The Mammoth Book of Explorers

by John Keay (Editor), Wilfred Thesiger (Foreword)

During the golden age of exploration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the intrepid travelers emerged from the jungles, deserts, and ice caps of the world’s remotest locations, they were greeted by an awestruck public as though they had returned from the dead or other worlds. The Mammoth Book of Explorers recaptures the thrill of the unknown with first-hand accounts of expeditions across all seven continents. In Africa, there is Burton’s search for the source of the Nile. In the Americas, Meriwether Lewis tells how he reunited Sacajawea with her tribe, and Alexander Mackenzie recounts the first overland crossing of the continent by the Canadian fur trader in 1793. At the globe’s top and bottom, Robert Peary and Ernest Shackleton race for the poles. In addition to such triumphs of human endurance, there are the tragedies of Livingstone’s last days in Africa, William John Wills’s lonely death in the Australian outback, and Robert Scott’s tragic final expedition in Antarctica. To round out this Mammoth collection, noted author John Keay has also chosen twentieth-century explorers who have carried on the dauntless tradition, including Hiram Bingham’s account of the discovery of Machu Picchu, Thesiger on Arabia’s Empty Quarter, Edmund Hillary on scaling the summit of Everest, and Harry St. John Bridger Philby on traversing the desert alone.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Adventure, Anthologies

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS is an English journalist and author specialising in writing popular histories about India and the Far East, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europeans.

John Keay is the author of about 20 books, all factual, mostly historical, and largely to do with Asia, exploration or Scotland. His first book stayed in print for thirty years; many others have become classics. His combination of meticulous research, irreverent wit, powerful narrative and lively prose have invariably been complimented by both reviewers and readers.

UK-based and a full-time author since 1973, he also wrote and presented over 100 documentaries for BBC Radios 3 and 4 from 1975-95 and guest-lectured tour groups 1990-2000. He reviews on related subjects, occasionally speaks on them, and travels extensively.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of excerpts from famous works of exploration, and features almost all of the expected explorers from the 18th, 19th and early 20th century.
Many of the excerpts are excellent - Alexander Burns, Ed Hillary, Charles Doughty, Harry St John Bridger Philby, Wilfred Thesiger, Mungo Park, Mary Kingsley, Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Alexander von Humboldt.
Others were good, some were not so good.
It's fair to say if you have an interest in this genre, there is likely to some chapters in here you will really enjoy. Its a sizeable book, and for me it worked well to read in short stints, a chapter here and a chapter there.
Not sure about starring this - as I said parts were fantastic, parts were a bit meh, so overall I am going 3.5 stars (are we ever getting half stars Otis?), rounding down to 3.

[Stephen Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents sections of the travel journals of famous explorers. It is helpfully divided into Continents. They're not wrong with the Mammoth book title, took me ages to read this on account of the size of the book and the Edwardian/Victorian language. It was also quite hard to read 10-15 pages of one journey and try to get into that, then be whisked into another journey in another place with another set of characters. But helpfully the editor gives a little precis as the start of each account, and places you into the context of the extract from the journal i.e. what had led up to the extract and why it had been chosen. The extracts from Burkes, Wills and Kings journal and Roboert Falcon Scott are especially poignant reads.

The journals have to be read in the context of when they were written as they exhibit a fair amount of racism. And similarly in the spirit of the age, it is quite unbelievable that of 40-ish accounts, only 1 woman explorer (Mary Kingsley - and an account superior to the majority of the others).

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 1 out of 5]

With a title that imposing, one would expect that the contents would reflect the kind of tone that it projects. And with over 40 stories that details a number of pioneers visiting some of the most "remote" location across the globe, the snippets from various travel narratives of classic white, male, Western authors remain as literary classics in this particular genre. Admittedly, most of the accounts here are quite dry, with the term and concept of danger being a bit thin as they are framed through a lack of convenience for these writers. Given that these also represent a time where colonizers bring themselves a notch above everyone else, there is a pervasive tone of haughtiness in the book, and the most minor inconveniences are deemed as dangerous, with less emphasis and appreciation for the places that they have been to, despite being trailblazers from their countries.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

The travellers may be individuals or groups making journeys for their own purposes or official expeditions of scientific discovery. The dangers may come from the place itself or the people (lone travellers risk robbery, those travelling without permission risk arrest, for example). The writers have little in common, other than a sense of adventure and writing in English (even when not their first language).
The individual accounts are arranged chronologically within geographical region, so there are several from Russia, the mountains of Central Asia following on from each other, then later groups set in the Arabian Desert, sub-Saharan West Africa, the Great Rift Valley, East and Central Africa, Australia and North and South America. After this, the last accounts are from the Arctic and Antarctic.

[Amy Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is excerpts from explorers journals during rough times. Should be really scintillating! ...it wasn't. It mostly consists of 'we marched on,we crossed a river,etc' I guess I was expecting real harrowing stuff. I skimmed and skipped through it,only properly reading about 3 stories, including the sad ending of Robert Scot. Other people might find the entirety of the book to be fantastic,but it wasn't what I'd hoped. So far these Mammoth Books have been letdowns,I won't be reaching for more by them.

[Iva Stancheva · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading this book, one should not forget it as a documentary, not a novel. And it is indeed a very good one fof different people and epoques.

[Babak Fakhamzadeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title and cover text of the book seem to promise wild accounts of dangerous adventures and although some of the stories are simply amazing, too many aren't interesting enough to warrant the purchase of the book. The initial flaw is that the excerpts, taken from actual travels and journeys are so short that you're left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. You want to know more of the story and more of the politics involved. Of course, this only goes for the 'good' stories, the 'bad' stories not being interesting enough in the first place.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! A collection of journal entries by some of the world's greatest explorers. Some names are known, others are unknown to the general public but the experiences are well worth reading. The chapters are grouped together by continent and of course the South American journals were of particular interest too me. Be advised though that most were written in the 19th century and therefore contain prejudicial comments toward the native people encountered. That aside, I enjoyed reading the adventures that are impossible to recreate in today's world.

[Ruskanen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started it for book club. Short accounts of travel and exploration. First couple of stories are difficult to read. Gets better, but still challenging and a little dry. Normally I like to stick with a book and challenge myself, but there are so many other books I'd rather be reading. Setting it down for now.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are written by the explorers themselves with coordinates and journal entries that are real time events taking place, sometimes at points where the writers are near death and can barely stay alive. It is very tough to follow at times but I did like the fact that many of these explorers risked their lives to venture where no man had ever gone before. Some never made it back.

[Lewis Hyam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travelling to Lapland in Finland, picked this book up in airport, read a couple of the accounts (stories) on the planes out (heathrow to Helsinki -change planes to kittila airport) and read a few more accounts on the way back 7 days later - great insight into what it was like in the old days.....

[Kasturi · Rating 4 out of 5]

lets travel and explore...

[Shea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how travels & adventures can be so boring!
Only enjoyed a few accounts & the best was probably Mary Kingsley's.