Rating: **** 4 stars

Anita Ganeri and Andrea Mills,
Atlas of Exploration
Dorling Kindersley.

Book + CD
Non-Fiction

Ages 10-14

A sumptuous package, lavishly illustrated, with spiral binding and an interactive CD-ROM tucked inside the cover. The book traces the history of exploration, from traders in the ancient world to Arab travellers, from the epic journeys made by Polynesians to voyages of discovery to outer space. The quest for spices, gold and new lands was the driving force behind explorers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Pizarro, while later pioneers like Cook, Darwin and Burton set out to chart new territories or discover new species. Acetate overlays enable you to see how maps have changed or to look inside the cross section of a ship. The blend of photographs, prints and computer-generated art-work makes for a rich and colourful panorama, with exotic images of journeys through the Amazonian rainforest of South America for example or across the frozen wastes of the Antarctic. The 96-page extent allows for the inclusion of detail on individual explorers such as the story of Henry Hudson, abandoned and left to die with his son and seven sailors by a mutinous crew. The book includes the exploration of the oceans and of space as well as a brief history of navigation. Today's explorers are the scientists and conservationists who are studying changing habitats and threats to climate in the hope of preserving the Earth for future generations.

Sue Unstead