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Full of eccentric characters, Killing Dragons is the story of the first British mountaineers to tackle the Alpine summits of Switzerland during the late 18th century. Originally the explorers of this area were poorly equipped, wearing ordinary shoes and no protective clothing. The British arrived intent on reaching every Alpine summit, and mountaineering was born. The title refers to the legend of dragons inhabiting these peaks: here be dragons, quoted the old maps.

In a riveting narrative of daredevils and eccentrics, Fergus Fleming gives us the breathtaking story of some of history's greatest explorers as they conquer the soaring peaks of the Alps. Fleming recounts the incredible exploits of the men whose centuries-old fear of the mountain range turned quickly to curiosity, then to obsession, as they explored Europe's frozen wilderness. In the late eighteenth century French and Swiss scientists became interested in the Alps as a research destination, but in the 1850s the focus changed: the icy mountains now offered an all-out competition for British...

Forty-five gripping accounts of some of the most amazing feats in the historyof exploration are divided between three "ages of exploration," each of whichis prefaced by a lively essay introducing key aspects of the age in question.560 pp.

1816 startete John Barrow, Zweiter Sekretär der Englischen Admiralität, ein Entdeckungsprogramm, das bis heute nur vergleichbar ist mit dem der ersten Mondlandung. Von seinem Stehpult am heimatlichen Kamin aus dirigierte der Vollblutbürokrat mit der verhängnisvollen Entdeckerpassion seine Männer in den aberwitzigsten Expeditionen an die Enden der kartierten Welt - und nicht selten in den Tod.

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A brief history of Algeria. Back in the 17th century it was controlled by Ottomans but controlled by Day pirates whose reputation for violence was known around the world. In 1858 a French consul visited the area and when he refused to pay back a debt, was injured by a Day representative. France seized on this to move into Algeria and found that conquering the Day wasn't as difficult as they thought. France half-heartedly controlled the quasi-anarchic colony at first but the rule of Napoleon IV gradually strengthened their involvement. See p. 11 for descript of land's horrors. By late...