Explorers' and Pioneers' Bibliography
Individual Explorers and Publishers
Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd
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“In the passing of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, America and the world have lost one of the truly great explorers of all time … I have lost an old and dear friend. As Commander of two Arctic and five Antarctic expeditions, Admiral Byrd dedicated his life to the exploration of those little known areas. He was the first man to fly over both the North and South Poles.
"His explorations charted more than two million square miles of territory, adding tremendously to the world’s scientific knowledge of the polar regions.” Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States
These are the reviews of three of his books: "Little America," "Discovery," and "Alone." Select the link above or the image of the front cover of "Alone" to the right. |
Samuel E. Morison
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“The reader will have ample opportunity to judge the Discoverer’s character for himself. Physical courage, which the early historians took for granted, he will find in plenty; and untiring persistence and unbreakable will. Certain defects will appear, especially lack of due appreciation for the labors of his subordinates; unwillingness to admit his shortcomings as a colonizer; a tendency to complain and be sorry for himself whenever the Sovereigns, owing to these shortcomings, withdrew some measure of their trust in him.
“These were the defects of the qualities that made him a great historical figure. For he was not, like a Washington, a Cromwell, or a Bolivar, an instrument chosen by multitudes to express their wills and lead a cause; Columbus was a Man with a Mission, and such men are apt to be unreasonable and even disagreeable to those who cannot see the mission. … “He was man alone with God against human stupidity and depravity, against greedy conquistadors, cowardly seamen, even against nature and the sea.” Samuel Eliot Morison, Admiral of the Ocean Sea
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A Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Christopher Columbus.
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