The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the May Number. It includes the following articles: * Africa Since 1888, by Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, LL. D. * Fundamental Geographic Relation of the Three Americas, by Robert T. Hill * The Kansas River, by Arthur P. Davis * Annual Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, by Herbert G. Ogden along with geographic literature, and a few miscellaneous notes.

Full titled History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland; with Letters Descriptive of a Sail Round the Lake of Geneva and of the Glaciers of Chamouni, this small journal was a travel narrative kept by the English Romantic authors Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. They describe two trips, both taken by Mary, Percy, and Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont: one across Europe in 1814, and one to Lake Geneva in 1816. Divided into three sections, the text consists of a journal, four letters, and Percy Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc". Apart from the poem, the text was primarily written and organized by Mary Shelley. - Summary by 1817

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the June Number. It includes the following articles: The Effects of Geographic Environment in the Development of Civilization in Primitive Man, by Gardiner G. Hubbard The National Forest Reserves, by Frederick H. Newell George W. Melville Geographic Serials

The beginning of the last century saw an increasing popularity of the motor car as a viable method of transport for a significant number of the more affluent sections of the population. The freedom, flexibility and speed that this modern invention provided to those who were wealthy enough to be able to afford to buy and to run one of these vehicles, meant that they were soon used for frequent social and pleasure purposes allowing both the travelling to and the exploration of different regions of the country...

This is a 1913 travelogue by a then-well-known botanist who wrote many books about the American Southwest and California in particular. This popular book went into three printings. “…the main concern of the author has been to draw attention to an immensity of almost unexplored mountain, desert, canon and flowery plain,… This is the real California…. Like all genuine things, it has the compelling charm of the primitive and to the lover of the unartificial it appeals with freshness and power.”

Three Englishmen and Three Russians travel across the width of South Africa to measure a meridian. The outbreak of the Crimean War makes the Russians enemy agents in an English colony. Summary by Kim.

Englishman Valentine Blount is traveling in Australia, looking for his fortune. He meets up with John Carter, a bushman known locally as Little River Jack, who acts as his guide. They come across an abandoned camp - what is the story behind it? Whose camp was it? Why did they leave? - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the September Number. It includes the following articles: * The Recent Earthquake Wave on the Coast of Japan, by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore * The Return of Dr Nansen * Descriptive Topographic Terms of Spanish America, by Robert T. Hill * The Weather Bureau River and Flood System, by Willis L. Moore * Charles Francis Hall and Jones Sound * Mineral Productions in the United States * Reports of Sealing Schooners from Tuscarora Deep, by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore * Geographic Notes * The American Association at Buffalo * The Death of G. Brown Goode

The purpose of this book is to give to its readers a living knowledge of some of the wonders of the country and continent in which they live. Upon a personally conducted tour they are taken by the author through the most characteristic parts of the North American continent. They travel through the United States, British America, Mexico, and Central America, studying the most interesting features of life and work among the people of each country, learning how they are governed, and what they do in order to live. Much information is also given concerning the natural resources and the physical features of the countries visited.

London: one of the oldest and most populous cities in the world. Surely it holds a few secrets within its ancient walls and the stories of ghostly presences abound.

In November 1889, the New York World announced that it was sending its reporter Nellie Bly around the world, in a bid to beat Phileas Fogg's fictitious 80-day journey in Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Catching wind of this publicity stunt, John Brisben Walker, who had just purchased the three-year-old and still-fledging Cosmopolitan, decided to dispatch Bisland on her own journey.] Six hours after being recruited, Bisland departed westward from New York. Meanwhile, Bly left on a steamer headed to Europe, both on the same day—November 14, 1889...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the October Number. It includes the following articles: * California by the Hon. George C. Perkins * The Economic Aspects of Soil Erosion by Dr N. S. Shaler * The Nansen Polar Expedition, Special Report of the Hon. Ernest A. Man * Ice-Cliffs On The Kowak River by Lieut. J. C. Cantwell * Recent Hydrographic Work, by F. H. Newell * Miscellanea

An educated gentleman, Mr Manington has given an insight into the unusual experiences of an Englishman in the French Foreign Legion, such as no ordinary "mercenary" could have done. Most of the narrative deals with Tonquin, and the fighting there against the rebels in their forest fastnesses. Incidentally, in giving an account of his friendship for the native sergeant, Doy-Tho, the author has been able to impart to the pages of the book an Oriental atmosphere that we think will prove attractive to the reader. - Summary by Editors' Note

In 1903, Panama became a brand new state in Central America by seceding from Colombia in order to facilitate the construction of the Panama Canal, which was finished in 1914. This fledgling nation was home to the oldest inhabited European settlement on the American continent, a rich indigenous culture, and a splendid natural beauty from coast to jungle. Such was the scene as found by George A. Miller as he was "Prowling about Panama" in 1919, an activity that is more a "getting lost in the right way" than systematic exploration. Follow the author on his prowls through an amazing country that at the time of writing was an exciting mixture of tradition and modernity. .

In this book the children are taken by the author upon a personally conducted tour through the most characteristic parts of the South American continent. The book will, it is believed, aid in putting flesh and blood on the bones of the geographies, and will give a living interest to geographical study.

This 1854 narration of a trip upon the Ohio River in a steamboat from Cincinnati to Pittsburg gives a picture of travel in a different time and almost a different United States. The author was well-known in his time and wrote prolifically. - Summary by david wales

Marcia Copley, an American Heiress, comes to Rome. Typically for the period, she may want to attract an aristocrat. He brings the title, she brings the money to support it. Her adventures in Rome are different than she anticipated. Rich and poor live side by side, and the author does her best to describe both walks of life vividly and truthfully. Jean Webster is the author of Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy. This particular novel would also please fans of Henry James and George Gissing. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

The book tries to give its young readers a living knowledge of Europe. The author conducts tours through various parts of Europe giving a glimpse of the people and their lives and livelihoods. He includes as well information on the natural resources and physical geography of those many countries. Summary by BettyB and preface.

One of the largest and wealthiest cities of medieval Europe, the home of Dante and Giotto has long been a magnet for lovers of art, architecture and history. In this short guide, Elizabeth Wilson Grierson shares her passion for the city, taking the visitor on an informative tour of its major sights as well as some of its hidden corners. - Summary by Phil Benson

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the February Number. It includes the following articles: Crater Lake, Oregon, by J. S. Diller The Utilization of the Vacant Public Lands, by Emory F. Best The Mazamas, by J. S. Diller Geographic Literature, Serials and Miscellanea The National Geographic Society: Supplementary synopsis of a course of lectures on the effects of geographic environment in developing the civilization of the world

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the January Number. It includes the following articles: The Gold Coast, Ashanti, and Kumassi, by George K. French All Around the Bay of Passamaquoddy, by Albert S. Gatschet Return of the Hourst Niger Expedition, by Ernest de Sasseville Geographic Serials, by Henry Gannett The National Geographic Society: Synopsis of a course of lectures on the effects of geographic environment in developing the civilization of the world, by Gardiner G. Hubbard along with Geographic Notes, and Miscellanea.

Venice, once among the most powerful states of the Western world, now a much-visited but still romantic city of canals, architecture and art. Most European cities have changed so much that a 1920 guidebook would be of little practical use, but not so Venice. Lonsdale and Laura Ragg were residents of the city - where Lonsdale was chaplain of St. George's English church from 1905 to 1909 - and they knew it well. Their guide brings its buildings and canals, its campi and its hidden campielli, to life in a surprisingly contemporary way...

Fascinating book for all ages telling of travels through Africa over 100 years ago. Covering the continent by steamer and train and other more primitive means of transport, the reader will enjoy learning of African life long before knowledge of this continent was available to most people throughout the world. Summary by BettyB.Note: This text was published more than 100 years ago in 1905.The listener should be aware that the descriptions of the native peoples, their dress and home life reflected the perceptions and thinking of the early 20th century which some listeners may find offensive.

A travel journal of a year the author spent in Germany. With a preface and two additional chapters by her partner, the novelist Ford Madox Ford . - Summary by barbara2

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the March Number. It includes the following articles: Storms and Weather Forecasts, by Willis L. Moore Rubber Forests of Nicaragua and Sierra Leone, by Gen. A. W. Greely Recent Explorations in Equatorial Africa, by E. De Sasseville Geographic Literature, Serials and Notes

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the April Number. It includes the following articles: A Summer Voyage to the Arctic, by G. R. Putnam The Area and Drainage Basin of Lake Superior, by Mark W. Harrington The Siberian Transcontinental Railroad, by Gen. A. W. Greely Geographic Literature and Serials

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the May Number. It includes the following articles: A Winter Voyage Through The Straights Of Magellan, by the late Admiral R. W. Meade, U.S.N. Admiral R. W. Meade, U.S.N., by John Hyde Costa Rica, by Señor Ricardo Villafranca Applied Physiography In South Carolina, by L. C. Glenn Sheik Said, by Ernest De Sasseville Geographic Literature, Serials and Miscellanea

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the July-August Number. It includes the following articles: The Venezuelan Boundary Commission and its Work, by Marcus Baker Mineral Production in the United States, by John Hyde The Forests and Deserts of Arizona, by Bernard E. Fernow Mount St. Helens, by Lieut. Charles P. Elliott Geographic Literature

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the October Number. It includes the following articles: The Enchanted Mesa, by F. W. Hodge Electric Street Railways, by John Hyde Geographical Research in the United States, by Gardiner G. Hubbard and Marcus Baker A Brief Account of the Geographic Work of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, by T.C. Mendenhall and Otto H. Tittmann United States Daily Atmospheric Survey, by Willis L. Moore Geographic Notes, by John Hyde

Description. History. “… those who read this book and have no opportunity of visiting the Tower expect that the characters in the moving drama of its history shall have some semblance of life as they walk across the stage…. My wish has been to persuade those who come to visit the Tower that there is a great deal to be seen in its immediate vicinity… A noble and historic building like the Tower resembles a venerable tree whose roots have spread into the soil in all directions, during the uncounted years of its existence, far beyond the position of its stem.” - Summary by Book Preface and David Wales

Paris has been often described, by travelers, by artists, by savants, by friends and by enemies, yet it was after reading most of the works descriptive of Paris that I felt how much there was still to be written, if not about Paris, at least about the Parisians.

Mungo Park, a Scottish surgeon and explorer, was sent out by the 'Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior of Africa' after Major Houghton failed to return, to discover the if the River Niger was a tributary of either the river Senegal or Gambia in South Africa. This is the story of his first trip. The journey had many challenges, such as language, religions, imprisonment and robbery. Most of the trip he had nothing but his tattered clothes, a horse, a pocket compass and his hat where he kept his notes...

The Book of the Ocean is precisely what its title promises. It contains a rather broad overview of all topics connected to the ocean, such as its geography and the history of the exploration of the oceans. Besides the oceans themselves, the book contains several chapters on the different aspects of seafaring: building ships and seafaring, war ships, merchant ships and voyages, piracy, and yachting. - Summary by Carolin

In 1908-1909, Mary Blair Beebe and her husband, C. William Beebe made two private expeditions to Venezuela and British Guiana, exploring and collecting live birds for the New York Zoological Park. They then collaborated on a book about their "search for a wilderness," with Mary Blair doing the bulk of the writing. The Beebe's supplemented tropical birding with visits to gold mines in British Guiana and a lake of pitch, which was being mined in the middle of the Venezuelan jungle. Mary Blair's take on things is evident...

One of the very first New Zealand novels, Over the Hills and Far Away is a heavily romanticised tale of a woman's journey from England to Otago, New Zealand, and her subsequent experiences in the wild new colony. - Summary by Lewis Fletcher

Here for you is the tale of my latest solitary ramble. The journey covers, as you shall see, some two hundred odd miles, through five southern counties of England, and was conceived on an unusual plan. To keep clear of the main roads, and, with two exceptions, the great towns; seeking out the least frequented lanes and by-paths. I covered the whole two-hundred-mile stretch of the way, with camera and pack at surprisingly little expense, by means of lifts taken in any chance vehicle that might be faring in my direction...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, the September Number. It includes the following articles: Modification of the Great Lakes by Earth Movement, by G. K. Gilbert The Toronto Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science The Great Unmapped Areas of the Earth's Surface Awaiting the Explorer and Geographer, by J. Scott Keltie The Compass in Modern Navigation, by G. W. Littlehales

Cambridge County Geographies was a 75 volume series covering the counties of England, Scotland and Wales. Separate volumes were produced for Lancashire north and south of the River Ribble. J. E. Marr's volume on North Lancashire covers a geographically diverse region, including Furness and the Lake District west of Lake Windermere that now spans Lancashire and Cumbria. As much a history, guidebook and gazetteer as it is a geography, Marr's volume paints a rich and in places idyllic picture of the northern parts of the county in the years before the first world war. - Summary by Phil Benson

Mountains have always been fascinating as places of special adventure. This book. first published in 1869, collects true stories of real-life adventurers climbing the world's most famous and most challenging mountains, without modern equipment to support them. Read here about the fate of these adventurers, their successes and failures, challenges and - Summary by Carolin

This late fourth century common era narrative of a Christian pilgrimage is the earliest such text which survives to us. It is an important source of information about early Christian practices. This book has an extended introduction which provides invaluable context and summaries, though some of it is a bit scholarly and dry. The text is damaged with some parts missing; missing parts will be designated in this recording by this verbal usage: “dot dot dot dot” . More information: Egeria, Etheria or Aetheria was a woman, widely regarded to be the author of a detailed account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land...

In the summer of 1773, lawyer and antiquarian William Hutchinson set out from his home in County Durham on a tour of the English Lake District. Accompanied by his brother, George Allan, he travelled by horseback from Bowes to Penrith and Keswick, down through Grasmere and Ambleside to Kendal, and back via Kirkby Stephen to County Durham. When he returned home he wrote what may be the first guidebook to the Lakes. Written in a pre-Romantic era when English writers were just beginning to discover the delights of the scenic view, Hutchinson's account vividly describes a district that would soon be the haunt of literary giants such as Wordsworth, Southey, Matthew Arnold and Harriett Martineau...

James Cook , British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy was the son of a farm laborer. Apprenticed to a grocer, he ran away to sea. He saw hard service in the Baltic as a merchant seaman, while applying himself to the study of mathematics, navigation, and astronomy. In 1755 he volunteered for the Royal Navy, working his way up to captain. This little biography by Walter Besant, chronicles Cook's three voyages of discovery and his violent death in Hawaii. Cook replaced vague mythology with accurate observations of people and places, animals and plants...

It is in this world that Mayde has created his fascinating The Frozen North: "Great as are the barren grounds, or tundri, as they are called in Siberia, the arctic forest region is far greater, for it reaches around the globe in a broad belt, nearly a thousand miles in width. Few indeed are the occupants of these great tracts, compared with the more favored southern lands. The poverty of the soil, and the severity of the climate, prevent the growth of crops, and man is offered only such subsistence as can be gained by hunting and fishing...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol VIII, the November Number. It includes the following articles: Patagonia, by J. B. Hatcher Hatcher's Work in Patagonia, by W. J. McGee The Sushitna River, Alaska, by W. A. Dickey A Winter Weather Record from the Klondike Region, by E. W. Nelson The Russian Census of 1897, by A. W. Greely

In this little volume, Isaac Taylor takes us on a tour of Europe, anno 1824. We travel once around the entire continent, starting in England, through Scandinavia, Russia, down to Turkey, over the Alps, France, Spain, and back to England. The tour is made with poems and prose, and should be of interest to all listeners. - Summary by Carolin

William Caruthers was a retired newspaperman who spent 25 years listening to stories told by the inhabitants of Death Valley. This 1951 book collects those stories; the printed version has many interesting pictures. ''Of the actors who made the history of the period, few remain. It was the writer’s good fortune that many of these men were his friends. It is the romance, the comedy, the often stark tragedy these men left along the trail which you will find in the pages that follow.''

Selections from the "Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany" by Hester Lynch Piozzi who, during her first marriage to Henry Thrale, was the hostess and friend of many of her famous contemporaries including Dr Johnson and Fanny Burney. The vivid and personal "Observations and Reflections" was first published in 1789. - Summary by barbara2

St. Nicholas was a popular magazine aimed at young folks in the late nineteenth – early twentieth century. Its articles were usually well-written and often by authors who became famous later on. This collection of articles published in 1920, aimed at the youth market, can be easily enjoyed by adults as well. - Summary by David Wales

“Let the reader imagine a deep lake of a blue colour, surrounded by verdant hills; in the lake several islets, some showing the bare rock, others covered with shrubs, while on all of them steam issued from a hundred openings between the green foliage without impairing its freshness: on the opposite side a flight of broad steps of the colour of white marble with a rosy tint, and a cascade of boiling water falling over them into the lake!” Such is Ernest Dieffenbach’s description of his first glance of the White Terraces in Lake Rotomahana, see cover image...

The Arctic has always been a fascinating area for us. This is true today just as much as in Adolphus Greely's time. In 1912, Greely published this volume of notable Arctic explorations and the explorers. The modern reader can follow a very readable account of the successes and failures of these early explorers comfortably from the armchair, and learn a lot of history in the processes. - Summary by Carolin

In 1888, George Broke with Harold Topham and William Williams, made the first exploration of the Alaskan Mt. St. Elias range, including the crossing of the great Malaspina Glacier and an attempt on the S.E. face of Mt. St. Elias itself. The journey is described in the interesting work With Sack and Stock in Alaska, vividly detailing the country visited and the characters met along the way. - Summary by Fritz

This recording of the 1931 book about Yosemite National Park comprises the narrative text about the Park from its discovery by non-natives in the Indian War of 1851 to the mid-twentieth century. The printed book contains dozens of early photographs and drawings, as well as an extensive timeline and bibliography, which are not here recorded. The author was an ecologist, historian, and administrator. He was an officer of the U.S. National Park Service for thirty four years, serving as the Chief Naturalist of Yosemite from 1923-1929 and later as Park Superintendent. - Summary by David Wales

The Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition was the famous survey that took place in 1913-14 to follow the path of the Rio da Dúvida in the Amazon basin. The expedition was jointly led by Theodore Roosevelt, the former President of the United States, and Colonel Cândido Rondon, the Brazilian military engineer known for his explorations of the Western Amazon Basin and his lifelong support of Brazilian indigenous populations. Almost from the start, the expedition was fraught with problems: diseases...

Going abroad for a holiday or business is always exciting, but we can only imagine how exciting it would have been in 1900 to board a steamer from the United States and take a tour through Europe. Luckily Robert Luce gives advice in this book about how to get around, where to stay, what to see, and generally how to make the journey a success. - Summary by Carolin

Early twentieth century travel book about Alaska with stories of major cities, Indian tribes, customs and geography of what would become our 49th state. - Summary by BettyB.

A travel journal to the Scilly Islands written in the Nineteenth Century. It records Scillonian legends and folklore. There are brief diversions into period racism. -Summary by Timothy Ferguson

From its man-made origins as a consequence of medieval peat excavations, the Broads of Norfolk and Suffolk have evolved into a natural ecosystem, providing habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna , as well as a means of livelihood for the inhabitants of this region. In the company of the book’s author, a self-taught lifelong naturalist and undisputed expert of the Broads , we discover how the life of the Broads unfolds over the course of a single year. So, why not listen in, and join us...

These simple stories of two of England’s greatest cathedrals were originally written for youth but adults will also enjoy them. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, and Canterbury Cathedral in Kent County are central to the story of England, especially church history though not exclusively so. Here are stories of great spiritual leaders, saints, sinners, politicians, kings, soldiers, murders, pilgrimages, common folks, peoples’ spiritualities, spiritual life, civil life. - Summary by david wales

For more than three hundred years an intense desire has been felt by explorers to discover and reveal to the world the secrets of the immediate regions of the North Pole. Nor has this desire been confined to mere adventurers. This volume sketches the latest American efforts , second to no others in heroism and success, and abounding in instructive and intensely interesting adventures both grave and gay. - Summary from the preface

This book tells the story of exploration in America in the words of the explorers themselves. It consists of extracts from narratives of the early discoverers and explorers of the American continent from the Northmen in 10th century to 17th century Massachusets Bay Colony. - Summary by Kikisaulite