Accidental Explorers

"Extraordinary Explorers" is a three-volume set that documents the lives and deeds of well-known explorers as well as some of the travellers and explorers who do not appear in traditional history books.

Each book focuses on one extraordinary aspect of exploration. "Accidental Explorers" describes explorers who set out to look for one thing but found something else entirely, or who made marvellous discoveries by accident or sheer luck.

Jebediah Smith, who pioneered the overland crossing to California, John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland, Jacques Cartier's voyages to Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence, Frobisher's discovery of Frobisher Bay, and Henry Morton Stanley, the newspaperman who explored central Africa, are just a few examples.