- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: GROVE/ATLANTIC (Oct 1 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802137199
- ISBN-13: 978-0802137197
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#378,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #97 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > New Zealand
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
There are few things more interesting than reading the actual words of explorers. These are the people who witness history at its creation, and through their eyes (and words) we can truly travel back in time. Imagine, then, the experiences of explorers seeing the spectacularly beautiful continent of Australia for the first time. After a long sea voyage, they come upon a land inhabited by a culture that has been on Earth longer than any other. Struggling to find similarities with their homelands, they give this wild country names that reflect their heritage but know all the while that they have ventured into something completely unknown to them. Detailing events from the 1606 discovery of "Nova Guinea" to a solo camel ride through the outback in 1977, the 67 stories in this anthology often read like science fiction and sizzle with suspense. Flannery's (Throwim' Way Leg) thoughtful introduction and his comprehensive bibliography are alone almost worth the price of the book. All libraries will do their patrons a favor by offering them this collection of firsthand accounts of the taming of a challenging continent.AJoseph L. Carlson, Lampoc P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The conquest and settlement of Australia proves just as exciting as the conquest and settlement of North America, as readers will behold in this engrossing anthology prepared by Flannery, the director of the South Australia Museum. He has gathered 67 excerpts from a variety of accounts of Australian exploration, each one offering "the experience of being a fly on the wall at exemplary moments in Australian history" and each one, with a single exception, written by an eyewitness. The chronology ranges from 1606, when Willem Jansz (commanding a Dutch ship) paid the first authenticated visit to Australia by a European, to 1977, when a physician by the name of W. J. Peasley took his four-wheel-drive vehicle out into the Gibson Desert during severe drought conditions to rescue an elderly Aboriginal couple. In between are such interesting stories as the first European to obtain evidence of the existence of the koala (in 1802) and an 1848 narrative by an Aborigine about the tragic end of the John Kennedy Cape York expedition. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Drunken camels were the bane of the Burke and Wills expedition. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Drunken camels were the bane of the Burke and Wills expedition. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book to Start Reading About Australian Explorers,
By choiceweb0pen0 (Lafayette, LA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Explorers: Stories Of Discovery and Adventure From the Australian Frontier (Paperback)
This is an anthology of excerpts from Australian Explorers journals ranging from early sixteenth century European Explorers to Australians in the early 20th century. Flannery's introduction for each provides an excellent, concise biography and set up to each explorer's excerpt. In many of the excerpts, an explorer faces death and disaster. The most intriguing initially was Charles Sturt writing of his attempt to find the mythical lake in the center of Australia. He brings a boat, experiences weather so hot it bursts a thermometer his party carries, they suffer from extreme scurvy, and Sturt's desire to be the first to reach the center of Australia. The second explorer I read in this collection was Ernest Giles. His except focuses on an expedition with his assistant Gibson, who goes for help and manages to get lost, and then Giles slowly makes his way back to base camp. Reading The Explorers fascinated me enough that I wanted to read more about specific explorers like Giles, but also about Australian explorers in general.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Editor as Artist,
By
This review is from: The Explorers: Stories Of Discovery and Adventure From the Australian Frontier (Paperback)
My only criticism of Flannery's book is that it ends. I found myself wanting to read more of each story. But within a moment of turning to a new chapter, I was engrossed in another adventure. The Explorers is an outstanding selection of historical pieces and a fine example of the editor's art. First-person accounts like this truly offer a window into the minds and times of the people and places involved. (I recommend "Eyewitness to History" for those who enjoy this book.)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read for travel,
By
This review is from: The Explorers: Stories Of Discovery and Adventure From the Australian Frontier (Paperback)
This book consists of brief excerpts from journals, letters and diaries of those foolish or brave enough to push beyond the known world along Australia's seaboards. These explorers demonstrated unfathomable foolishness, unquenchable curiosity, bullheaded ethnocentricity, and, in too few cases, a passion for discovery for its own sake. As a reader you will be horrified, entertained, and enlightened by their adventures and misadventures. I just returned from a trip to Australia and took this book along with me to read. It was perfect for a visitor with little knowledge of Australian history beyond Hughes' "Fatal Shore" (another great read).
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
