By the time Mark Twain worked as a roving reporter for the Sacramento Union, he had held positions with other newspapers in Nevada and California. However, his assignment in 1866 to visit and report on the Sandwich Islands, changed his life. These 25 "letters" from Hawaii gave him an international "scoop" and opened the door for a lifetime of speaking engagements. “I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five. I had a jolly time. I would not have fooled away any of it writing letters under any consideration whatever.” –Mark Twain - Summary by John Greenman and Wikipedia

In 1898, naturalist, Joseph Grinnell joins a company of twenty men bound for Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, from California aboard the schooner Penelope. With the trained eye of a scientist and with a flair for prose and poetry, he documents the adventures of this group of gold hunters before they return a year and a half later. This account gives valuable insights into the Alaskan culture of that time and the hardships of those searching for the fortunes of gold. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Two fifteen-year-old boys---the younger of whom may have been fourteen---decide to hunt and trap away from home in the north woods of Maine. A true recounting of their adventures can be found here, though the years that passed before the tale was written down may have added a slight bit of exaggeration. Then again, they set out in the winter of 1875 and all that's written could very well be the complete and honest truth! The listener may wish to listen first to Section 18 of this recording---Notes on Maine Animals---as familiarity with these will enhance an understanding of the memoir.

Another fascinating in-depth look at the largest country in the world. Its cities, peoples, culture and industry.

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol X, July 1899. It includes the following articles: Physiography of the Nicaragua Canal Route by C. Willard Hayes Nicaragua and the Isthmian Routes by A. P. Davis The Wellman Polar Expedition by J. Howard Gore The Coast and Geodetic Survey: its present work by E. D. Preston Exploration in Alaska Meteorology in the Philippines The Mission of the Diana along with Geographic Literature and Miscellanea

This book was published in 1923. From the author's own Introduction: "I would not have this book considered too seriously. It is not an attempt to untangle one thread in the Balkan snarl; it is not a study of primitive peoples; it is not a contribution to the world’s knowledge, and I hope no one will read it to improve the mind. It should be read as the adventures in it were lived, with a gayly inquiring mind, a taste for strange peoples and unknown trails, and a delight in the unexpected. Here I give you only what I saw, felt, and most casually learned while adventuring among the tribes in the interior northern Albanian mountains...

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol X, August 1899. It includes the following articles: Shishaldin as a Field for Exploration by Joseph Stanley-Brown Magnetic Work of the Coast and Geodetic Survey Deep-Sea Exploring Expedition of Steamer "Albatross" by Hugh M. Smith Geographical Congress at Berlin The Proposed Interoceanic Canal in its Commercial Aspects by Joseph Nimmo The Interoceanic Canal by Emory R. Johnson Plans for Reaching the South Pole by Guilber H. Grosvenor. along with Geographic Literature and Miscellanea

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol X, September 1899. It includes the following articles: The Commercial Development of Japan, by O. P. Austin Bad Lands of South Dakota, by N. H. Darton The West Indian Hurricane of August 7-14, 1899, by E. B. Garriott The Return of Wellman, by J. Howard Gore The International Cloud Work of the Weather Bureau, by Frank H. Bigelow The American Association for the Advancement of Science, by Gilbert H. Grosvenor The Rediscovery of Puerto Rico The Wellman Polar Expedition Through Franz Josef Land The Isthmian Canal Problem, by W. J. McGee along with Geographic Literature and Miscellanea

A travelogue of a trip through New Zealand in 1885 with panegyric descriptions of the scenery, elucidations of the progress the country had made since the writer had been there twenty years earlier, encomiums on the differences between New South Wales and New Zealand, and the writer's thoughts on where the two colonies needed to progress in the areas of agriculture, mining, forestry and education. Chapter 20 outlines a brief visit to Hobart on the way home, while the Appendix covers some statistics on the forestry industry in New Zealand and concludes with descriptions of the eruption of Tarawera in June 1886 as reported by the Sydney newspapers.

'Kamakura is nothing if she has no history, writes Japanese novelist, poet, and essayist Yone Noguchi. At the turn of the 20th century, Kamakura was, as it is today, a commercialized coastal resort, a short train journey away from Tokyo. But Kamakura was once the most populous settlement in Japan and, in the middle ages, the seat of several major Buddhist sects. In this short book of meditative essays and poetry, Noguchi sets out to recover Kamakura's rich history in visits to its most important temples and shrines. The final essay is written by Noguchi's contemporary and friend, the American Japanophile, Lafcadio Hearn.

John Carne Bidwill came out to Sydney in 1838 to represent his family's mercantile business. Finding that he had time on his hands he decided to make a journey to New Zealand with the intention of penetrating to the high mountains in the interior of the North Island. This is the story of that journey—that of the first white man to climb Mt. Tongariro and the attendant adventures associated with such. Intermixed is commentary on the botany of that part of New Zealand and the language of the Ma̅ori people. - Summary by Beeswaxcandle

The National Geographic Magazine, an illustrated monthly, Vol X, October 1899. It includes the following articles: Life on a Yukon Trail, by Alfred P. Dennis Tides of Chesapeake Bay, by E. D. Preston The Relation of Forests and Forest Fires, by Gifford Pinchot Variations in Lake Levels and Atmospheric Precipitation, by A. J. Henry Calculations of Population in June, 1900, by Henry Farquhar The Definite Location of Bouvet Island, by O. H. Tittmann Peary's Work and Prospects, by H. L. Bridgman Peary's Explorations in 1898-1899 The California and Nevada Boundary Railroads and Canals along with Geographic Literature and Miscellanea