Books in The World's Great Explorers series

To say that Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was determined is like saying the sun is warm. La Salle made his way from Eastern Canada to the Great Lakes. Then he traveled by canoe down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. This vast territory was dense unexplored wilderness, controlled by the fierce and powerful Iroquois. To make the merely daunting nearly impossible, La Salle was on his own. His King, Louis X1V, would provide neither protection, men nor money. Through one setback after another, La Salle kept on going. His men deserted him; he walked a thousand miles, in the middle of the brutal Canadian winter, back to Montreal and organized a new expedition. The Iroquois threatened; he brought together rival tribes, and speaking in their own language, united them into an alliance against the Iroquois. La Salle's ship sunk with a fortune in furs meant to finance his expedition. Again, he walked back to Montreal and found new financial support. Part adventure, part biography, Despite All Obstacles is the fascinating story of this obstinate and courageous man who had dreams as large as the continent and a will to match those dreams.

"This engaging book follows the travels of French mapmaker and navigator Samuel de Champlain as he mapped out the St. Lawrence River and the North American Coast. Historical information and high-interest fact boxes are presented in an entertaining tabloid style. Topics include what first led Samuel de Champlain to the New World, his role as the Father of New France and the St. Lawrence River, accurate mapmaking, establishing trade networks, and the legacy of Champlain."--

The explorer who discovered his own humanity. In 1528, the conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca escaped a hostile reception in Florida only to be shipwrecked off the coast of Texas. For the next eight years, he lived among the native tribes of the Southwest while he journeyed towards the safety of the Spanish settlements in Mexico. He and three companions survived starvation, sickness and slavery thanks to the generosity of native peoples along the way. When Cabeza de Vaca finally reached the Spanish, he was a changed man and led the struggle against the feudal-like exploitation of the New World populations. Stuart Waldman tells the fascinating story of two journeys: one covering 2,500 miles through unexplored territory, the other the transformation of a man's heart. Excerpts from Cabeza de Vaca's journals make the reader's immersion into this mystifying world complete. The gatefold map allows the reader to follow the journey while reading.

Did Leif Eriksson, a Viking explorer, travel from Greenland to modern day Canada in the 11th century, beating Christopher Columbus by nearly 400 years? Leif Eriksson was a Norse explorer who was probably the first European to land in North America. According to stories from the time, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, which has been tentatively identified as L'Anse aux Meadows, a Norse site on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Follow along as author Cheryl L. DeFires tells the story of the Vikings and their legendary leader, Leif Eriksson.