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12 reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A Great Read
10 Oct 2005
Format:Hardcover
Hard to believe, but I couldn't put this book down! It consists of a number of vignettes, each a story of exploration. The majority seem to involve polar exploration - Northwest Passage and all that - with a fair number set in Africa, as well. Though I've read whole books on a few of these stories, in most cases a book might be too much, especially for those of us with too many books on the to-read list. The writing is excellent. (I must say, though, that I was disappointed when I read that Stanley, rather than searching all over the heart of Africa, found Livingstone in the first place that he looked!)
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A Very Nice Way to Learn History
6 Nov 2005
Format:Hardcover
Fergus Fleming is a "narrative historian." "I can't conceive of writing it any other way," the recently deceased Shelby Foote once said. "Narrative history is the kind that comes closest to telling the truth. You can never get to the truth, but that's your goal."
As a narrative historian, Mr. Fleming writes of history almost as he would a novel. He doesn't footnote every fact, he doesn't quote every statement anyone said. He writes the history as a story, an interesting story. In the bibliography at the back he says, "it seems redundant to itemize every letter, every diary, every scrap of archive material. The following is a list of books that I have found most directly helpful."
From these books, and probably a lifetime of accumulated historical knowledge, Mr. Fleming tells the tale here of the discoverers who ventured "Off the Map." The tales range from the time of the Renaissance through the 1920's when the intenal combusion engine changed all the rules. He covers the famous like Marco Polo, Columbus, Cook, Lewis and Clark. He also covers a series of others that may have escaped your attention in the past such as Ibn Battuta, Umberto Nobile, and Carl Weyprecht.
Entertaining reading and even hearing the old stories retold is enjoyable in Mr. Fleming's writing style.
As a narrative historian, Mr. Fleming writes of history almost as he would a novel. He doesn't footnote every fact, he doesn't quote every statement anyone said. He writes the history as a story, an interesting story. In the bibliography at the back he says, "it seems redundant to itemize every letter, every diary, every scrap of archive material. The following is a list of books that I have found most directly helpful."
From these books, and probably a lifetime of accumulated historical knowledge, Mr. Fleming tells the tale here of the discoverers who ventured "Off the Map." The tales range from the time of the Renaissance through the 1920's when the intenal combusion engine changed all the rules. He covers the famous like Marco Polo, Columbus, Cook, Lewis and Clark. He also covers a series of others that may have escaped your attention in the past such as Ibn Battuta, Umberto Nobile, and Carl Weyprecht.
Entertaining reading and even hearing the old stories retold is enjoyable in Mr. Fleming's writing style.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Perhaps "An encyclopedia of exploration" would be a better title
22 Dec 2005
Format:Hardcover
I expected this book to be the advertised "tales" of exploration, but I think that doesn't do justice to the depth of detail and research in the content. Rather than describe how far someone went and how cold it was there, he excerpts explorers' journals and gives a feel for the degree of pain and suffering of the journey, as well as what the exploration did or did not accomplish in scientific or imperialistic terms. In one memorable Antarctic exploration chapter, for example, Fleming relates how the explorer's skin peeled off in a truly horrific manner (you can't even imagine) as related in his journals. Fleming then goes on to theorize on the cause of the condition (eating his sled dog's liver) and why this did not happen to other adventurers in the Antarctic. There are dozens and dozens of individual stories in this book, and I'm amazed at how many of the tiny details are still imprinted in my brain. They'll make great campfire stories sometime.
On the other hand, "encyclopedia" doesn't sound like "fun read," and this book truly is. I'd highly recommend it to those who enjoy richly detailed yet thoroughly engaging stories of great adventure, risk, and near (or often, total) death.
On the other hand, "encyclopedia" doesn't sound like "fun read," and this book truly is. I'd highly recommend it to those who enjoy richly detailed yet thoroughly engaging stories of great adventure, risk, and near (or often, total) death.
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