Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Kniha Sedemdesiat veľkých výprav, ktoré zmenili svet je kronikou ich príbehov ako aj mnohých iných vzrušujúcich objavných ciest, ktorá súčasne odhaľuje pohnútky, ktoré hýbali najdobrodružnejšími bádateľmi sveta. Príbehy sedemdesiatich dobrodružných ciest od raných migrácií populácie z Afriky až po dnešné lety do vesmíru doplnené stovkami pôsobivých fotografií, malieb, ilustrácií, portrétov a máp zostavil Robin Hanbury-Tenison známy britský bádateľ, autor a ochranár životného prostredia.

Marco Polo, Magellán, David Livingstone, Cook kapitány, Thor Heyerdahl, Neil Armstrong - csak néhány híresség a történelem legnagyobb utazói közül. A Hetven felfedező utazás földön, vízen, levegőben című könyv természetesen leírja az ő világutazásaikat is, de emellett számos más felfedezés heroikus történetét elénk tárja, bemutatva a világ legkalandosabb életű felfedezőinek mozgatórugóit és vállalkozásuk sikerét vagy kudarcát. A könyv végigvezet bennünket a felfedezések egész történelmén, legrégebbi őseink Afrikából való különleges kirajzásától kezdve a sikeres űrutazásokig. A hetven felfedező utazás elsősorban nagy győzelmekről és sikerekről szól, de hihetetlen megpróbáltatásokról, tragédiákról is, mindenesetre az "utazók" bámulatos bátorságáról, emberfeletti erőfeszítéseiről tanúskodik. Az utazásoknak különböző indítékai lehettek - a vándorlási kedvtől a miszticizmusig, a kereskedelmi lehetőségek kiszélesítésétől a tudományos megismerésig, az emberi kíváncsiságtól a hódításig. A több száz fényképpel, festménnyel és portréval, valamint különleges térképvázlattal illusztrált kötet mindazok érdeklődésére számíthat, akik csodálattal tekintenek azokra az elsőkre, akik elindultak az ismeretlenbe, és meghódították a világot mindannyiunk számára.

Exploration has never been more popular and any idea that there is nowhere left to explore is instantly disproved by the contemporary explorers who are showcased here. Most of the accounts are written by the explorers themselves, and they all vividly describe challenging and extraordinary expeditions to some of the remotest parts of the world, in extremes of temperature and aridity, often alone and on the edge of danger. Some of these explorers are very experienced and are already celebrated worldwide, others are young and less well known and just starting to make their mark; all are driven by ambition, aspiration and passion.

What inspires explorers to push back the boundaries of the known world? Why do they risk their lives in unforgiving conditions far from home? How do they survive at the limits of human endurance? Who are the great pioneers of land, sea and space? Where next? This book charts the great expeditions of forty of the world's most intrepid explorers, from da Gama to Gagarin. Gertrude Bell plotted the desert sands, politics and poetry of Arabia; Francis Garnier was driven almost insane on the banks of the Mekong; Edward Wilson twice tried to reach the South Pole with Scott; Nain Singh mapped the vast spaces of Tibet, counting every step. Written by a host of distinguished travel writers, broadcasters and historians, here are journeys to savour from every corner of the earth - and beyond.

Throughout history, a handful of unusually driven individuals have been inspired to explore the limits of the known world, inspiring us and changing our perceptions of our planet through their courageous adventures. What is it that makes these men and women risk their lives in desperate, often fatal efforts to discover distant and inaccessible places? Robin Hanbury-Tenison, himself one of the most distinguished explorers of the 20th century, looks at the greatest of their kind in history, bringing their experiences to life in vivid and compelling anecdotes and drawing on their own first-hand accounts. Among the explorers he features are some who are well known, like James Cook and David Livingstone, and some less so, such as Herodotus, the first European to record an expedition and Nain Singh, who walked huge distances to map the forbidden lands of Tibet, counting every pace. And he asks: what was it, and is it, that motivates these unusual people? And how have they enriched our world through their adventures?

Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, David Livingstone, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong: these are some of the greatest travellers of all time. This book chronicles their stories and many more, describing epic voyages of discovery from the extraordinary migrations out of Africa by our earliest ancestors to the latest voyages into space. In antiquity, we follow Alexander the Great to the Indus and Hannibal across the Alps; in medieval times we trek beside Genghis Khan and Ibn Battuta. The Renaissance brought Columbus to the Americas and the circumnavigation of the world. The following centuries saw gaps in the global maps filled by Tasman, Bering and Cook, and journeys made for scientific purposes, most famously by von Humboldt and Darwin. In modern times, the last inhospitable ends of the earth were reached - including both poles and the world's highest mountain - and new elements were conquered. With evocative photographs, paintings and portraits, The Great Journeys in History reveals the stories of those who were there first, who explored the unexplored and who set out into the unknown, bringing alive the romance and thrill of travel.

Exploration has never been more popular and any idea that there is nowhere left to explore is instantly disproved by the contemporary explorers who are showcased here. Most of the accounts are written by the explorers themselves, and they all vividly describe challenging and extraordinary expeditions to some of the remotest parts of the world, in extremes of temperature and aridity, often alone and on the edge of danger. Some of these explorers are very experienced and are already celebrated worldwide, others are young and less well known and just starting to make their mark; all are driven by ambition, aspiration and passion. With 25 illustrations