Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and woman of letters. In 1716, she accompanied her husband to Vienna, and thence to Adrianople and Constantinople, where he took up his post as the new British ambassador. The couple remained there until 1718. Lady Mary told the story of their voyage in a series of private letters full of vivid descriptions and unconventional commentary. Their posthumous publication in 1763 presented to the public the first secular work written by a European woman about the Muslim Orient...

This is the thirteenth volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Part XIII is the second volume of the history of the United States, exploring topics from the Civil War, the settlement on the West Coast, and new scientific discoveries from the 19th and early 20th centuries. - Summary by Sonia

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, June 1898, the Philippines Number. It includes the following articles: The Philippine Islands, by F. F. Hilder Notes on Some Primitive Philippine Tribes, by Dean C. Worcester Commerce of the Philippine Islands, by John Hyde The Disposition of the Philippines, by Charles E. Howe

"I fell an easy prey to the beckonings of the other principal feature of California's topography, the dreamy, dreary desert. Long ago, on short expeditions into and across it at various points, I had fallen under its inexplicable charm; now I determined to know it more closely, by daily and nightly intercourse through months of travel in its sun-blasted solitudes: gaining the experience I desired at the price, certainly, of some discomfort, and, possibly, of a trifling degree of danger — merely enough for spice. This volume, then, is the fruit of over two years continuous camping and traveling on the desert." - Summary by Steven Seitel

Jules Verne takes aim at some amusing stereotypes of Americans in this story of a pre-rocketry attempt to shoot a cannonball to the Moon. Those Yankees don’t do anything by halves! His means is a Columbiad cannon so enormous that it must be bored 900 feet into the ground, so immense that 1200 smelting furnaces would be needed to create the iron for its casting, so stupendous that 100 tons of guncotton would be needed to loft its cannonball heavenwards. The journey must be watched from the tallest peak of the Rocky Mountains through a new telescope with a reflector measuring 16 feet in diameter and a tube reaching skyward 280 feet...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, July 1898, the N.E.A. Number. It includes the following articles: American Geographic Education, by W J McGee Origin of the Physical Features of the United States, by G. K. Gilbert Geographic Development of the District of Columbia, by W J McGee The Historical Development of the National Capital, by Marcus Baker Geographic Work of the General Government, by Henry Gannett The Geologic Atlas of the United States, by W J McGee The Topographic Atlas of the United States, by W J McGee

Edmund Plauchut spent many years in China and gives an account of his observations of the places, people, and culture as he experienced them through the eyes of a European near the beginning of the 20th century.

Gertrude Bell's Syria: The Desert and the Sown describes her travels in the Levant during the first years of the 20th century. In this vivid and painstakingly documented narrative, Bell recounts her visits to Damascus, Jerusalem, Beirut, Antioch and Alexandretta, as well as the time she spent in the deserts of the region. Fluent in Arabic and several other languages, Bell brings to her account a level of insight beyond the reach of an average travel writer. She would later go on to play a highly influential role in the politics of the Middle East, drawing on the knowledge and personal connections she built up during these and other travels...

In these little sketches [1899] of a few out of the innumerable multitude of ways in which the sea has spoken to me during my long acquaintance with it, I have tried with ’prentice hand to reproduce for shore-dwellers some of the things it has told me. His whales and sharks and other monsters of the deep are creatures with whom one is proud to be associated. These Idylls—little pictures—strike me as some of the most vivid things ever written about the sea. I take it that only a man who has used the sea as a common sailor, and before the mast, really knows it in all its humours,… It is not conventionally that I have called Mr...

Roald Amundsen and six hearty seafarers tackle the North West Passage in search of the elusive wandering magnetic North Pole.

Published in 1907 by Arthur Henry Patterson, a self-taught local naturalist, Wild Life on a Norfolk Estuary was one of his defining books on the seasonal nature and natural history of the Norfolk Broads. The book is presented in two sections - The first part documents life on and around Breydon Water and the Broads throughout each season of the year, whilst the second part is a continuation of a previous AHP book – Notes of an East Coast Naturalist. AHP’s approachability, enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of the natural history of the Broads region would allow him to develop regular contacts with a wide range of fellow naturalists...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, August 1898. It includes the following articles: Papagueria, by W. J. McGee Gomez and the New York Gulf, by L. D. Scisco Wellman Polar Expedition, by John Hyde

James Marr was a Boy Scout selected to go along with Sir Ernest Shackleton aboard the Quest in 1921 for the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition to Antarctica. This book provides a description of what would be Shackleton's last exploration due to his untimely death en route. - Summary by mleigh

Another entry in Carpenter's series of World Travels focusing on Canada and Newfoundland.

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, September 1898. It includes the following articles: The Growth of the United States, by W J McGee Bitter Root Forest Reserve, by Richard U. Goode Atlantic Estuarine Tides, by Mark S. W. Jefferson The Forest Conditions and Standing Timber of the State of Washington, by Henry Gannett American Association for the Advancement of Science, by John Hyde

Volume II of Roald Amundsen's The Northwest Passage. Roald Amundsen and six hearty seafarers in the tiny sloop Gjöa are the first to make the complete passage across the top of the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With a Supplement by First Lieutenant Godfred Hansen, Vice Commander of the expedition. - Summary by Steven Seitel

Although Cairo is most famous for the ancient Egyptian pyramids of Giza located at its outskirts, the city as we know it today dates back only to 969. Since then, numerous rulers of different Muslim dynasties built fortifications, mosques and other buildings that earned Cairo the name "city of a thousand minarets". In this book, Stanley Lane-Poole traces the history of Cairo from the early Muslim period to the British Invasion of 1882. While doing so, he gives vivid descriptions of many of the mediaeval buildings that shape Cairo's cityscape to this day. This book is part of the "Mediaeval Town" series published in the early 20th century. Proof listeners: SaraHale and MrsHand

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, October 1898. It includes the following articles: Lake Chelan, by Henky Gannett Frederic W. Putnam, by John Hydic Mesa Verde, by F. H. Newell The Geospheres, by W J McGee Miscellanea

Sketches of those who braved the 'Great White North' in exploration and adventure. - Summary by KevinS

Lively descriptions of the people, places, and customs that the author encounters as he attempts to retrace the steps of the early Spanish conquistadores in the Americas: Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa, Coronado.

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, November 1898. It includes the following articles: Sumatra's West Coast, by David G. Fairchild What is the Tide of the Open Atlantic? by Mark S.W. Jefferson The Peak of Itambe Geographic Aspects of the Monroe Doctrine Geographic Literature Miscellanea

An adventurer and explorer of no mean repute, Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka leads an expedition by mule train into the forbidding Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico to one of the richest silver mining regions in the world. He offers lively descriptions of the the unfamiliar flora and fauna of this often desolate region, of the cliff and cave dwellings inhabited and abandoned, and of the social customs of the various peoples he meets. He marvels at the unmatched running prowess of the Rarámuri Indians of the Barranca del Cobre--the famous Copper Canyon of Chihuahua State. He writes always with humor that keeps the narrative light and the reader smiling.

"The narrative of these two journeys is of special interest, because the first one, that made by my twin sister, Mrs. Lewis, and myself, in 1892, led to the discovery of an early and important codex of ancient Syriac gospels... while that made by us this year in company with [more Cambridge scholars and their wives] was undertaken for the purpose of deciphering the precious manuscript to which we have alluded. "Abler pens than mine will write about these Syriac gospels... yet on me devolves the task of telling how the codex was found...

This book is a collection of sketches first published in the Atlantic Monthly magazine and gathered into book form in 1901. The focus here is on 4 parks in the west. Six of the 10 articles focus on Yosemite National Park; also described are Yellowstone, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks. - Summary by TriciaG

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol IX, December 1898. It includes the following articles: The Five Civilized Tribes and the Survey of Indian Territory, by C. H. Fitch Cloud Scenery of the High Plains, by Willard D. Johnson Atlantic Coast Tides, by Mark S. W. Jefferson President Alexander Graham Bell on Japan, by John Hyde Geographic Literature

The author, John Buchan, maintains that "the main lines of the earth's architecture have been determined" during the first two decades of the twentieth century, and all that remains is but "amplifying our knowledge of the groyning and buttresses and stone-work." In this history of exploration, he tells of nine of those momentous final discoveries that placed the earth's last big secrets firmly on the map, from the mysterious "cloud city" of Lhasa, to the slopes--but not yet the summit--of Mount Everest. - Summary by Steven Seitel

Back in the late 1880s, Walter Rye and a number of friends accompanied by an American couple , took a holiday on the Norfolk Broads and enjoyed a leisurely tour around the waterways of this unique part of Eastern England.This book documents some of the highlights of their trip on board the wherry Zöe and the hybrid wherry/cutter Lotus, as they sailed and explored many places of interest of the region. Although born in London, Walter Rye's family came from Norfolk, a county that he moved back to early in his life...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol X, January 1899. It includes the following articles: The Stikine River in 1898, by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore The U. S. Board on Geographic Names and its Foreign Critics The West Indian Hurricane of September 10-11, 1898 by Professor E. B. Garriott Colonial Systems of the World by O. P. Austin LLoyd's Journey Across the Great Pygmy Forest Growth of Maritime Commerce Senor Don Matias Romero

Miss Mitton was an unusual English woman of her time. As a published author, this unmarried woman in her early 30s recorded her visit to Burma at the turn of the 20th century. Her language is picturesque, and her attitude toward the natives of this country is typical of her era. Burma of the early 1900s was, and still is, a little known and underappreciated destination for those who love to wander the world. Anyone interested in Edwardian travel, attitudes, and women's issues during the Edwardian colonial period will enjoy this travelogue.

Journeying through many countries including Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Switzerland and Greece, the author gives an in-depth account of many aspects of the culture of the times and the people of the regions.

Subtitled "The Journal of a Tour through the British Empire and America," this book is a record of the author's travels with her husband through the British Empire and America in the late 1800's. In the words of the author, "It is but a simple Journal of what we saw and did." Their travels took them across the Atlantic to the U.S. and Canada, then across the Pacific to New Zealand, Australia, then on to the Dutch East Indies, the Straits settlements, the Indian subcontinent and Egypt - Summary by knotyouraveragejo

This is a 1906 collection of three essays by men famously associated with The Grand Canyon: Charles A. Higgins, John Wesley Powell, and Charles F. Lummis. - Summary by david wales