Imagine that everything you know is wrong. In Cairo, after uncovering evidence he believes will alter humanitys perception of its own history, an eminent university professor is viciously murdered. In another part of the Egyptian capital, a determined police inspector will stop at nothing to find the murderer. In Toronto, one of the worlds leading ancient-astronaut proponents receives a startling message to decode a mysterious set of coordinates. In another part of Ontario, a young, self-e...

Roving has always been, and still is, my ruling passion, the joy of my heart, the very sunshine of my existence. In childhood, in boyhood, and in man’s estate, I have been a rover; not a mere rambler among the woody glens and upon the hill-tops of my own native land, but an enthusiastic rover throughout the length and breadth of the wide wide world. It was a wild, black night of howling storm, the night in which I was born on the foaming bosom of the broad Atlantic Ocean. My father was a s...

The Ocean and Its Wonders by Robert Michael Ballantyne is a captivating blend of exploration, natural history, and adventure that brings the vast marine world vividly to life. Written in the engaging style of nineteenth-century educational fiction, the book invites readers to discover the mysteries, beauty, and power of the sea through vivid storytelling and careful observation. Across its narrative, the book explores the extraordinary diversity of marine life, from the smallest creatures ...

The Battery and the Boiler by Robert Michael Ballantyne is a thrilling adventure tale that combines maritime danger, engineering ingenuity, and high-stakes exploration. Written in the classic tradition of nineteenth-century adventure fiction, the novel captures the excitement of innovation at sea alongside the perils faced by those who venture into unpredictable waters. The story follows a group of resourceful characters whose lives become intertwined with emerging technologies and the cha...

One fine autumn evening, between eight and nine hundred years ago, two large hairy creatures, bearing some resemblance to polar bears, might have been seen creeping slowly, and with much caution, toward the summit of a ridge that formed a spur to one of the ice-clad mountains of Greenland. The creatures went on all-fours. They had long bodies, short legs, shorter tails, and large round heads. Having gained the top of the ridge they peeped over and beheld a hamlet nestled at the foot of a f...

Dethroned by Fire and Water—A Tale of the Southern Hemisphere. The Open Boat. Early one morning, in the year 18 hundred and something, the great Southern Ocean was in one of its calmest moods, insomuch that the cloudlets in the blue vault above were reflected with almost perfect fidelity in the blue hemisphere below, and it was barely possible to discern the dividing-line between water and sky. The only objects within the circle of the horizon that presented the appearance of solidity were...

A Hero who rose from the Ranks. More than a hundred years ago, there lived a man who dwelt in a mud cottage in the county of York; his name was Cook. He was a poor, honest labourer—a farm servant. This man was the father of that James Cook who lived to be a captain in the British Navy, and who, before he was killed, became one of the best and greatest navigators that ever spread his sails to the breeze and crossed the stormy sea. Captain Cook was a true hero. His name is known throughout t...

This edition includes the following editor's introduction:Robert Michael Ballantyne, the Scottish master of the adventure genre for young peopleOriginally published in 1856, "The Young Fur Traders" is one of Scottish author Robert Michael Ballantyne's earliest and most recognized adventure novels. Many of the protagonist's exploits are taken from Ballantyne's own actual experiences during his time with the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada."The Y...

What the Ocean has to Say—Its Whispers—Its Thunders—Its Secrets. There is a voice in the waters of the great sea. It calls to man continually. Sometimes it thunders in the tempest, when the waves leap high and strong and the wild winds shriek and roar, as if to force our attention. Sometimes it whispers in the calm, and comes rippling on the shingly beach in a still, small voice, as if to solicit our regard. But whether that voice of ocean comes in crashing billows or in gentle murmurs, it...

Some of the "dramatis personæ" introduced—Retrospective glances—Causes of future effects—Our hero's early life at sea—A pirate—A terrible fight and its consequences—Buzzby's helm lashed amidships—A whaling-cruise begun. Nobody ever caught John Buzzby asleep by any chance whatever. No weasel was ever half so sensitive on that point as he was. Wherever he happened to be (and in the course of his adventurous life he had been to nearly all parts of the known world) he was the first awake in th...

The backwoods settlement – Crusoe's parentage, and early history – The agonizing pains and sorrows of his puppyhood, and other interesting matters.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.