Kirjahaku

In a riveting narrative of daredevils and eccentrics, Fergus Fleming gives us the breathtaking story of some of history's greatest explorers as they conquer the soaring peaks of the Alps. Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men whose centuries-old fear of the mountain range turned quickly to curiosity, then to obsession, as they explored Europe's frozen wilderness. In the late eighteenth century French and Swiss scientists became interested in the Alps as a research destination, but in the 1850s the focus changed: the icy mountains now offered an all-out competition for British climbers who wanted to conquer ever higher and more impossible heights, and explorers fought each other on the peaks and in the press, entertaining a vast public smitten with their bravery, delighted by their personal animosities, and horrified by the disasters that befell them. "...excellent popular history, with its proper share of mad dogs and Englishmen....Fleming's rendition is dramatic and masterful." -- Anthony Brandt, National Geographic Adventure

The author of Barrow's Boys and Killing Degrees details the incredible journey to the North Pole by a group of intrepid explorers who survived starvation, sickness, and a shipwreck to reach their goal. Reprint.

The critically acclaimed author of Ninety Degrees North offers a vivid account of the exploration of the Sahara that focuses on the exploits and experiences of two men--Charles de Foucauld, a one-time sensualist who abandoned his decadent lifestyle for a religious vocation, and Henri Laperrine, the founder of a legendary camel corps. Reprint.

Full of eccentric characters, Killing Dragons is the story of the first British mountaineers to tackle the Alpine summits of Switzerland during the late eighteenth century. Originally the explorers of this area were poorly equipped, wearing ordinary shoes and no protective clothing. The British arrived intent on reaching every Alpine summit, and 'mountaineering' was born. The title refers to the mythical creatures said to inhabit these peaks: 'Here be dragons,' said the old maps ...