Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration

While this is mostly a good book with a very broad sweep I have several disagreements with some of the conclusions of the author. Three to be exact. First, he dismisses Sir Francis Drake as an insignificant explorer. While I recognize Drake's primary historical importance lies outside of his explorations, he did discover Drake's Straight and explored the west coast of North America and left invaluable information about the Native Peoples of northern California. Secondly, the Lewis and Clark Expedition he judges a failure. Despite their mapping of the Missouri River, their cataloging of over 170 species of plants and animals and their numerous contacts (mostly friendly) with many Native peoples and for some of them little else is known as they would be wiped out within a few years by smallpox or war. Third, he would prefer that we not spend the few billions of dollars every year on Space Exploration when we could more usefully use that money for better purposes. I for one would rather we didn't spend so much money on weapons in the world - which is several orders of magnitude higher than what is spent to explore the solar system. In all you will gain something from this book. And I do not have to agree with any author 100% and don't expect them to share all my opinions. Only saying that these 3 things were very glaring issues that I at least have about this book. Very well written and still recommended.

I think for once, I had found a World History book which would take me from beginning to end. I wasn’t disappointed but to absorb all of the knowledge, without prejudice, is beyond my comprehension. At times I found myself wanting more knowledge while other times, I was look to having a chapter end.It’s a worthwhile read, long, but how do you make world history short?

For my son for school.

Great history book. There is definitely a bias toward the European history of exploration, but the reasons for that are fairly apparent and addressed in the book.

This book's strength is its encapsulation of a wide swath of human migration into concise segments and sufficient historical reference. The author largely avoids the in-the-weeds details of each major exploration and colonial settlement. Reviewers criticize the author's abbreviated and unsourced assertions. There are some courageous dismissals of widely held conventional wisdoms. But there are also some clearly Spanish biases shining through: See the curt rejection of the late 16th century British maritime prowess as that of a barbarian nation, particularly in its defeat of the Spanish armada; See the avoidance of detailing Spanish atrocities in the exploration of South America; See no mention of the formal closure of Spain's colonial era in the late 19th Century with the Spanish-American war.Most irritating is the author's tone in the final segment of the book, where he broadly swipes at late-19th/early-20th century explorations as mere "glory-seeking." Some of those expeditions, while fruitless and ego-driven, set the foundations for subsequent engineering, scientific, transport and commercial developments that propelled human civilization to greater advancements and quality of life.

The book presented many interesting views on why exploration happened as it did, geography, sea currents, wind and weather patterns, advancing technology, and human traits. It opened new ways of looking at exploration for me. The problem with this book is the lack of clear maps. The maps in the book are vague, hard to read, and require the reader to know ancient names of places referred to in the text. The book is worthwhile, but I recommend that the reader have an atlas on hand.

As the title indicates this volume is about the Explorers of the World!! I feel it is presumptuous of me to write a review of this book. I intend to greatly enjoy it! A global history that spans recorded and unrecorded time is an expansive undertaking!After reading Menzie's "1421" I have become enthralled with the history of navigation and the resultant exploration. So much has been learned and lost and learned all over again. In this is a comprehensive tome covering exploration by land and sea of the eternity we have a record of these efforts. The style is erudite and entertaining. For people who enjoy reading and following the many paths of discovery of our world.

Interesting look at the globalization of the world.

I'm taking a star away from my first review that I did when I hadn't finished reading it. I agree with another review that there aren't enough maps in the book and those that are in the book are not really clarifying the subject. I kept an atlas beside me to get a better picture of what the author was trying to say.Further along in the book, the atlas wasn't the only thing I had beside me. My mother tongue is not English (it's Dutch), but I've been reading English books almost exclusively for over 10 years. I can't remember the last time I had to use a dictionary. While I was reading this book, I had to use it several times per page and even then, some sentences were just too poetic to allow for a smooth reading and they rarely added meaning to the overall picture. I suspect that this book doesn't read smoothely even for those who are natively speaking English.No complaints about the delivery or state of the second-hand book, though.

Prompt delivery and I love it.

This was an excellent historical book about the European age of exploration. What motbated the explorers, what was their thought process, thwir environment etc. The author does not deify the explorers nor does he say that the events were inevitable.A very good critical look at the age of exploration. Highly recommended.

One cannot praise enough this book for its clarity and profoundity, when the author unravels the paths pursued by humanity in exploring the world and other cultures.Armesto's fine intuitions and great storitelling make this book a true masterpiece.

I love this book. I cannot say this enough. I had to buy it for my history class, but it's a book I read for fun - even chapters I'm not required to read. Well written, a flowing style, and a little touch of snarky attitude from the author makes this book exceedingly entertaining.