In 1799, Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland set out to determine whether the Orinoco River connected with the Amazon. But what started as a trip to investigate a relatively minor geographical controversy became the basis of a five-year exploration throughout South America, Mexico, and Cuba. The discoveries amassed by Humboldt and Bonpland were staggering, and much of today’s knowledge of tropical zoology, botany, geography, and geology can be traced back to Humboldt’s numerous records of these expeditions. One of these accounts, Views of the Cordilleras and Monuments of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, firmly established Alexander von Humboldt as the founder of Mesoamerican studies. In Views of the Cordilleras—first published in French between 1810 and 1813—Humboldt weaves together magnificently engraved drawings and detailed texts to achieve multifaceted views of cultures and landscapes across the Americas. In doing so, he offers an alternative perspective on the New World, combating presumptions of its belatedness and inferiority by arguing that the “old” and the “new” world are of the same geological age. This critical edition of Views of the Cordilleras—the second volume in the Alexander von Humboldt in English series—contains a new, unabridged English translation of Humboldt’s French text, as well as annotations, a bibliography, and all sixty-nine plates from the original edition, many of them in color.

Jacques Laurent was born in France but brought up by his Argentinian uncle, Ignacio, a bachelor with no children of his own. An estanciero with properties in la Pampa province, closer to Buenos Aires, and in the Santa Cruz province, Patagonia, Ignacio was responsible for insti lling in young Jacques his passion for mountains and horses. A graduate from France’s most prestigious college, the École Polythecnique, this is Jacque’s story of his loves and adventures, a tale of amazing mettle and daring in face of different kinds of dangers and adverse odds. A courage sharpened by the mountain peaks he had to conquer, and the horses he had to tame. From saving missionaries in Central America and rescuing people in the deep Amazon Forest under impossible conditions, the story goes on to fighting a ruthless gang of criminals with activities in France and in Turkey and chasing terrorists in the Middle East. The reader will be fascinated by the tale and will become immersed in the same environments and difficulties faced by Jacques.

In 1993 and 1994, two Rapid Assessment Program teams conducted biological surveys in the Cordillera del Cóndor between Ecuador and Peru, one of the largest intact regions of Andean lower montane forest. This book presents the results of their surveys. The great topographic and geological complexity of this region, combined with a climate of year-round high humidity, have resulted in very high plant species diversity. This diversity of habitats and species with restricted distributions makes the Cóndor an important refuge for many taxa.

A comprehensive mountaineering guidebook about Peru's - and South America's - most famous mountain range. With 182 colour images, including 16 panoramas, and detailed descriptions, it leads us to the best that the Cordillera Blanca has to offer. It also includes 12 three-dimensional maps, using a cartographic technique.

As bicycle races go, the attractions of the Tour Divide are not immediately apparent. For a start, it is the longest mountain-bike race in the world, running nearly 3,000 miles down the Rockies from Canada to Mexico. But the distance is not the only challenge - the total ascent of 200,000 ft is the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest nearly seven times. Then there are the dangerous animals likely to be encountered on the route: grizzly bears, mountain lions and wolves, not to mention rattlesnakes and tarantulas. Worse, the rewards for all this effort are strictly limited. Unlike in the Tour de France, there is no fabled yellow jersey and no prize money. Yet, undaunted, and in spite of never having owned a mountain bike, Paul Howard signed up. Battling the worst weather for generations, drinking whiskey with a cowboy and singing karaoke with the locals, Howard's journey turned into more than just a race - it became the adventure of a lifetime.