Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 

“By what name ought I address you?”

“Sir,” replied the commander, “I am nothing to you but Captain Nemo; and you and your companions are nothing to me but the passengers of the Nautilus.”

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne is one of the greatest adventure novels of all time, and – at the same time – a groundbreaking work of science-fiction.

The narrator, Professor Pierre Aronnax, and his companions join the fiercely independent Captain Nemo aboard his submarine, the Nautilus, on a wondrous and dramatic journey around the world.

“I am not what you call a civilised man! I have done with society entirely, for reasons which I alone have the right of appreciating. I do not, therefore, obey its laws, and I desire you never to allude to them before me again!”

Download Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea here (PDF 1,1 MB / 168 pages)

20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

 

Wonderland of the Antipodes

“One little pickle of a fellow, with bright black eyes, who had quite overcome his terror, amused himself by creeping up behind the others, and frightening them by shouting in their ear, “ Nui pakeha, nui pakeha” (the big white man, the big white man is coming!) — meaning me; at which they would burst into tears, and run like rabbits from the sup­posed cannibal—your humble servant.”

Wonderland of the Antipodes and other sketches of Travel in the North Island of New Zealand by J. Ernest Tinne was published in 1873. He was astonished by the beauty of the island and during many trips by foot, canoe and horseback he visited the North Island many times. The descriptions are personal and it is clear that Ernest respected the natives and was very interested in geology, anthropology, botanics and the Maori way of life.

Download the free PDF e-book here (160 pages/8 MB):

 Wonderland of the Antipodes

Innermost Asia: Travel & Sport In The Pamirs

“Although I cannot say I really enjoyed my trip, I am glad that I made it, as, apart from the fact that I got my tiger, the country is practically unknown, and the Kirghiz of the district form an interesting study. It is, besides, always refreshing to find oneself in a part of the world where Europeans are still a novelty, and where civilization has not penetrated. To sportsmen who may think of visiting the country I would say, take plenty of warm clothes and buy what ponies you require in Vierny before starting.”

In Innermost Asia: Travel & Sport In The Pamirs, the author Ralph Patteson Cobbold got his tiger after a few attempts. Although he does complains that there were not quite enough of them to ensure really great fun.

Asone of the very first Europeans, Cobbold traversed great distances in Central Asia in the late 19.th century when traveling was quite dangerous and sometimes potentially life-threatening.

And although Cobbold sometimes does come across as a bit arrogant, he goes to great lengths to be as fair in his description of locals – and local authorities – as an Englishman from the late part of the Victorian age can expect to be. He also gives an accurate description of the landscape, its people and of his strenuous journey – and even gets a bit involved in the power struggle between Russians, the Chinese, and local lords.

Furthermore, the book is richly illustrated with detailed maps and many photographs.

Click below to download Innermost Asia Travel & Sport In The Pamirs as free PDF (388 pages / 22 MB):

Innermost Asia

The North West Passage by Roald Amundsen

The North West Passage by Roald Amundsen is the well written and sometimes dramatic story about the “Gjöa Expedition”, led by Amundsen himself during the years 1903-1907.

This fine work was published after his successful return and it is richly illustrated with maps and high-quality photographs, considering the time. The expedition was sometimes quite dramatic, and only sheer luck separated survival from total catastrophe:

“In the pitch-dark night, which luckily was perfectly calm, a mighty flame, with thick suffocating smoke was leaping up from the engine-room skylight. A fire had broken out in the engine-room, right among the tanks holding 2,200 gallons of petroleum. We all knew what would happen if the tanks got heated: the “Gjöa” and everything on board would be blown to atoms like an exploded bomb. We all flew in frantic haste.”

The expedition was spectacular since it was the first time man navigated The North West Passage – the northern link between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. At the time, the passage was only partly open for short periods in the summer, making the voyage very difficult and the risk of getting stuck in ice was imminent.

Today, though, due to climate changes, the passage is increasingly open for commercial traffic and it has the potential to disrupt global sea transport.

The objective of the expedition was met, but the Norwegian Roald Amundsen was disappointed that he was not able to reach the magnetic north pole, which also was a goal of the journey.

Download The North West Passage PDF here in full length (349 pages/10MB):

The North West Passage

Walden – Life in the Woods

Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is possibly the most famous, beloved, and influential book about living in and close to nature. Which is what Thoreau did for two years, two months, and two days (1845-1847). From the book:

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

Thoreau lived in a small cabin built by himself by Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, where he spent his time in the woods reflecting upon human development and human nature while living according to simple living and self-sufficiency ideals.

Today, a parking lot is placed close to his cabin, and the pond is a popular – and quite beautiful – destination for the citizens of Concord to go swimming on hot summer days.

But the book itself appears as fresh and inspiring today as when written in the middle of the 19. century.

Download the free PDF e-book here:

 Walden; or, Life in the Woods

Walden; or, Life in the woods mobi e-book

Queen Charlotte Islands: A Narrative Of Discovery And Adventure In The North Pacific

Queen Charlotte Islands: A Narrative Of Discovery And Adventure In The North Pacific by Francis Poole.

“This is a land of enchantment. As far as the eye can reach either way is a picture of loveliness, such varied and magnificent landscapes, such matchless timber, such a wealth of vegetation, such verdure and leafage up to the very crests of its highest hills.‎”

In 1862, the civil- and mining engineer, Mr. Francis Poole, arrived at Haida Gwaii – also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. He spent two years here, and the archipelago off British Columbia’s west coast clearly held a special place in his heart. Later, the writer John W. Lyndon took it upon himself to write and publish Mr. Pooles diary, and the result was this vivid book, complete with several maps and fine illustrations.

Download the free PDF e-book here (387 pages/32 MB):

Queen Charlotte Islands A Narrative Of Discovery And Adventure In The North Pacific

On the Origin of Species

On the Origin of Species is the magnum opus of Charles Darwin, originally titled On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

No other science book has created such a revolt in both the scientific and civil society, and even today the book is discussed, misunderstood and disputed.

The book is based on the scientific travels, observations and studies of Charles Darwin – initially on the good ship HMS Beagle – and it is recognized as the foundation of modern evolutionary biology. A reason for its popularity was that it is written for the general public and thus an early example of popular science writing. Download the book here as a free PDF-ebook (247 pages/0.5MB):

Origin of Species

 

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was published in 1719 and is a work of fiction. But it is written as an autobiography – and the first edition credited the main character as the author, lending it even more credibility!

Robinson Crusoe is the captivating story about a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad and Venezuela. It has captivated the imagination of readers for more than 300 years and has – beyond doubt! – inspired countless kids through the ages to seek adventure in the backyard and beyond. 

Download the complete illustrated book as PDF or as a file for Kindle for free at Greatest Adventurers! (409 pages):

Mobi: Robinson Crusoe

PDF: Robinson Crusoe

The People of the Polar North by Knud Rasmussen

The People of the Polar North is a work by the Danish adventurer Knud Rasmussen. He was born 7 June 1879 in Ilulissat in Greenland and explored huge parts of the Arctic by dog sledge. Rasmussen is most known for his Thule-expeditions, the most important was the fifth Thule expedition 1921-1924 with the goal to explore the origin of the Inuit people.

The expedition took 16 months and led him to so far unknown regions and tribes in northern Canada. From the foreword:

“When I was a child I often used to hear an old Greenlandic woman tell how, far away North, at the end of the world, there lived a people who dress in bearskin and ate raw flesh.”

Knud Rasmussen was a close friend of Peter Freuchen and Roald Amundsen.

Download The People of the Polar North here (608 pages/14.5MB):

The People of the Polar North

 

 

 

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus – And how he received and imparted the spirit of discovery by Justin Windsor (1831-1897) was published in 1891. The book is nearly 700 pages long and because of the many images and photos of letters, maps, and images of people I could not compress it to less than 90 MB. So please be patient while downloading.

The book aims at being the exhaustive biography of Cristopher Columbus and his travels. And it does well. All his known letters and all existing writings about him have been analyzed and put in contexts. Anecdotes from other sources are discussed and we get a vivid picture of a complex man and time. For sailors, the book will be interesting for its detailed descriptions and historical discussions about navigation and mapping of the Atlantic shores and Islands. From the book:

They that go down to the sea in ships,
that do business in great waters, these
see the works of the Lord and his wonders
in the deep. -Psalms, cvii. 23, 24

Download the huge work here (700 pages/91 MB):

 Christopher Columbus

The handwriting of Christopher Columbus
Navigation at the time of Columbus

Winston Churchill: My Early Life

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL was a resolute Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Second World War. Furthermore, he inspired millions of Europeans to “keep buggering on” when all seemed lost in the epic struggle with Nazi-Germany.

He was also an adventurer by heart, who spent his youth participating in conflicts in India, Sudan, Afghanistan and South Africa. He escaped captivity from a Boer prison camp – and accounted for his many adventures in numerous articles.

Based on the wartime experiences of his youth, Churchill even suggested that it would be a pretty great idea if he could watch the first waves of the amphibious assault of D-Day from the warship HMS Belfast. The generals and admirals declined the PMs request – politely but with no room for misunderstanding what so ever..

Being a storyteller by heart, Sir Winston was also a prolific writer. He was even awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 “for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.”

Churchill authored a great many books. He genuinely enjoyed the process of writing (most of the time, at least). More importantly, however, the generous fees helped finance a lifestyle which, even at the worst of times, could never be considered anything less than stately.

Many of his books are strictly speaking quite a bit longer and more detailed than necessary. Not so with “My Early Life,” which you can read by clicking on the link below. It is relatively short and tells the story of Churchill’s childhood and youth. It also collects a lot of his most memorable experiences from The Second Boer War, Sudan and India.

My Early Life is generally considered one of Churchill’s best books – and it is undoubtedly one of his most amusing and entertaining works!

Download the free PDF e-book here:

 My Early Life – A Roving Commission

Peru Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas

Peru Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas by E. George Squier, U. S. Commissioner to Peru. This book was published in 1877 and it is a thoroughly work on the Peru, its people, geography, climate, political life and ancient cultures. E. George Squier travelled Peru and went many places where no other foreigner had ever gone before to document the monuments of the Incas. One fine day he even shot a Condor:

One day, while I was sketching alone on the top of the ruins, a shadow suddenly fell upon my drawing, and I heard a sharp report like the noise of  two boards togeth­er. Looking up, I saw an immense condor, not more than fifteen feet above me, apparently ready to pounce upon me. I sprung to my feet, drew my pistol, and hastily fired. I do not know whether I hit him or not, hut he sailed off, “ on mighty pens,” a few hundred yards, and then turned back and poised himself directly over my head, but at a more re­spectful distance. I now had a chance for a fair shot at him, and the ball cut out one of the feathers of his wing close to the socket. It measured two feet four inches in length. It is hardly necessary to say that I saw no more of my feathered friend for the remainder of the day.

Download the free PDF e-book here (652 pages/51MB):

Peru Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas

 

Up the Nile and Home again

Up the Nile and Home again – A handbook for Travellers and Travel-book for the Library is the account of a travel in Egypt by boat up and down the Nile. The book, by F. W. Fairholt, was published in 1862 and written both as a guidebook and an anthropological description of the Egyptian Nile-land. His travel was done in a number of different small boats such as the sandal and the felookah. The book features detailed theories about how the pyramid was built, descriptions of agricultural process and an explanation on how a slingshot works – and much, much more.

Nothing of interest is met on the Nile between Zowyeh and Benisouef,” says Wilkinson; hence, if the wind he foul, the voyager must make up his mind to a few of the dullest days of his life. The lower part of the Nile and the Delta is very like the lower part of the Rhine and the marshes of Holland. The stupid monotony of the seene is wearisome indeed! Yet, in defiance of all this, some enthusiasts declare,“ the Nile is never monotonous!

Download the Public Domain PDF e-book Up the Nile and Home again here (507 pages/17MB):

Up the Nile

Treasure Island

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is – even though fictional – perhaps the most famous story about high adventure, pirates, betrayal, and gold. Lots, lots & lots of gold!

Countless kids and adults have dreamt themselves away to the epic story where young Jim Hawkins joins a grand expedition to discover the untold riches buried by the late Captain Flint. But all is not exactly as it seems – and the one-legged cook, Long John Silver, has other plans than to make sure the crew is well fed…

Download Read Treasure Island for free at Greatest Adventurers as PDF or MOBI-format for Kindle by clicking below.

Yo-ho-ho – and a bottle of rum!

Treasure Island PDF

Treasure Island mobi

 

TO THE HESITATING PURCHASER
If sailor tales to sailor tunes,
Storm and adventure, heat and cold,
If schooners, islands, and maroons,
And buccaneers, and buried gold,
And all the old romance, retold
Exactly in the ancient way,
Can please, as me they pleased of old,
The wiser youngsters of today:
—So be it, and fall on! If not,
If studious youth no longer crave,
His ancient appetites forgot,
Kingston, or Ballantyne the brave,
Or Cooper of the wood and wave:
So be it, also! And may I
And all my pirates share the grave
Where these and their creations lie!

The Land of the White Elephant

The Land of the White Elephant with the subtitle Sight and Scenes in South-Eastern Asia a Personal Narrative of Travel and Adventure in Farther India is the accounts of Frank Vincent’s travels in 1871-1872 in India, Burma, Siam and Cochin-China. Vincent’s descriptions of the societies and people he meets are very personal and he goes into details about religion, politics, economy and daily life in every aspect. Here is a some of his thoughts and descriptions of the Burmese:

“The Burmese men are remarkably indolent; the women, however, are industrious, but it is because the men compel them to do all the household work, at least the heaviest and most irksome part of it, and they will even sit about a place where their wives arc at work, chatting and smoking, or else stretched upon the ground at full length asleep. If you give the native sufficient rice and ngapee to keep him just above the starving point, he will not work for Rs. 2 per diem; but take these articles of diet away, and he will cheer­fully work for eight annas (25 cts.) However, like their neighbours the Chinese, they make excellent carpenters and blacksmiths. Marriage among the Burmese is a most peculiar institution, and the ‘ mar­riage knot ’ is very easily undone. If two persons are tired of each other’s society, they dissolve partnership in the following simple and touching but conclusive manner: They respectively light two candles, and shut­ting up their hut, sit down and wait quietly until they are burned up. The one whose candle burns out first, gets up at once and leaves the house (and for ever), taking nothing but the clothes he or she may have on at the time; all else then becomes the property of the other.”

Download The Land of the White Elephant here (406 pages/19.5MB):

The Land of the White Elephant