explorers and long for their safety.

Alexander reveals Shackleton as an inspiring optimist, "a leader who put his men first." Throughout the grueling ordeal, Shackleton and his men show what endurance and greatness are all about. The Endurance is a most intimate portrait of an expedition and of survival. Readers will possess a newfound respect for these daring souls, know better their unthinkable toil and half-forgotten realm of glory. --Byron Ricks

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

Narrators Michael Tezla and Martin Ruben join forces to read Caroline Alexander's extraordinary account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's improbable Antarctic adventure. Tezla narrates the text while Ruben reads diary entries from the ship's crewmembers, employing a variety of native accents. The approach effectively divides the book into listener-friendly chunks, but at times, keeping track of all 27 crewmen requires the fortitude of the explorers themselves. Tezla describes the ice and snow with a haunting beauty but manages maintain the tension throughout, while Ruben injects character and humor into his various vocal interpretations. (Running time: 6 hours, 4 cassettes) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Book Description

In August 1914, days before the outbreak of the First World War, the renowned explorer Ernest Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven set sail for the South Atlantic in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in the history of exploration: the first crossing on foot of the Antarctic continent. Weaving a treacherous path through the freezing Weddell Sea, they had come within eighty-five miles of their destination when their ship, Endurance, was trapped fast in the ice pack. Soon the ship was crushed like matchwood, leaving the crew stranded on the floes. Their ordeal would last for twenty months, and they would make two near-fatal attempts to escape by open boat before their final rescue.

Drawing upon previously unavailable sources, Caroline Alexander gives us a riveting account of Shackleton's expedition--one of history's greatest epics of survival. And she presents the astonishing work of Frank Hurley, the Australian photographer whose visual record of the adventure has never before been published comprehensively. Together, text and image re-create the terrible beauty of Antarctica, the awful destruction of the ship, and the crew's heroic daily struggle to stay alive, a miracle achieved largely through Shackleton's inspiring leadership.

The survival of Hurley's remarkable images is scarcely less miraculous: The original glass plate negatives, from which most of the book's illustrations are superbly reproduced, were stored in hermetically sealed cannisters that survived months on the ice floes, a week in an open boat on the polar seas, and several more months buried in the snows of a rocky outcrop called Elephant Island. Finally Hurley was forced to abandon his professional equipment; he captured some of the most unforgettable images of the struggle with a pocket camera and three rolls of Kodak film.

Published in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History's landmark exhibition on Shackleton's journey, The Endurance thrillingly recounts one of the last great adventures in the Heroic Age of exploration--perhaps the greatest of them all.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-08-30

This book is simply outstanding. A must read for all whould-be-adventurers!
The photos are right up there with Ansel Adams, but with REAL drama.

beautiful pictures.......2007-08-26

There are more complete books out there detailing what Shackleton and his men went through on their Antarctic exploration, and after viewing the haunting, beautiful and often other-worldly photographs presented in this book, I think you will want to further explore this story.

This book is fine in what it offers, giving a good summary of those events, without getting into some of the mind numbing list of stores etc. in the more detailed books, but the photographs are what makes this a special book - one to leave out on the coffee table and pick up on a hot summer day and leaf through and feel the temperature drop eighty degrees.

Excellent!.......2007-06-27

Thank you for a wonderful book in outstanding condition and great price I will keep in mind this dealer!

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.......2007-06-26

The book is well writen and easy to read....enjoyable to read!!!! Great pictures and overall a nice solid book...

Incredible read for any fan of an Adventure Story.......2006-11-24

Wow is all I can say - this book is amazing and so are the photos. I had the chanc to see a museum tour that was dedicated to this story. I started this book early in the evening and was unable to put it down until the early morning when I read the last page.

This is an incredible story of human courage, leadership, and adventure. This is truly a must read.

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