Exploration & Discovery
2 total works
Roman legionaires, Portuguese Jesuits, eccentric Scots and erudite Frenchmen tried, over many centuries, to discover the source of the Nile, but were foiled by impassable swamps and by the river's many tributaries. Such accomplished adventurers as David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, Georg Schweinfurth and Giovanni Miani also attempted to solve the mystery, to no avail. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the source of the Nile was found through the efforts of British explorers Richard Burton, James Augustus Grant, and Samuel White Baker, who, through their tenacity, revealed the great river's secret. This handsome volume chronicles the expeditions, exotic lands, initial failures, and hard-won successes through a vivid text accompanied by hundreds of fascinating graphics."The Nile" recounts the complex history of the gradual exploration of the course of the river and its tributaries, from the ancient Egyptians to the Napoleonic conquests; from the British expedition to Abyssinia to the Egyptian invasion of Sudan.
History comes to life through the lively narrative and superb visuals including nineteenth century landscape paintings, maps, botanical prints, and much more. History buffs will be delighted to delve into the fascinating story of the discovery of the Nile as recounted through hundreds of vibrant images and a narrative as lively and engaging as any adventure story.
History comes to life through the lively narrative and superb visuals including nineteenth century landscape paintings, maps, botanical prints, and much more. History buffs will be delighted to delve into the fascinating story of the discovery of the Nile as recounted through hundreds of vibrant images and a narrative as lively and engaging as any adventure story.
To the eyes of Europeans, far-distant China was long covered by a veil of mystery that not even Marco Polo and other great travellers succeeded in lifting. Only the industrial and commercial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries allowed us to discover the history, the immense cultural riches and the vibrant life of the Celestial Empire. This volume, making use of previously neglected historical documents and pictures, retells the events that marked the complex relationship between the West and China until the fall of the Empire. The book takes a narrative-historical approach, but also fully presents the art and creativity of the Orient, including many masterpieces as evidence of China's inimitable culture and style. It is a visually stunning account of the history, art, culture & creativity of the Orient.