Explorers & Adventurers

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One of the great joys of being human is the joy of finding. Whether as a child you "discovered" the creek in your back yard, or as an adult you realized the road you always neglected was really a shortcut to work, uncovering new things can be downright exhilarating. Unless, of course, you uncover bad things, a situation many of the great explorers have found themselves in too often.

That doesn't keep them from seeking new territories, foreign rivers, inland passages—in fact, it's almost as if hardship and defeat spur them on to greater feats and attempts. Ernest Shackleton's trip to the South Pole was disaster upon cataclysm, but with each difficulty the crew's resolve became deeper and more determined. Shackleton and his men couldn't not explore: it was in their blood.

Now that we've been everywhere and done everything, exploration might seem like an anachronism. Man has climbed Mt. Everest, submarined to the deepest eel-infested parts of the ocean, and walked on the moon—what's a canoe trip down the Amazon or a stroll through the Outback? Maybe not much from that perspective, but when the whole big world is still unknown and largely inhospitable, shouldering a pack and a rifle and heading into the unknown takes one thing our age has precious little of: guts.

A lot of exploration was undertaken by missionaries eager to take the Word of God to every tribe and nation. The darker side of that is the European politicos who followed behind to exploit natural resources, native peoples, and each other. Either way, the story of exploration is a fascinating one, and a must-read if you expect to understand the current world economic and political situation.

Even more compelling than the story of exploration, however, is the story of the explorers themselves. Exploration is a picture painted with broad strokes, but when presenting the men themselves the artist must show the details, each weakness and virtue, each fear and desire, that made them brave scorpions, bloodthirsty hunters, desert sands, snow and ice, sickness, and death in the name of discovery.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Explorers & Adventurers

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4th grade (Ages 9-10),

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	Amerigo Vespucci by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by Paul Valentino from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Balboa, Finder of the Pacific by Ronald Syme, illustrated by William Stobbs from William Morrow & Company for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Balboa: Discoverer of the Pacific by Jeannette Mirsky from Harper & Row for 4th-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Book of Famous Explorers Young Folks Library by Edwin Erle Sparks, editor from Auxiliary Educational League for 3rd-9th grade in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
	Captain Cook: Pacific Explorer by Ronald Syme from William Morrow & Company for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence by Esther Averill, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky from Harper & Brothers for 4th-8th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
	Christopher Columbus Sowers Biographies by Bennie Rhodes from Mott Media for 4th-6th grade in Sowers Biographies (Location: BIO-SOW) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Christopher Columbus and His Brothers by Amy Hogeboom from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Commodore Perry in Japan by Robert Reynolds from American Heritage Publishing Co. for 4th-8th grade in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Daniel Boone by James Daugherty 1^st edition from Viking Press for 4th-6th grade 1940 Newbery Medal winner in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout Junior Deluxe Editions by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Daniel Boone, Wilderness Scout The Life Story and True Adventures of the Great Hunter Long Knife by Stewart Edward White, illustrated by James Daugherty from Garden City Books Biography for 4th-7th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Daniel Boone: Boy Hunter Childhood of Famous Americans by Augusta Stevenson from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	David Livingstone: Courageous Explorer by Renee Meloche, illustrated by Bryan Pollard from YWAM Publishing for 2nd-4th grade in Heroes for Young Readers (Location: BIO-HERO)
	De Soto: Finder of the Mississippi by Ronald Syme for 3rd-6th grade in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
	Drake: The Man They Called a Pirate by Jean Lee Latham from Harper & Brothers for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Encounter by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Shannon from Harcourt Brace Jovanich for 1st-6th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
	Exploration and Conquest The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 by Betsy & Giulio Maestro 1^st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books for 3rd-7th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Exploration and Conquest The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 by Betsy & Giulio Maestro 1^st edition from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books for 3rd-7th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Exploration of Africa by Thomas Sterling from Harper & Row for 4th-8th grade in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
	Explorer's Handbook by Marilyn Tolhurst from Dutton Children's Books for 4th-6th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
	Explorers for God by Nathan Aaseng from Augsburg Fortress for 4th-6th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
	Ferdinand Magellan by Ronald Welch from Criterion Books for 4th-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca by Gina DeAngelis from Chelsea House Publishing for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Golden Book History of the United States by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga from Golden Press for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Golden Book History of the United States - 12 Volume Set by Earl Schenck Miers, illustrated by Alton S. Tobey and Richard P. Kluga from Golden Press for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $75.00 (1 in stock)
	Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1 The Explorers from 986 to 1701 by Earl Schenck Miers from Golden Press for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures Stories of Hidden Marvels and Lost Treasures by Claire Llewellyn from Kingfisher for 4th-8th grade in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Great Explorers by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood for 4th-8th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Hero Schliemann The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy by Laura Amy Schlitz from Candlewick Press for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	I Sailed with Columbus by Susan Martin Xlibrary Copy. from Overlook Press for 3rd-6th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Jed Smith, Young Western Explorer by Olive W. Burt from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Joe Meek Man of the West by Shannon Garst from Julian Messner for 4th-7th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	John Charles Fremont The Last American Explorer by Ronald Syme, illustrated by Richard Cuffari from William Morrow & Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Juan Ponce de Leon by Nina Baker; illustrated by Robert Doremus from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 4th-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Juan Ponce de Leon by Tamara Green from World Almanac Library for 2nd-4th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Kit Carson A Discovery Book by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis from Garrard Publishing Company for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man by Noel B. Gerson from Doubleday & Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	La Salle, River Explorer Makers of America by Alberta Powell Graham from Abingdon Press for 4th-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Leif Eriksson First Voyager to America by Katherine B. Shippen 1^st edition from Harper & Brothers for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Leif the Lucky Discoverer of America by Erick Berry from Garrard Publishing Company for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Marco Polo by Charles P. Graves from Chelsea House Publishing Biography for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Marco Polo 13th-Century Italian Trader Great Names by John Riddle, Robert Ingpen from Mason Crest Publishers Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Marco Polo by Charles P. Graves Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff from Junior Deluxe Editions for 4th-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Marco Polo Junior Deluxe Editions by Manual Komroff, illustrated by Robin Jacques from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Marco Polo from Two Lions for 4th-7th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO)
	Marco Polo's Adventures in China by Milton Rugoff from American Heritage Publishing Co. for 4th-8th grade in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
	Meet Christopher Columbus by James de Kay from Random House Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
	Meet Christopher Columbus by James de Kay from Random House Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $2.00 (2 in stock)
	Meet the Men who Sailed the Seas by John Dyment, Illustrated by Victor Mays from Random House Biography for 3rd-6th grade in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
	Mission Control, This Is Apollo Story of the First Voyages to the Moon by Andrew Chaikin, Victoria Kohl from Viking Press for 4th-9th grade in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
	North Pole A Doubleday Signal Book by Tony Simon, Illustrated by Albert Orbaan from Doubleday & Company for 4th-8th grade in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Peter Freuchen's Adventures in the Arctic by Dagmar Freuchen, ed. from Julian Messner for 4th-6th grade in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
	Prince Henry the Navigator by Leonard Everett Fisher 1^st edition from Atheneum for 2nd-5th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Prisoner of the Indies The Adventures of Miles Philips as Told by Geoffrey Household by Geoffrey Household, with map and decorations by Warren Chappell from Little, Brown & Company for 4th-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Real Book About Christopher Columbus by Irvin Block, illustrated by Rus Anderson from Garden City Books Biography for 4th-7th grade in Real Books series (Location: VIN-RBA)
	Richard Byrd Boy of the South Pole by Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. from Bobbs-Merril Co for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Roald Amundsen: A Saga of the Polar Seas by J. Alvin Kugelmass from Kingston House for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Sieur de La Salle New World Adventurer by John Paul Zronik from Crabtree Publishing for 3rd-8th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Sir Walter Raleigh Captain and Adventurer by Nina Brown Baker 1^st edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Stanley, African Explorer by Fredrika Shumway Smith for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Story of Christopher Columbus Cornerstones of Freedom by Zachary Kent from Children's Press for 4th-6th Grade in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
	Story of Davy Crockett Grosset & Dunlap Signature #3 by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft, illustrated by C. B. Falls from Grosset & Dunlap Biography for 4th-8th grade in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
	Story of Marquette and Jolliet by R. Conrad Stein from Children's Press for 4th-6th grade in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	They Saw America First Our First Explorers and What They Saw by John Bakeless, Katherine Bakeless from J.B. Lippincott Co. for 4th-9th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Thomas Harriot Science Pioneer by Ralph Staiger 1^st edition from Clarion Books for 4th-6th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $7.50 (2 in stock)
	True Story of Sir Francis Drake Privateer by Will Holwood from Children's Press for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Westward With Columbus Set sail on the voyage that changed the world by John Dyson from Scholastic Inc. for 4th-6th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz childrens book from Putnam Juvenile for 2nd-4th grade in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	World Explorer: Henry Morton Stanley World Explorer by Charles P. Graves from Garrard Publishing Company for 1st-4th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	World Explorer: James Cook by Adele Deleeuw from Garrard Publishing Company for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	World Explorer: John Smith World Explorer by Charles P. Graves, illustrated by Al Fiorentino from Garrard Publishing Company for 2nd-4th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	World Explorer: Robert Falcon Scott by Joan Bristow from Garrard Publishing Company for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	World Explorer: Sir Francis Drake by John Foster from Garrard Publishing Company for 3rd-5th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
	Zebulon Pike Young America's Frontier Scout Lives to Remember by Bern Keating, illustrated by Frank Aloise from G.P. Putnam's Sons for 4th-8th grade in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)

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