Abstract
(1) MR. ARCHER'S book supplies a short history of exploration in simple language. It opens perhaps a little uncertainly on the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean as the earliest known centre from which knowledge of the world was extended outwards. “The Egyptians used boats on the Nile, and perhaps along the coasts of their country, but probably the first serious navigators were the people of Phœenicia “—this, in the light of recent research concerning early Mediterranean peoples, is not a wholly satisfactory summary. The subsequent chapters are handled more firmly, and the rather difficult task of balancing between topographical correlation and historical sequence is judiciously carried out. The final chapters on modern polar exploration, however, are less successful. They maintain the interest to the student, but sometimes a point is missed: thus, it is an unfortunate version of the dramatic encounter between Nansen and Jackson which states that Nansen and Johansen “ reached the south of Franz Joseph Land, where to their delight a relief ship was waiting.” There is a short bibliography of easily-accessible books of reference, and a good index is provided. There are also some rough but sufficiently clear maps, and some clever adaptations of old maps.
(1) Stories of Exploration and Discovery.
By A. B. Archer. Pp. xx + 198. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1915.) Price 2s. 6d. net.
(2) The North-West and North-East Passages, 1576-1611.
Edited by P. F. Alexander. Pp. xx + 211. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1915.) Price 2s. 6d. net.
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(1) Stories of Exploration and Discovery (2) The North-West and North-East Passages, 1576-1611. Nature 96, 113 (1915). https://doi.org/10.1038/096113a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/096113a0