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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63 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
Amelia Earhart
DK Biography
by Tanya Lee Stone
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Captain Edward L. Beach: Around the World Under Water
by Beril Becker
from Kingston House
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Christopher Columbus
Sowers Series
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Christopher Columbus
Sowers Biographies
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Christopher Columbus and His Brothers
by Amy Hogeboom
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Christopher Columbus and the Discovery of the New World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Columbus and the Renaissance Explorers
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by Daniel Boone
from Applewood Books
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone: Young Hunter and Tracker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Augusta Stevenson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
David Livingstone
by Ben Alex
from Victor Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$4.50 (3 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)
$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)
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 News
The History News
by Michael Johnstone
from Candlewick Press
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$6.99 $4.50 (4 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Dreher
from Tor Classic
Non-fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Explorers Who Got Lost
by Diane Sansevere-Dreher, Illustrated by Ed Renfro
from Starscape
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan
by Milton Meltzer
from Benchmark Books
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$6.50 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan and the Discovery of the World Ocean
by Rebecca Stefoff
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan and the First Voyage Around the World
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (2 in stock)
Francisco Coronado and the Exploration of the American Southwest
Explorers of New Worlds
by Hal Marcovitz
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca
by Gina DeAngelis
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
Latinos in American History
by Jim Whiting
from Mitchell Lane Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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
for 4th-8th grade
in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Josepha Sherman
from Rosen Central
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Hudson
by Nina Brown Baker, illustrated by George Fulton
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$64.00 (1 in stock)
Henry M. Stanley
Lives to Remember
by Robert Edmond Alter
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 6th-10th grade
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$18.00 (1 in stock)
Hernando de Soto and the Exploration of Florida
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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in Age of Exploration (1450-1700) (Location: HISA-16EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Ice Bound
by Jerri Nielsen, Mary Anne Vollers
from Hyperion/Madison Press
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
In Their Own Words: Christopher Columbus
by Peter & Connie Roop
from Scholastic Inc.
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In Their Own Words: Lewis and Clark
by George Sullivan
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John and Sebastian Cabot
by Henry Ira Kurtz
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John Charles Frémont
by Charles W. Maynard
1st edition from PowerKids Press
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$2.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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Juan Ponce de Leon
by Louise Chipley Slavicek
1st edition from Chelsea House Publishing
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Juan Ponce de Leon and the Search for the Fountain of Youth
by Daniel E. Harmon
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Kit Carson: Folk Hero and Man
by Noel B. Gerson
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Leif Eriksson
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Lost Star
by Patricia Lauber
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Magellan
by Michael Burgan
from Compass Point Books
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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
by Nick McCarty
from National Geographic
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Meet Christopher Columbus
Second Series Landmark / Step Up reprints
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Meet Christopher Columbus
by James de Kay
from Random House
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Mystery On Everest
by George Mallory
from National Geographic
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$2.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Pizarro, Orellana, and the Exploration of the Amazon
by Brendon Bernhard
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Sacajawea
by Joseph Bruchac
from Graphia
Biography for 3rd-7th grade
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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 Francis Drake
Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Joy Paige
1st edition from Rosen Central
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
The Rebels
Discovering Canada
by Robert Livesey & A. G. Smith
1st edition
for 2nd-6th grade
in Canada (Location: HISMC-CAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Trial by Ice
by K. M. Kostyal
from Scholastic Inc.
Picture Book Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Triumph on Everest
by Broughton Coburn
from Scholastic Inc.
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in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Vasco de Gama and the Portuguese Explorers
by Jim Gallagher
from Chelsea House Publishing
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
Westward With Columbus
by John Dyson
from Scholastic Inc.
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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's Great Explorers: Alexander the Great
by Maureen Ash
from Children's Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)