Off the Map: Tales of Endurance and Exploration

By: Fergus Fleming

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Synopsis: “A fine and lively collection of exploration stories” from the author of Barrow’s Boys (Kirkus Reviews). On John Franklin’s 1820 expedition to find the Northwest Passage, Michel Teroahaute cannibalized two team members and was preparing a third when he was caught and killed. When Rene La Salle set off for the Mississippi Delta in 1684, he missed the target by five hundred miles, but on landing, immediately built a prison for those who fell asleep on watch. Consummate storyteller Fergus Fleming brings together these and forty-three other gripping stories spanning three ages of exploration in Off the Map. Off the Map recounts episodes both classic and forgotten: The “classics” are brought to life in more vivid colors than ever before; the lesser-known stories offer accounts of extraordinary feats that have long lain hidden. From the Renaissance golden age of Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan, to the twentieth-century heroics of polar explorers such as Peary, Scott, and Amundsen, this is an unforgettable journey into the annals of adventure. “A first-rate one-volume . . . introduction to many hair-raising stories of exploration.” —The New York Times “Each story is short, punchy, and crammed with facts . . . Fleming possesses an eye for wry detail.” —Adventure “There isn’t a dud in the lot . . . Adventure reading of a high order: brisk, fresh and full of color.” —Kirkus Reviews