Explore!: The most dangerous journeys of all time - Softcover

Deborah Kespert is a children’s book author. She has written many books for children including Genius! and Space Academy.

Kespert uses the timeless allure of danger to entice readers in this dynamic anthology of some of history’s greatest journeys of discovery. Twenty expeditions are described using high-interest text and plenty of visual primary source material, including period photographs, images of artifacts, and printed ephemera. Each tale also includes a discussion of the major dangers that the pioneers faced and lists of supplies that they took with them, and is punctuated with survival tips, such as how to avoid frostbite, communicate underwater, and build a jungle shelter. Both the expected and the obscure are mentioned, from Columbus and Lewis and Clark, to Cousteau, the age of exploration, and the space age, along the way encompassing almost every type of frontier. Engaging and exhaustive, this book is a fine interdisciplinary resource, including fundamental lessons in geography, history, and science. Even better, it propounds a vividly imagined lesson on experiencing fear and acting in spite of it. Grades 4-8. --Erin Anderson