Exploration (Discovering the Earth) (repost)

This new seven-volume "Discovering the Earth" set examines the efforts made by scientists in the fields of environment, environmental protection, and environmental science. Covering a broad range of topics - including the Earth sciences, atmosphere, oceans, ecology, animals, plants, and exploration - the books in this comprehensive set provide a panorama of brief accounts of particular discoveries and the people who made them.

These stories explain the problems that were solved, the ways they were approached, and, in some cases, the dead ends that scientists sometimes reached. Ideal for high school and college students and particularly valuable to students of environmental studies, ecology, biology, geography, geology, and the humanities, the books in the "Discovering the Earth" set shed light on the way the scientific aspect of Western culture has developed. Written in clear language and requiring no mathematical knowledge, these helpful books feature sidebars where necessary to explain a particular concept as well as full-color photographs, tables, charts, and further resources.

This new, full-color book begins with a narration of the earliest seagoing ships and the vehicles that transported diplomats, warriors, and merchants around the Mediterranean region and later around the world. It explores the Vikings who terrorized Western Europe and colonized Greenland as well as the swift outrigger vessels that sailed from Asia to the islands of the Pacific. This accessible resource describes the development of navigational instruments to help on long journeys out of sight of land—including the sextant and compass—and explains how to calculate latitude and longitude.

Chapters include:
Down to the Sea in Ships
Crossing the World
Trading by Desert and by Sea
The Art of Navigation
The Wanderers
The Arctic
The Southern Land
The Deserted Places
Other Worlds
Why We Explore.