EXPLORING THE WORLD'S WATERS
recommended reading

Ambrose, Stephen E. and Douglas G. Brinkley. The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation: From the Louisiana Purchase to Today. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2002.

Stephen Ambrose calls the Mississippi River the "spine of our nation." It knits the nation together and connects the heartland to the world. Historians Ambrose and Brinkley, along with photographer Sam Abell, explored the Mississippi River and its history for the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase. The result is this compilation of contemporary photographs, period illustrations, maps, documents, and narrative of the journey--a fitting ode to the Great River.

Linklater, Eric. The Voyage of the Challenger. London: Marble Arch House, 1972.

In 1872, the Challenger left port to circumnavigate the world, covering 68,000 nautical miles at a time the underwater world was still an unexplored wilderness.  She carried a team of scientists sponsored by the British Government, the Royal Society and the University of Edinburgh to chart the depths, movement and contents of the seas. This account of her voyage records the places and phenomenon seen as well as the lives of the men who sailed on her.

Savours, Ann. The Voyages of the Discovery: The Illustrated History of Scott's Ship. London: Virgin Books, 1992.

Built in Dundee for Captain Scott's famous Antarctic expedition, the Discovery was launched in 1901, and her role was to change many times before her final voyage in 1986. But whether in a dramatic bid to rescue Shakleton's men marooned on Elephant Island in 1916, or as a munitions carrier to the Eastern Front in World War I, the Discovery has taken part in some of the most awe-inspiring and heroic events of this century. Thoroughly researched, well written and copiously illustrated!

Starokadomskiy, L.M. Charting the Russian Northern Sea Route: The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition 1910-1915. Montreal: Arctic Institute of North America, 1976.

William Barr translates and edits Starokadomskiy's account of the Russian expeditions to survey the waters north of Siberia on the ice breaking steamers Taymyr and Vaygach. This was the first attempt of its kind and has had important historical, scientific and political implications that are still felt today. Written and translated during the Cold War, it is also an interesting work from the perspective of the relations between North America and the USSR.

Ballard, Robert D. Explorations: A Life of Underwater Adventure. New York: Hyperion, 1995.

Robert D. Ballard became a household name in 1985 when he and his team of underwater explorers first detected the remains of the Titanic more than two miles below the surface of the ocean. In Explorations, he recounts the whole fascinating story, as well as other extraordinary undersea adventures.

Lewis, Henry. The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1967.

Lewis based this work on firsthand information gained while living in St. Louis and on trips to the Upper Mississippi in 1846-1848. He also read widely and gleaned from other writers of his day bits of the colorful history of the vast region in the heart of America. But the great value and interest of the book lies in the 78 lithographed illustrations of scenes and towns along the great River that Lewis executed in color to accompany his text.

Idyll, C.P., ed. Exploring the Ocean World: A History of Oceanography. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1969.

The "Age of Oceanography" was ushered in with the voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger in 1873 and has been followed with decade upon decade of increased exploration of the physical, chemical, biological and geological aspects of the sea. The book features all of the important names and dates of marine exploration prior to 1970.

Stanton, William. The Great United States Exploring Expedition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.

Few chapters in the history of American science or the U.S. Navy contain more bravura, comic mishaps, or slapdash adventuring than the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842. Yet few chapters are less well known. The expedition left Norfolk with six ships and several hundred men and explored the polar regions, the South Pacific, and the coasts of what are now Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. This account of the men who explored, mapped, studied, and fought in these regions is both informative and entertaining!

Bass, George F. Archaeology Beneath the Sea. Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1975.

This is the personal account of George F. Bass, who set out in the 1960s to explore shipwrecks off the coast of Turkey. It turned out to be the remains of a Bronze Age merchant ship, the oldest shipwreck ever found. Bass revives the excitement of these early days and the tensions, setbacks, and triumphs of his subsequent expeditions--cornerstones of modern marine archaeology.

Schlee, Susan. On Almost Any Wind: The Saga of the Oceanographic Research Vessel 'Atlantis.' Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1978.

The Atlantis was the ketch used by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1931 to 1966. In the 35 years of her service, oceanography developed from an unsophisticated private enterprise to a science of major importance. This work, based on years of solid oceanographic research as well as historical sources such as logs, letters and recollections, illuminates the story of this research vessel and her crews.

Arms, Myron. Riddle of the Ice: A Scientific Adventure into the Arctic. New York: Anchor Books, 1998.

Captain Myron Arms, determined to find out about ice formation in the Arctic, sailed aboard his fifty-foot boat past the Arctic Circle. Weaving together the narrative of the voyage itself with a groundbreaking synthesis of the latest theories about Arctic ice production--and the troubling signals it may now be sending us--this is a suspenseful science mystery told as a captain's log. Narrative nonfiction of the highest caliber.

Ford, Corey. Where the Sea Breaks its Back: The Epic Story of a Pioneer Naturalist and the Discovery of Alaska. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1966.

This account of naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller's ill-fated voyage on Vitus Bering's brig, St. Peter, is an important work on Arctic exploration. Stellar, a renowned naturalist, was the first man to record the unique flora and fauna of Alaska. The book is also a look at what the Arctic was like in the 1700's before many men ventured there.

Hayes, Derek. America Discovered: A Historical Atlas of North American Exploration. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 2004.

Using more than 280 original maps and dozens of historical illustrations, this remarkable atlas shows how geographic myths such as the Northwest Passage and the River of the West were slowly shattered. From famous explorers such as Lewis and Clark to others more neglected by history, this book tells the fascinating story of the men who put North America 'on the map.'

Lourie, Peter. On the Trail of Lewis and Clark: A Journey up the Missouri River. Honesdale, Penn.: Boyds Mills Press, 2002.

Archaeologist and researcher Peter Lourie chronicles a trip he took with his friends along the path of the Lewis and Clark expedition up the Missouri River to see what's changed since the time of the great explorers. Illustrated with the author's color photographs as well as paintings and archival photos. Reading level: Ages 9-12.

Conlan, Kathy. Under the Ice. Tonawanda, N.Y.: Kids Can Press, 2002.

Kathy Conlan's account of being a woman scientist at work is filled with adventure and extraordinary photographs. Her job as a marine biologist is to scuba dive off the Arctic and Antarctic coasts, one of the most dangerous environments to work in. Reading level: Ages 9-12.

Johnson, Sylvia A. Mapping the World. New York: Atheneum Books, 1999.

A beautiful and informative book that traces the history of mapping from the earliest etchings on clay tablets through today's hi-tech solar system mapping projects. Without maps, much of the world's exploration could not have occurred and visa versa. Reading level: Ages 9-12.

Cummings, Pat and Linda Cummings, ed. Talking with Adventurers: Conversations With Christina M. Allen, Robert Ballard, Michael L. Blakey, Ann Bowles, David Doubilet, Jane Goodall, Dereck & Beverly Joubert, Michael Novacek, Johan Reinhard, Rick C. West and Juris Zarins. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1998.

A wonderful introduction to the variety of career choices in the sciences as well as an account of the many different ways there are to explore the world in which we live. Very inspiring! Reading level: Ages 9-12.

Lewis & Clark Expedition from National Geographic

Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their Corps of Discovery to find a water route to the Pacific and to explore the West. He thought they would find woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and a mountain of pure salt. Starting out in 1804, what they did find was no less mind-boggling at the time. Interactive site features journey log, video, and articles, documents and photographs from the expedition.