Explorers

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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83 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Hardcover
Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo
World Landmark #3
by Richard Walsh
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Amerigo Vespucci
by Nina Brown Baker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Balboa:
by Jeannette Mirsky
from Harper & Row
for 4th-7th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador
World Landmark #25
by Felix Riesenberg, Jr.
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
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
1st 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
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: The Opening of the Wilderness
Landmark #21
by John Mason Brown
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
David Livingstone
by Ben Alex
from Victor Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Davy Crockett
Landmark #57
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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
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Exploration and Conquest
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st 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
by Betsy & Giulio Maestro
1st 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
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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 & Discoverers - 4 Volume Set
from UXL Publishing
biographical encyclopedia for 5th-8th grade
in World History Reference (Location: HISW-REF)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers for God
by Nathan Aaseng
from Augsburg Fortress
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
Ferdinand Magellan
World Landmark #31
by Seymour Gates Pond
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Finding the New World
by Walter Taylor Field
from Ginn and Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca
by Gina DeAngelis
from Chelsea House Publishing
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Golden Book History of the United States Volume 1
by Earl Schenck Miers
from Golden Press
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures
by Claire Llewellyn
from Kingfisher
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in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Explorers
by Joyce Grosseck & Elizabeth Attwood
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hero Schliemann
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
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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
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Joe Meek
by Shannon Garst
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John Charles Fremont
by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Journal of Augustus Pelletier
Dear America
by Kathryn Lasky
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictional historical journal for 3rd-6th grade
in Dear America Books (Location: SER-DEAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Kit Carson
A Discovery Book
by Nardi Reeder Campion, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Garrard Publishing Company
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in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier
Landmark #53
by Ralph Moody
from Random House
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Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man
by Noel B. Gerson
from Doubleday & Company
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$7.50 (1 in stock)
La Salle, River Explorer
Makers of America
by Alberta Powell Graham
from Abingdon Press
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in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Leif Eriksson
by Katherine B. Shippen
1st edition from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
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Lewis & Clark Expedition
Spencer Press Landmark #5 (RH#15)
by Richard L. Neuberger
from Spencer Press
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in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Marco Polo
by Charles P. Graves
from Chelsea House Publishing
Biography for 4th-6th grade
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$6.00 (3 in stock)
Marco Polo
Great Names
by John Riddle, Robert Ingpen
from Mason Crest Publishers
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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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
by Nick McCarty
from National Geographic
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Marco Polo
from Two Lions
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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
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
1st edition from Atheneum
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Prisoner of the Indies
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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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
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
1st 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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Christopher Columbus
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #2
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by David Hendrickson
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
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 Leif Ericson
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #30
by William O. Steele, illustrated by Pranas Lapé
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Marco Polo
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #22
by Olive Price, illustrated by Frederico Castellon
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th 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)
They Saw America First
by John Bakeless, Katherine Bakeless
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Thomas Harriot
by Ralph Staiger
1st edition from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Thor Heyerdahl
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Travels of Marco Polo
by Marion Koenig, illustrated by Mario Logli & Gabriele Santini
from Golden Press
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
True Story of Sir Francis Drake
by Will Holwood
from Children's Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Spencer Press Landmark #1 (RH#1)
by Armstrong Sperry
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Voyages of Henry Hudson
World Landmark #54
by Eugene Rachlis
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Westward With Columbus
by John Dyson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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
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)