Elisha Kent Kane, scion of a wealthy and influential Philadelphia family, became a legend of 19th-century America. Before he was 30, he had descended into a volcano in the Philippines, infiltrated a company of slave traders in West Africa and narrowly survived hand-to-hand combat in the Sierra Madre while carrying a secret message from the president of the United States. Yet Kane would achieve his greatest fame by exploring the High Arctic, an adventure that began when he sailed in search of the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin and the open water of an alleged “polar sea” around the North Pole. In the mid-1850s, Kane pushed farther north than any other voyager, then spent two years trapped in the ice before leading a desperate but heroic retreat that only added to his legend. Kane also enjoyed a secret love affair with a young Canadian-born spiritualist named Maggie Fox, a celebrated “spirit rapper” deemed unsuitable by his family. How this relationship combined with Kane’s tragic early death to deny him his rightful place in history is one of the most dramatic aspects of the book. Race to the Polar Sea tells the story of a romantic adventurer driven by dreams of glory. It is a tale of heroism, courage and conspiracy that evokes an age when the Arctic seemed a white, booming emptiness, beautiful and unknowable.

Race To The Polar Sea: The Heroic Voyage Of Elisha Kent Kane

History

McGOOGAN, Ken

World

Phyllis Bruce Books

Voyages of Delusion in the Age of Reason: Williams's book charts the 18th-century's perilous and often fatal attempts to discover a passage through the Arctic to the Pacific. An astounding work of the history of arctic exploration. Glyn Williams's Prize of All the Oceans was reviewed by Patrick O'Brian: 'A remarkably erudite and deeply informed book'. And by Andrew Roberts as 'Staggeringly good! the best book I've read in ages.' The Quest for the North-West Passage should be as big a best-seller as Fergus Fleming's Barrow's Boys--which was about the quest for the north-west passage in the 19th century. Williams's book is set in the heat of 18th century exploration fever and charts the many perilous expeditions undertaken to find the 'maritime philosopher's stone' from amongst the ice and eskimos of Hudson Bay. Fuelled by the promise of fame and riches from revitalised British trade and dominance of the North American continent, the search for this illusory passage even captivated Cook--the most pragmatic of explorers. Williams examines successive expeditions from James Knight to George Vancouver. The secretive Hudson's Bay Company plays a supporting role throughout, as does Sir Arthur Dobbs whose political ambition--and obsessive pursuit of the illusory passage--relied heavily on exploitative cunning, personal greed and putting other's lives at risk. The book is based on extensive archival research and archaeological excavations which fuel the content of the book, rich in political and personal intrigue. Written with the narrative brilliance and the mastery of form which characterises The Prize of all the Oceans, this book promises to be both a work of historical excellence and a compelling story of daring adventure, survival and endurance at sea.

Voyages of Delusion: The Search for the North West Passage in the Age of Reason

Williams, Glyn

HARPER/COLLINS

LONG EXILE

McGrath, Melanie

Americas

Harper-perennial

Weaving together the discovery stories of explorers such as Cook, Shackleton, Scott, and Amundsen, with the ecological stories of whaling and sealing, fishing and climate change, man's impact on this magnificent continent is revealed. For such an austere, frozen, and inhospitable environment, Antarctica is in fact a surprisingly fragile Eden.

Antarctica: Exploring a Fragile Eden

Science & Math

SCOTT, Jonathan

Scott, Angela

Biological Sciences

HarperCollins, UK

The survival of the white continent’s most famous inhabitants is the subject of this beautiful book. The beauty of Antarctic and the enchanting secrets of its penguin population is brought to life with a delightful series of photographs by the Big Cat Diaries team of Jonathan and Angela Scott. • White/Band 10 books have more complex sentences and figurative language. • Text type - A non-chronological report. • A poster on pages 30 and 31 advertises the highlights and attractions of the magical land of Antarctica, providing opportunities for speaking, listening and writing activities. • Curriculum links - Geography: Where in the world is Barnaby Bear? Passport to the World.

Antarctica: Land of the Penguins: White/Band 10 (Collins Big Cat)

Children's Books

Animals

Collins Educational

The Last of the Gentlemen Adventurers

Maurice, Edward Beauclerk

HarperPress

Product DescriptionThe story of the only person to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon, and the golden age of Polar Exploration.In August 1930, a Norwegian sloop, sailing in the Arctic Ocean, stopped at a remote island, where its crew members foudn a book, together with a boathook stamped 'Andree's Pol. Exp 1896'. Not far from the boat was a body leaning against a rock, with its frozen legs extended. They carefully opened the jacket the corpse was wearing. When they saw a large monogram 'A', they knew who they were looking at: S. A. Andrée, the Swede who, in 1897, set off to discover the North Pole, one of the last unmapped places on earth.The Ice Balloon is the story of the heroic ago of polar exploration, and the dream of conquering one of the most inhumane landscapes on earth. In this golden age of discovery, Andrée's ambition was the most original and remarkable, with many comparing him to Columbus for novelty and daring. For, of the thousand or so people who had gone looking for the Pole, at least seven hundred and fifty of whom had died, only Andrée used a balloon.About the AuthorALEC WILKINSON began writing for The New Yorker in 1980. Before that, he was a policeman in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and before that he was a rock-and-roll musician. He has published nine books, including The Happiest Man in the World and The Protest Singer. His honours include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lyndhurst Prize, and a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award.

Ice Balloon

Alec Wilkinson

Fourth Estate

FRAGILE EARTH VIEWS OF A CHANGING WORLD

HarperCollins

Collins

Antarctica Exploring a Fragile Eden

Scott, Jonathan & Angela

Snow Widows: The Untold History of Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition Through the Eyes of the Women They Left Behind

Biographies & Memoirs

MacInnes, Katherine

Leaders & Notable People

William Collins

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