German Baron Karl von Drais first introduced the two-wheeled tandem human-powered wooden-framed vehicle to the world, in the summer of 1817, its rider gamely steering with the front wheel while pushing along with his feet. After that history is rather vague about the bicycle. We know that the mechanically powered velocipede took off in the 1860s, soon followed by the Penny Farthing, but it wasn't until the late nineteenth century that the golden age of bicycles took off as...

On 4 March 1824, thirty philanthropic gentlemen – including the abolitionist William Wilberforce and Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Manners-Sutton – met in a London pub. Here, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was born.In the following 200 years, the RNLI has been woven into the fabric of our island nation, saving over 144,000 lives, despite some rescuers losing their own in the process. With over 100 fascinating images from Mirrorpix, one of the world's bi...

The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and outlived both. Among the last to see Scott alive, Crean was in the search party that found the frozen body. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series tells the true story of his journey sailing alone across the Atlantic Ocean.Stuart Woods had never owned more than a dinghy before setting out on one of the world’s most demanding sea voyages, navigating single-handedly across the Atlantic. How, at the age of thirty-seven, did this self-proclaimed novice go from small ponds to the big sea?Now with a new afterword that looks bac...

Join famous polar explorers Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, and others as you go inside the 5 legendary 1912 expeditions that led to the discovery of Antarctica.“The South Pole discovered,” trumpeted the front page of The Daily Chronicle on March 8, 1912, marking Roald Amundsen’s triumph over the tragic Robert Scott. Yet behind all the headlines there was a much bigger story. Antarctica was awash with expeditions. In 1912, 5 separate teams represen...

Yachting Yarns is great news for lovers of all things nautical. This captivating book with its fascinating sea stories is a must for anyone with maritime interests.It traces the history of 10 South Australian sailing vessels, each from its construction through its life journey and is interspersed with humorous anecdotes. To promote the remarkable achievments of South Australian sailors, author Judith Roinich has researched the sailing careers of a variety of local sailing ...

In 1968, the Sunday Times organised the Golden Globe race - an incredible test of endurance never before attempted - a round the world yacht race that must be completed single-handed and non-stop, going into port for repairs or supplies would mean disqualification.This remarkable challenge inspired the daring to enter - with or without sailing experience. A Race Too Far is the story of how the race unfolded, and how it became a tragedy for many involved.Of...

EIGHTY YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, the legend of Ernest Shackleton and the extraordinary story of the Endurance South Pole expedition still hold a compelling grip on the public imagination. Trapped in drifting polar pack ice, Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival against all the odds. When the Endurance was finally crushed, they were stranded on ice-floes for more than a year before reaching Elephant Island in April 1916. From there Shackleton and his five men emb...

Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition is the story of Ernest Shackleton's epic journey toward the South Pole. Lacking funds and plagued by hunger, cruel weather, and unpredictable terrain, Shackleton and his party accomplished some of the most remarkable feats in the history of exploration. Not only were members of the expedition the first to climb the active volcano Mount Erebus and the first to reach the South Magnetic Pole, but Shackleton himself led a party of four that trudged hu...

Scott, Shackleton and Mawson were the three great explorers of the Edwardian age. Now Beau Riffenburgh tells the forgotten story of Douglas Mawson and his death-defying expedition of 1911-14. A key member of Ernest Shackleton's famous Nimrod Expedition, Mawson led his own Australasian Antarctic Expedition. However, following the tragic deaths of the other members of his sledging party, he was left to struggle the hundreds of miles back to base alone, only to find that the relief ship had s...

'The inventions, the innovations, the stories, the surprises. A combination of history, reference and entertainment – something for every seafarer and many others too.' - Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.People have been sailing for thousands of years, but we've come some distance from longboats and clippers. How did we arrive here?In fifty tales of inventors and innovations, Sails, Skippers and Sextants looks at the history ...

Through the eyes of the men involved, Meredith Hooper recounts one of the greatest tales of adventure and endurance, which has often been overshadowed by the tragedy that befell Scott.??Their tents were torn, their food was nearly finished, and the ship had failed to pick up the members of Scott's Northern Party as planned. Gale–force winds blew, bitter with the cold of approaching winter. Stranded and desperate, Lieutenant Victor Campbell and his five companions faced disaster. Th...