When investigative reporter Nellie Bly approached her editor in 1889, he was not excited about the idea at all. But, in the end, she did travel around the world.

On her adventure, she met Jules Verne – whose story had inspired her – and many, many others. The result is this book.

The endeavor became an international story almost overnight, and Nellie, whose real name was Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, became a celebrity herself.

Her travel around the world in a record-setting 72 days is the most remembered of her feats today, but she was a pioneer in several other fields, too. For instance, Bly practically invented investigative journalism, when she lived undercover in a mental institution and uncovered horrible conditions to the public.

Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is not only a testament to the will of an extraordinary person, who became a role model for girls around the world. It is also very well written and entertaining indeed.

Download Around the World in Seventy Two Days as PDF for free here:

Nellie-bly-Around-the-World-in-Seventy-Two-Days-pdf

Captain Roald Amundsen did not fool around, but based his conquest of the South Pole on defining an elegant and simple plan – and sticking with it.

On December 14. 1911, the efforts were rewarded, when Amundsen and his four companions planted the Norwegian flag on the Pole, five weeks before the ill-fated British expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott.

In The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian expedition in the Fram, 1910–12 (Volumes I and II) he tells the whole story. The book is written in a dry, understated humoristic tone and clinically cleansed from any kind of self-praise. This makes for a very satisfying read.

Originally, everyone – even Amundsens crew! – believed that they were going for the North Pole. But as the rival Americans Cook and Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1909, Amundsen set his sights on the South Pole instead. He kept his plans secret, though, and when his intentions were revealed, it caused international outrage. But Amundsen was on his way and did not care the slightest bit.

The Norwegian expedition used the same ship, The Fram, as Fridtjof Nansen in his attempt to reach the North Pole more than a decade earlier, and Nansen himself wrote the introduction to this extraordinary book:

“When the explorer comes home victorious, everyone goes out to cheer him. We are all proud of his achievement—proud on behalf of the nation and of humanity. We think it is a new feather in our cap, and one we have come by cheaply. How many of those who join in the cheering were there when the expedition was fitting out, when it was short of bare necessities, when support and assistance were most urgently wanted? Was there then any race to be first? At such a time the leader has usually found himself almost alone; too often he has had to confess that his greatest difficulties were those he had to overcome at home before he could set sail. So it was with Columbus, and so it has been with many since his time. So it was, too, with Roald Amundsen.”

Download the entire The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian expedition in the Fram, 1910–12 Vol I + II (986 pages / 55 MB) here:

The South Pole Roald Amundsen

This book is one of the best stories about polar exploration, and it is beautifully illustrated with maps, drawings, and photos all the way through.

Internationally, Nansen is known as the father of modern polar exploration and for reaching a record Northern latitude during his “Fram”-expedition (1893-96). But while crossing Greenland for the first time, he tried out many of his techniques for real. At the same time, he completed the first major goal of Polar exploration.

His innovations and ideas were widely used by many later Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. During his life, Fridtjof Nansen took many roles upon himself; as explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. In 1922, Nansen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Download the entire book (460 pages / 24,9 MB) here:

 The First Crossing of Greenland

“The Worst Journey in The World” tells the whole story and then some. It is widely praised as one of the best, most frank (and chilling!) books about polar exploration in the early 20th century.

In this epic memoir, Apsley Cherry-Garrard of Scott’s Terra Nova expedition, tells about the expedition, about its fate – and about the disastrous planning, the extreme suffering and sheer bad luck that was also part of the story.

The title of the book – The Worst Journey in The World – would seem a fitting description for the Terra Nova-expedition. But it actually refers to a sub-quest to recover eggs of the emperor penguin for scientific study. Here, Cherry-Garrard participated on a journey across the Ross Ice Shelf in complete darkness and in temperatures below −40 °C. But the eggs were retrieved, and the small expedition returned – barely – alive.

Make a (hot!) cup of tea, get a warm blanket and download the entire book with plenty of maps and illustrations here:

The Worst Journey In The World (760 pages / 23 MB)

Finally, the delegation reached their destination and met the great Kublai Khan himself. The journey was never meant to last more than a few years, but extended into a 25-year long adventure, where Marco became a trusted advisor and servant to the Khan.

Marco Polo was the first Westerner to visit the far East. He described in detail the intricate workings of mighty China and traveled far and wide as a trusted envoy of the Khan. Amongst many other places, he visited and described Burma, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The Travels of Marco Polo the Venetian tells the complete story of Marco Polos life, his meeting with the eastern cultures – and how he succeeded in returning home at last.

Download the free e-book here in full length (477 pages/31MB) :

The Travels of Marco Polo

Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence was based in Jordan as a member of the British Forces and helped organize, carry out and sometimes even lead attacks on the Ottoman forces from Aqaba in the south to Damascus in the north.

His dramatic adventures during the war earned him international fame and became the basis of the 1962 epic historical drama “Lawrence of Arabia” where the role of Lawrence was played by Sir Peter O’Toole; the movie won seven Oscars!

After the war, T.E. Lawrence wrote and translated several books, corresponded with writers, artists, and politicians while working as an ordinary aircraftsman for the Royal Air Force, where he participated in the development of rescue motorboats.

Unfortunately, Lawrence did not live to see old age, as he was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident at the age of 46.

Download Seven Pillars of Wisdom as a PDF for free here (63,6 MB):

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

In 1921, Aidan de Brune packed his backpack and walked around the entire continent of Australia by the coastline. We are (almost) sure he is the only person who ever did that. Even more impressive, he did it all alone and without assistance.

The amazing adventure was documented by himself along the way as he wrote articles about it for the Australian newspaper Daily Mail along the route.

The walk took about two and a half year, and the accomplishment made Aidan de Brune famous. This book about the walk is written by Colin Choat, who kindly allowed us to post the book here.

Download ‘The Amateur Tramp’ here:

The Amateur Tramp

The author was a most unorthodox representative of Great Britain in Arabia – and for quite some time also the only British representative there.

He was the first Westerner who traversed Arabia from East to West, held a deep respect for the Arabian culture and learned himself Arabic. In time, he even adopted the Muslim faith and became close friends with and advisor to Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

At the same time, however, Philby remained British to the core and maintained his British home. He was a remarkable adventurer, a man of the world, and a mapmaker extraordinaire. He was also in some ways a driven man, who often saw the world in black and white.

Harry St John Philby is mostly forgotten today or – if remembered – it is as the father of the infamous Soviet spy, Kim Philby. That is actually quite sad, as Philby Sr. is a much more interesting character, and his book is well worth reading.

It is a large file, primarily due to the many illustrations and the 814 pages. So make some coffee while downloading or have patience a minute or two 🙂

Download The Heart of Arabia – A Record of Travel & Exploration Vol I+II (67,2 MB / 814 pages)

 The Heart of Arabia vol I+II

Climber and WW1-veteran George Mallory coined the iconic explanation, and Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance is the epic recount of the 1921-expedition where he participated along with A. F. R. Wollaston and Charles Howard-Bury.

Sadly, Mallory died on an Everest-expedition three years later, but he might – or might not – have been the first on top of Everest. That is a fascinating story in itself, which you can read much more about in this really great story in National Geographic.

The goal of the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition was to explore how it might be possible to get to the vicinity of Mount Everest and to discover possible routes for ascending the mountain.

The mission was a success, as it secured valuable knowledge for future expeditions. For instance, by determining that a good route might be to approach the East Rongbuk glacier via the Rongbuk glacier and then follow the North Col route to the summit.

Download the free PDF e-book here:

Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921

“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.

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

20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne