Pitcairn Islands Study Center

Special Recommendation

All who are of adventurous bent, whose hearts burn to know more about the origins of distant lands - their discovery and their discoverers - all such will not be satisfied short of having in their possession the massive Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800, recently published by Hordern House, Australia’s internationally renowned bookshop located in Potts Point, Sydney.

This 1168-page, handsomely bound comprehensive guide, fifteen years in the making by researcher, scholar, traveller Raymond John Howgego includes articles with bibliographies of all the principals of The Bounty Saga, but its scope is far greater than that single adventure. As its publishers rightly state, it is destined to become the standard work of reference for the history of world exploration, travel and colonisation.

The volume’s hefty $295 (Australian dollars) price, plus delivery, will daunt a few who are faint of heart, but it is a small price to pay for having a truly definitive work in hand. In what five other lower-priced volumes might one find 1.2 million words in 1200 pages containing 2327 major articles generating an index totalling more than 7500 names of persons or ships mentioned in the text? In this outstanding work one finds 4000 cross-references between articles and nearly 20,000 biographical citations accompanying the articles.

The Encyclopedia of Exploration is unlike any other guide by virtue of its combination of historical, biographical and bibliographical data. As it comes into the hands of researchers, students, historians, collectors, librarians and an armada of armchair adventurers this grand work will forever be their the first and best choice in learning.