Founded on recent historical investigations, this exciting volume delves into the journeys of the first intrepid travelers who sailed across the ocean to explore unknown lands. • Featured explorers include Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, and Giovanni da Verrazzano. • Address which Native American peoples were encountered by early explorers. • Also included are valuable primary source documents and maps from this exciting period of New York’s history.

The European explorers who dared to face the perils of the unknown have in recent times become shrouded in controversy. No longer esteemed as heroes, except in their homelands, these bold explorers are now seen as purveyors of disease, destruction and slavery whose only interests were finding gold, becoming famous, and spreading their religious beliefs. But, as the author of this work points out, these explorers broke down long-standing myths and broadened the world's horizons. Beginning with Prince Henry the Navigator's worldly vision of finding a direct sea route to India and concluding with Ferdinand Magellan's quest to be the first man to sail around the world, this work tells the collective story of the numerous explorers who sought to find a path to the exotic spices and other treasures of the Far East. Most of the explorers included in this work were of the same generation and several of them even sailed together. The book also examines the political, social and economic factors that ushered in the age of exploration and had such an impact upon the explorers.

Founded on recent historical investigations, this exciting volume delves into the journeys of the first intrepid travelers who sailed across the ocean to explore unknown lands. • Featured explorers include Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, and Giovanni da Verrazzano. • Address which Native American peoples were encountered by early explorers. • Also included are valuable primary source documents and maps from this exciting period of New York’s history.

'Fascinating. A compelling and intriguing volume.' Associated Press Scarcely over a hundred years ago, Africa was still the Dark Continent to Europeans-its geography and peoples largely unknown. The continent was Nature's last great fortress, made seemingly impregnable by disease, hostile tribes, dangerous animals, extremes of climate and an inhospitable terrain. However, the era of discovery eventually dawned: Africa was being opened up. Through the combination of individual endeavour and technological breakthrough, a handful of explorers began exploring and mapping Africa. Livingstone, Stanley, Burton, Speke, Baker, and others-these extraordinary characters risked their lives to uncover the mysteries of the Dark Continent. Frank McLynn proposes a thematic treatment of the subject; opening with an historical survey of the achievements and scope of the explorers, detailing the legendary search of the source of the Nile, the traversing of the Congo and Niger, and the recovery of Livingstone. The ensuing chapters deal then with different aspects of exploration over the period. The highly-praised Hearts of Darkness brings us the reality behind the myths and legends of England's first steps into the Dark Continent. Frank McLynn is a British author, biographer, historian and journalist. He is noted for critically acclaimed biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte, Robert Louis Stevenson, Carl Jung, Richard Francis Burton and Henry Morton Stanley. He is also the author of Fitzroy Maclean, Villa and Zapata and Bipolar, a novel about Roald Amundsen, published by Sharpe Books. Praise for Frank McLynn: 'A remarkable opus.' ALA Booklist 'An eye-opening safari into the history and psychobiography of Africa exploration.' Kirkus Reviews 'In sturdy, confident prose McLynn takes an intriguing tack by offering a thematic, comparative account of African exploration during the Victorian era.' Publishers Weekly 'A readable, well-written and worthwhile work.' Seattle Times 'A smoothly written account of African exploration during the Victorian era. [McLynn] presents fascinating derails on everything from the eating habits of the black mamba to the ravages of the tsetse fly on the European travellers.' Tampa Tribune and Times

The Age of Exploration, which spanned roughly from 1400 to 1550, was the first time in history that European powers—eyeing new trade routes to the East or seeking to establish empires—began actively looking far past their own borders to gain a better understanding of the world and its many resources. The individuals who set out on behalf of the countries they represented came from a variety of backgrounds, and included master navigators such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan—the latter of whom was the first to circle the globe—as well as the often ruthless conquistadors of the New World such as Francisco Pizarro and Hernan Cortes. The exciting and sometimes tragic lives and journeys of these and many others as well as the battles for empire that arose are chronicled in this engaging volume.

This abridgement of the late Samuel Eliot Morison's magnum opus, The European Discovery of America, which the Journal of Southern History called "an epic work of true grandeur," and the Virginia Quarterly Review considered "a great book by a great historian," preserves the originality, scholarship, and vivid descriptions of the original volumes.

Founded on recent historical investigations, this exciting volume delves into the journeys of the first intrepid travelers who sailed across the ocean to explore unknown lands. • Featured explorers include Henry Hudson, Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain, and Giovanni da Verrazzano. • Address which Native American peoples were encountered by early explorers. • Also included are valuable primary source documents and maps from this exciting period of New York’s history.