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Scientific Exploration and Expeditions (gnv64)
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Scientific Exploration and Exp

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Feb 15, 2013
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Scientific Exploration and Expeditions: From the Age of Discovery to the Twenty-first Century
by Neil A. Hamilton
M E Sharpe Reference | August 2010 | ISBN-10: 0765680769 | PDF | 320 pages | 11.3 mb

Hamilton's 115 entries in this set describe the courses and discoveries of significant scientific expeditions from the early 15th century to mid 2009. Chapters range in content from ΓÇ£Discovery, Age ofΓÇ¥ to ΓÇ£Maps and Mapmaking.ΓÇ¥ Along with describing the accomplishments of, for example, Charles Darwin, Neil Armstrong, and Heinrich Schliemann, the author discusses the work of the Leakey family, the lesser-known journeys of explorers such as Mary Kingsley and Mexican-American botanist Ynes Mexia, and the spectacular if sometimes stuntlike adventures of Richard Francis Burton, Thor Heyerdahl, and Robert Ballard. Each chapter opens with a time line and closes with a brief further-reading list. Many also feature a relevant side essay, ΓÇ£seeΓÇ¥ references, and one or more small, muddy black-and-white prints or photos. The prose is as staid as the book design, but aside from occasional slips (such as a bald claim that Burton ΓÇ£discovers Lake TanganyikaΓÇ¥), the presentations are systematic, carefully detailed, not exclusively Eurocentric, and when appropriate, skeptical. The currency of information and focus on science will make this work particularly useful alongside such broader but more dated resources as Peggy Saari and Daniel B. Baker's multivolume Explorers and Discoverers from Alexander the Great to Sally Ride
Although many geographic expeditions and explorations were designed to increase the sphere of influence of a particular nation, the participants often included doctors, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and others who were able to observe and collect scientific data. These alphabetically arranged volumes contain 56 entries for explorers (Darwin, Charles; Perry, Robert E.); expeditions (Lewis and Clark expedition; Space exploration, manned); locations (Arctic, Pacific explorations); institutions (International Geophysical Year, National Geographic Society); and similar topics. The goal is ΓÇ£to provide an embarkation point for a wide-ranging investigation into the history of scientific exploration from the Age of Discovery to the twenty-first century.ΓÇ¥ Each entry begins with a chronology and may include photos, maps, and illustrations as well as a list of recommended resources and see also references. A list of sidebars explaining specific topics (for example, ΓÇ£Building the Kon-TikiΓÇ¥ in the entry about Thor Heyerdahl) is included at the beginning of volume 1, along with a table of contents and a topic finder. A glossary, bibliography, and index are found at the end of the second volume. Although many general researchers will find this information helpful, the set will be most useful for students in high school. Recommended for school and public libraries.