Ten of the Best: Stories of Exploration and Adventure

Ten exciting stories feature famous explorers and their struggles to survive in frigid temperatures during dangerous polar expeditions. Stories include: the last expedition of John Franklin, Salomon August Andrée's attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon, Ernest Shackleton's journey to rescue his ice-locked crew, Riiser-Larsen and Amundsen's crash in the Arctic, and the crash of Umberto Nobile's airship Italia. Feature boxes and maps add additional details and help readers better understand the explorer's journey and the time period in which the expedition took place.

Ten exciting stories feature dangerous voyages of famous explorers traveling on the high seas in search of fame and fortune. Feature boxes and maps add additional details and help readers better understand the explorers' journey and the time period in which the expedition took place.

Readers will be amazed by ten exciting stories of miraculous survival and tragic events in the history of space exploration. Stories include: the near-fatal journey of Uri Gagarin, Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon, the breakdown of Apollo 13, the Russian Salyut 1 space station, the space shuttle Challenger disaster, fire on board the Mir space station, and the two successful flights of SpaceShipOne. Feature boxes add additional details and help readers better understand the dangers faced by the crew on these famous missions.

Ten exciting stories feature the hardships encountered by famous and sometimes brutal explorers in their quests to discover new lands. Stories include: Hernán Cortés and the Aztec rebellion, Francisco Pizarro's battle against the natives of Colombia, Lewis and Clark's expedition, David Livingstone's attack by lions in Africa, Marco Polo's travels in China, and Samuel de Champlain's fight against the Iroquois. Feature boxes and maps add additional details and help readers better understand the explorer's journey and the time period in which the expedition took place.

Ten exciting stories tell of the success and failures of many famous inventors and pilots in the quest for flight. Stories include: the first hot-air balloon to carry people, the Wright brothers and the first airplane, Charles Lindbergh's nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, Amelia Earhart's attempt at a round-the-world flight, breaking the sound barrier, and Felix Baumgartner's skydive from space. Feature boxes add additional details and simple maps help readers better understand the flight paths.

Ten exciting stories feature famous explorers and their dangerous jungle adventures. Stories include: Gonzalo Pizarro's search for the city of El Dorado, Mary Kingsley's fall into a pit of stakes, Percy Fawcett and the lost city of Z, Henry Walter Bates' adventure in the Amazon, and Captain Barth Blake's search for Inca gold in the Amazon. Simple maps and feature boxes add additional details and help readers better understand the time period in which the explorations took place.