Exploration History

Peter Frankopan, number one best-selling author and historian, explores the connections made by people, trade, disease, war, religion, adventure, science and technology in this extraordinary book about how the East married the West with a remarkable voyage at its heart - the journey along the Silk Roads.

From cramped quarters and salty, rotten food to bloody battles and deadly storms at sea, life aboard a pirate ship was downright unpleasant. Get ready to explore the nasty side of pirate life.

Imagine your shock at waking up one morning to a fleet of enormous, otherworldly craft looming over you. And when bizarre aliens begin to emerge - speaking strange gibberish - your heart races even faster. Similar fears may have gripped New World inhabitants when diverse civilizations - separated by a vast ocean - first met. American natives once knew nothing of towering ships, galloping horses, thundering guns, or smallpox. From 1492 onward, however, waves of adventurers would give them a cruel introduction.

The Vikings were exceptional boat builders, seafarers, adventures, and explorers. They not only raided and attacked settlements across Europe and Britain, but they also sailed far and wide, discovering and colonizing new lands. Their impact on history is far-reaching and the mark that they made on the world, especially during the Viking Age, can still be seen today. In this audiobook, you will learn about the world that shaped Leif Erikson and made him into an adventurous man who was not afraid to sail into the unknown to discover new lands.

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to. That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor.

This introduction to Christian theology explores the whole Christian tradition in a simple and straightforward way. Leading Wesleyan theologian Don Thorsen surveys the theological views represented within historic Christianity and discusses the variety of positions held without favoring one over another. The audiobook includes helpful end-of-chapter questions for further reflection and discussion, a convenient glossary of theological terms, and sidebars.

The Spanish Empire stands as one of the most magnificent empires in the history of the world. It unfurled its might across multiple continents, conquered all who stood in its way, and left an indelible impact on cultures around the globe. For over four centuries, its dominance remained unchallenged, casting a vast shadow across Europe and beyond.

Our current monetary system is broken. Inflation is rampant, our savings are being devalued, and it seems there is no hope for a solution. Fiat money is robbing us and our neighbors of our most valuable commodity - time. As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors, but how can we do that when the money we use is contributing to a system that is stealing from them? It may seem unconventional, but Bitcoin offers a solution to this problem. The Bible calls for a just and equal monetary system, free of fraud and deception - and Bitcoin fits the bill.

Explore the mysteries of morality and the concept of right and wrong with this accessible, engaging guide featuring basic facts along with an overview of modern-day issues ranging from business ethics and bioethics to political and social ethics. Ethics 101 offers an exciting look into the history of moral principles that dictate human behavior. Unlike traditional textbooks that overwhelm, this easy-to-listen guide presents the key concepts of ethics in fun, straightforward lessons and exercises featuring only the most important facts, theories, and ideas.

During the reign of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun ruled and died tragically young. In order to send him on his way into the afterlife, his tomb was filled with every treasure he would need after death. And then, it was lost to time, buried in the sands of the Valley of the Kings. His tomb was also said to be cursed. Centuries later, as Egypt-mania gripped Europe, two Brits - a rich earl with a habit for gambling and a disreputable, determined archeologist - worked for years to rediscover and open Tutankhamun's tomb.

Finding from my own personal experience how troublesome it is to hunt through piles of dusty old volumes, I have decided to make a small selection of these papers which I consider are not only rare and very interesting, but which also give an insight into the varied activities and achievements of Burton’s crowded life. It will, I think, be realized that such a volume as this will not be superfluous, for, apart from saving people an enormous amount of trouble, it will give them further insight into the life-work of one of the greatest men of the Victorian era.

In 1767, 11-year-old Nicholas Young stowed away on Captain James Cook's "Endeavour". Cook's three-year mission was secret: he was charged by the British Navy to search for a lost continent, believed to be located between the southern tip of South America and New Zealand. Young's journal charts the voyage and with every port of call a new adventure awaits. This is the story of a great voyage of discovery seen through the eyes of a boy who was actually there.

In this grand and astonishing account, Alec Wilkinson brings us the story of S. A. Andrée, the visionary Swedish aeronaut who, in 1897, during the great age of Arctic endeavor, left to discover the North Pole by flying to it in a hydrogen balloon. Called by a British military officer “the most original and remarkable attempt ever made in Arctic exploration,” Andrée’s expedition was followed by nearly the entire world, and it made him an international legend.

Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn't have the same rights as others - as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses - as wrong as 10-5=3. And she proved everyone wrong by zooming ahead of her classmates, starting college at 15, and eventually joining NASA, where her calculations helped pioneer America's first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world's first trip to the moon!

While many European explorers headed south in search of gold and spices, Samuel de Champlain spent his life in North America. He founded the first French colony at Quebec, traded with and fought with and against the local Native American tribes. He also mapped unknown territories such as Lake Huron and the lake in Vermont that bears his name, Lake Champlain.

How did the lowly potato plant feed the poor across Europe and then cause the deaths of millions? How did the rubber plant enable industrialization? What is the connection between malaria, slavery, and the outcome of the American Revolution? How did the fabled silver mountain of 16th-century Bolivia fund economic development in the flood-prone plains of rural China and the wars of the Spanish Empire? Here is the story of how sometimes the greatest leaps also posed the greatest threats to human advancement.

Sacagawea was the only girl, and the only Native American, to join Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, which explored the United States from the Mississippi River all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the early 1800s. As a translator, she helped the team communicate with members of the Shoshone tribe across the continent, carrying her child on her back the whole way. By the time the expedition arrived at the west coast, Sacagawea had proved that she truly was a trailblazer.

Christopher Columbus had a dream - to reach the fabled lands of the East, rich with spices, jewels, silver, and especially gold. Having studied the travels of other explorers, Columbus was convinced he could reach his destination by traveling west across the seas. After convincing Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to fund his expedition, he set sail in August 1492. This account talks about the voyage Columbus undertook in his own voice through his journal entries of that year.

Ferocious raids, heroic battles, larger-than-life leaders, and courageous explorers that changed the course of human history. From battle-ax-wielding tribes plundering the greatest cities of Europe to powerful kings and queens ruling their dominions with iron fists, the Vikings were some of the most feared and fearless figures in European history. Find the bravest heroes, the most menacing villains, and unbelievably awesome facts and myths inside this action-packed overview.

By the mid-15th century, the Byzantine Empire had collapsed and the various Crusades that had taken place in the region had largely disrupted the overland routes of the Silk Road and trade. Compounding the difficulties of trade was the rise of the Ottoman Empire in place of the Byzantines and the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe.