Monday, December 16, 2013

Explorers

ExplorersExplorers – Tales of Endurance and Exploration
By DK Canada

About the book

From the first people to leave Africa to the first to leave the planet, the urge to explore the unknown has driven human progress. DK's Explorers tells the story of humanity's explorations, taking the reader into the lives of some of the most intrepid people ever known. Focusing on 50 of the world's greatest explorers, with shorter entries on 60 of their helpers and companions, the book is filled with first-person accounts in the explorers' own words, rare maps, specially commissioned photographs, and artworks re-create history's greatest expeditions. From trade and the search for lands to colonize, to scientific curiosity and missionary zeal, Explorers introduces history's most famous trail blazers-people whose courage opened frontiers, turned voids into maps, forged nations, connected cultures, and added to humankind's knowledge of the world by leaps and bounds.

My Thoughts

This book is perfect for the person in your life who enjoys reading about history.  From the beginning of times to the explorations of the 21st century, this book will keep you occupied for quite some time in the new year.   Through the pages of this book, you will discover how explorations were made in the past and how new places were found by these adventurous men and women through the years. 

A quick look at the table of contents can give you an idea of what you will learn while reading this book.

  • The Early Explorers:Expanding the ancient world, trade and diplomacy, in search of new land, exploring the Buddhist world.
  • Trade and Discovery: Tales of Asia, exploring the Muslim world, a route around Africa, a new world to some
  • Conquest and Colonization: cruel conquistadors, northern alliances, sailing around the world, into the Pacific
  • Filling in the gaps”": mapping the land, into Africa, spreading the faith, understanding others
  • Reaching for extremes: exploring for science, to the ends of the Earth, exploring the deep, into the Solar System

Explorers features the personal stories of the most famous trailblazers – people whose courage opened frontiers, turned voids into maps, forged nations, connected cultures, and added to humanity’s knowledge of the world by leaps and bonds.  By seeing names like Jacques Cartier, Ponce de Leon, Marquette and Jolliet, Samuel de Champlain, James Cook, Lewis and Clark, David Livingstone, and many more I know that not only will I read of the historical people from my  history classes but I know without a doubt that I will discover something new about them as well.

The book is packed with historical information, images, photos as well as maps and instruments used by these explorers.    I really enjoy having a book like this one when I explore history with my kids as I find that it helps me to make history more real to them.   Not only are they learning but I am too!   While looking into the pages of this book, I learned that Cook originally named the Hawaiian Islands as the Sandwich Islands after his sponsor – the Earl of Sandwich, that Jolliet’s logbook and maps were lost when his canoe overturned and his duplicate was burned in a fire, and that Jacques Cousteau (I used to watch his television show) originally wanted to become and aviator.

Explorers is a perfect gift for the person in your life who loves history and enjoy reading about the explorers in history. 

Explorers is just one example of some of the gift ideas that DK Canada has for you.  Check out their Gift Boutique for more ideas. They have numerous ideas for kids and adults.   Click on the image below to access the Gift Boutique.

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Explorers is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned title for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

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