Book II in The Story of the World series, by M. B. Synge, “The Discovery of New Worlds” relates the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the middle ages in Europe, the rise of Islam and the Crusades, and finally the age of exploration, and the establishment of trade with the Far East. The book concludes with the discoveries of Columbus and the Spanish settlements in the New World. Suitable for children ages 10 and up to read to themselves and for children as young as 7 as a read-aloud. The Story of the World series, by M. B. Synge, comprises a set of five volumes, written at a middle school reading level, that cover all major events in the history of Western Civilization, from earliest recorded history to the close of the nineteenth century. With fifty or so short chapters in each volume, the series links the great eras in time and place together by a chain of stories of individuals who played principal parts in the events related. While statesmen and military commanders figure heavily in the narrative, stories of explorers, scientists, artists, authors, and religious figures are also presented. The author writes in an engaging fashion, using dialog frequently to bring scenes to life. She juxtaposes events happening at the same time in different parts of the world in a style reminiscent of the books of Genevieve Foster. This series is an excellent introduction to world history for adult readers as well as for children.
Travels in the Interior of Africa
In 1795 Mungo Park, a twenty-four year old surgeon, set out from the Gambia to trace the course of the Niger, a river of which Europeans had no first-hand knowledge. Travels in the interior districts of Africa is his Journal of that extraordinary journey. He travelled on the sufferance of African rulers and soon came to depend for his survival on the charity of African villagers. Before he reached the Niger, he endured months of captivity in the camp of a Moorish chief. Yet throughout his travels, Park maintained a remarkable empathy for African societies and beliefs. He recorded what he saw as accurately as he could, and without presuming European superiority.
New Found Land
Two hundred years ago, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark launched their wooden boats up the Missouri River in search of the illusory Northwest Passage, a journey that would capture the American imagination and help forge a young nation’s identity. Now, in a riveting debut novel, Allan Wolf tells the story of this extraordinary voyage through the eyes of not only the famed pair but also several members of their self-named Corps of Discovery. Here, in powerful, lyrical language, is a medley of voices from a surprisingly diverse crew — from the one-eyed French Indian fiddler who pilots the boats to Clark’s African American slave; from the young Shoshone woman who has a baby en route to Lewis’s Newfoundland dog, a “seer” whose narrative resonates long after the book is closed.
Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
Modern views of Columbus are overshadowed by guilt about past conquests. Credit for discovering the New World, we are told, belongs to its original inhabitants rather than any European, and Columbus gave those inhabitants nothing apart from death, disease and destruction. Yet for the Old World of Europe the four voyages of Columbus brought revelation where before there had been only myths and guesswork. People had thought it was only the great distance that made it impossible to reach Asia sailing west from Spain. No one had predicted that a vast continent stood in the way. And indeed, for Columbus himself, the revolution of understanding was too much to comprehend. He had counted on a new route to Asia that would bring him glory, riches and titles, and the thought of an unknown and undeveloped continent held no attractions. The trials and disappointments of the great explorer are graphically detailed in this biography first published in 1828, when Washington Irving was America’s most famous writer.
I, Columbus
Eric The Red And Leif The Lucky (Adventures In The New World)
Four Voyages: Being His Own Log-Book, Letters and Dispatches with Connecting Narratives..
Whether Columbus was a noble spirit bent on extending Christendom or merely a mercenary sailor in search of gold, slaves, and trade with China, he is still credited for bringing off an enormous gamble. To present a consecutive narrative of his voyages to the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, Trinidad and the mainland of America, this book combines reports and letters written by the admiral himself with large passages from the biography prepared by his son, chapters from Oviedo’s Official History, de las Casas’ humanitarian account and other records.
Picture Book of Christopher Columbus (Picture Book Biography)
Lost World (Professor Challenger #1)
Irish athletic reporter Malone narrates tale of bold squat quarrelsome Professor Challenger seeking remote Amazonian plateau where “the ordinary laws of Nature are suspended” with prehistoric creatures and ape-men. Other armed British whites are spare skeptic Professor Summerlee, and ginger dead-shot Lord John, supported by colored bearers.
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Brendan the Navigator: A History Mystery about the Discovery of America
If you ask children in Ireland who really discovered America, you may get this surprising answer: “St. Brendan, of course.” He left Ireland 1,500 years ago in a leather boat to find paradise. Tales of the wonders he and his crew saw and the Monster Territory they encountered during their trip have become part of Irish legend. And legend also says that the island of unsurpassed beauty that St. Brendan called paradise was actually America. “A lively, provocative ‘history mystery.’ ” — Publishers Weekly “The author, with her ability to breathe new life into historical facts and fancies, retells the legend of St. Brendan. . . .Unusually inviting.” — The Horn Book