The Exploration of the World

by Jules Verne

In this chief of his works, Jules Verne has set himself to tell the story of all the most stirring adventures of which we have any written record - to give the history, "from the time of Hanno and Herodotus down to that of Livingstone and Stanley," of those voyages of exploration and discovery which are among the most thrilling episodes in the history of human enterprise. In short, Jules Verne has chosen for his most important book the only subject which he could make surpass his own vivid and realistic stories in absorbing interest; to the treatment of such material he brings all the dash and vivid picturesqueness of his own creations, and it may be imagined that he makes a book worth reading.

The plan of the work is so valuable that it is a matter for surprise that such a history has never been undertaken before. To trace connectedly the progress of discovery as Jules Verne does, from the time when the world was a very small circle indeed, surrounded by the densest of outer darkness, and when the Carthagenian navigators ventured timidly out of the Mediterranean -- is to gain an altogether new idea of the daring and skill that has been expended in this one direction. It is a worthy subject for the most ambitious work of such a writer.

Verne obtained all information for the book from the original documents.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1873

About the author

Novels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review from afar – No. 27

Re-revised forward to these overseas reviews:
Since emulating a yo-yo, I continue to rely on the old-style Kindle 3G for any non-technical reading. I tip my hat to the fine folks at Project Gutenberg: virtually every title I have or will be reading in the near future comes from them.

Celebrated Travels and Travellers (sic) (aka The Exploration of the World Part 1) is a non-fiction book written by famed author Jules Verne. When I was grabbing books last winter to load onto my old-school Kindle, I wanted to read books that were new to me, but I also wanted to be sure I had enough material to keep from going bonkers on long flights or in the wee hours. This was one of the titles that I wasn’t already familiar with, but thought might be interesting. Well I was right.

Starting around 500 BC, Verne traces every major expedition and voyage of discovery that you and I have ever heard of and more. In precise and moderately dry prose he tells of the movers who made the trips happen, the sources we have today (his day, of course) that tell us about their voyages, and the research by others (perhaps more professional historians) into some of the tales that remain sketchy or contradictory.

Verne himself is frequently taking and mixing from different sources (who he names) to compile his own account, but also discards or discredits what he thinks is not correct. Is he right? His judgments can’t really be questioned, as we (unless we go back and review current and earlier writings on the topics) don’t have enough information within the book to decide. (Of course certain things have continued to be popular 100+s years later, so one might actually remember certain facts that Verne would not have had access to.)

But, that doesn’t detract from the telling of the voyages and of the principal lives involved. We have the good, the tragic, and the down-right ugly. And all the usual suspects are there; Columbus (who he marks as a genius), Pizarro (butcher/conqueror of the Incas), and Magellan (another visionary who died only a third of the way into his famous voyage). While I’m sure it’s accurate, there seems to be an inordinate amount of back-stabbing, double-crossing, and other forms of treachery rampant in the explorations of the Spanish and the Portuguese.

There’s a lot of navigational details, trading, fighting, and sailing (dealing with scurvy before citrus fruits were found to be a key method of avoiding it) minutia but it reads well and flows along. Nor does he ignore the less well-known regions or peoples. The Norse expeditions are there as well as the search for the Northwest and Northeast passages (the trip ‘round South America through the Straits of Magellan being a less than popular voyage.)

Three and one-half (3.5) seafaring Stars -rounded up to 4.0- for a ration of grog and a yohoho, me matey!

You can get this book for free from the Gutenberg Project site.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primul călător, în ordinea cronologică, pomenit de istorie, este Hannon, pe care senatul Cartaginei l-a trimis să colonizeze noi teritorii pe coasta vestică a Africii. Relatarea acestei expediţii a fost scrisă în limba punică şi tradusă în limba greacă; ea e cunoscută sub numele de Călătoria pe mare a lui Hannon. În ce epocă a trăit acest explorator? Părerile istoricilor sunt împărţite, dar versiunea cea mai demnă de crezare indică anul 505 î.e.n. ca dată a explorării coastelor africane săvârşite de el.
Hannon părăsi Cartagina cu o flotă de şaizeci de galere, cu câte cincizeci de vâslaşi fiecare, purtând treizeci de mii de oameni şi proviziile necesare pentru o lungă călătorie. Emigranţii aceştia – căci pot fi numiţi astfel – erau hărăziţi să populeze noile oraşe pe care Cartagina voia să le întemeieze pe coasta vestică a Libiei, adică a Africii.Flota izbuti să treacă cu bine de Coloanele lui Hercule, de munţii Gibraltarului şi ai Ceutei, care domină strâmtoarea, şi se aventură spre sud în Oceanul Atlantic. La două zile după trecerea strâmtorii, Hannon ancoră în faţa coastei şi întemeie oraşul Thymaterion; apoi porni iar în larg, trecu de Capul Solois, legă relaţii de negoţ cu băştinaşii şi înaintă până la gurile unui mare fluviu african, pe ale cărui maluri îşi ducea viaţa un trib de păstori nomazi. După ce încheie un tratat de alianţă cu păstorii aceia, navigatorul cartaginez îşi continuă explorarea spre sud. Şi astfel ajunse lângă Insula Kerna, aşezată în apele unui mic golf, insulă a cărei circumferinţă măsura cinci stadii, adică nouă sute douăzeci şi cinci de metri. După însemnările zilnice ale lui Hannon, insula ar fi situată faţă de Coloanele lui Hercule la o distanţă egală cu aceea care desparte Coloanele de Cartagina. Despre ceinsulă e vorba? Fără doar şi poate despre vreo insuliţă din grupul Insulelor Fericite (astăzi Canare).
Călătoria pe mare fu reluată şi Hannon ajunse la locul de revărsare a fluviului Hretes, care formează un fel de golf interior. Cartaginezii porniră în susul fluviului şi fură întâmpinaţi cu pietre de băştinaşii negri. Crocodilii şi hipopotamii erau numeroşi pe meleagurile acelea.
După explorarea făcută, flota se reîntoarse spre gurile fluviului şi, douăsprezece zile mai târziu, ajunge în faţa unui ţinut muntos, unde se aflau o mulţime de arbori şi de plante aromatice. Apoi pătrunse într-un golf imens, cu ţărmul lin, puţin ridicat. Ţinutul acesta, liniştit în timpul zilei, era luminat noaptea de vâlvătăile flăcărilor provenite, fie de la focurile pe care, le aprindeau băştinaşii, fie din aprinderea spontană a ierburilor uscate.

[Prakash Yadav · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pilgrimage in time. Just as mountains and seas makes one realise the limits of the diminished self, this tome educates the reader of the sliver of our existence occupies in time. On reading decades are like days and centuries feel like weeks. Generations pass before a place or region is mentioned again. Its an entirely humbling experience to learn about how we as humans overcame our fears, and more importantly how great our greed and self-righteousness condemned our ancestors to discover regions and corrupt them. Unlike most historical works, this book is quite neutral and wide in coverage. It wastes no words on condemning or praising conquerors, it states facts; what date was a voyage commissioned, what problems they faced, what was the ship manifest like, what discoveries made, what strategy employed, what natives encountered, etc. etc.
General perception, uptil 1600, looks like entire enterprise of discovery was due to trade and commerce. A bit about religion upto about AD 1000, but then its mostly used as a excuse for plunder and colonisation. World history is the definite lesson in economics.
The first part of three dedicated to exploration, mostly-maritime in 1400-1600, covers voyages up to the seventeenth century. No work, of fiction or otherwise, has come close to riveting me in maritime history and voyages. From De Gama's to Magellan and beyond to discoveries in the polar regions, its like witnessing the worlds past unfold for your pleasure only.
With all worlds discovered, and the era of invention and science to begin, looking forward to Part II ! Highly recommended for all adventure and travelling enthusiasts.

[Galicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marco Polo’s travels are the most interesting part in this first volume. The review by Socrate above is a fine commentary on the earliest travelers.