Samuel Butler (1835–1902) became famous with his satirical Utopian novel Erewhon, based on his experiences as a sheep farmer in New Zealand and published, initially anonymously, in 1872. This earlier book, published in London in 1863 while he was still abroad, is a compilation of his letters home. Having obtained a degree in Classics from Cambridge, Butler had left England in 1859 with genero…
This book discusses the political and economic history and geography of Georgia, the problems it has faced, and how it has overcome and is still overcoming them. In most countries, at the end of the 20th century the successful resolution of social-economic, political, demographic and ecological problems was largely dependent on effectively protecting the population and economic assets from natu…
This book explores the relations between the EU and the BRICS in the areas of politics, economic development, trade and security. The contributions cover topics such as the position of the EU and BRICS in the global order and the EU as a "normative power," as well as the evolution, characteristics and institutionalization of BRICS and the roles of its member countries Brazil, Russia, India, Chi…
The English geographer and hydrographer Alexander George Findlay (1812–75) had observed that navigators of his time had to consult a considerable number of documents to gather the information they needed to sail the Pacific Ocean safely. Not only was this highly impractical, it also exposed seafarers to conflicting information that could lead to their demise. First published in 1851, this two…
Captain Frederick Marryat (1792–1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this un…
Captain Frederick Marryat (1792–1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this un…
Captain Frederick Marryat (1792–1848) was a distinguished naval officer, today best remembered as a novelist (particularly of stories for children), often drawing on his own experiences. He also edited a radical journal, and wrote non-fiction, including an attack on press-gangs, which damaged his career. He spent 1837 and 1838 travelling in North America, publishing his impressions in this un…
Orientalist and colonial administrator John Crawfurd (1783–1868) published this work in 1856. He went to Calcutta as an assistant surgeon in the East India Company, then moved into administration, accompanying political missions to Java, Bali and Celebes, and heading missions to Siam, Vietnam and Burma. Retiring to England in 1828, Crawfurd became a Fellow of the Royal Society and President o…
Rear-Admiral James Burney (1750–1821), brother of the novelist Fanny Burney and son of the musicologist Dr Charles Burney, is best known for his five-volume compilation of voyages in the Pacific Ocean (also reissued in this series). He began his maritime career at the age of ten, as a captain's servant. Five years later he became a naval officer, and from 1772 to 1780 served on Cook's second …
This short work, featuring a number of attractive engravings, traces an abortive expedition to the Canadian Arctic. George Francis Lyon (1795–1832), naval officer and explorer, had accompanied William Parry on a previous expedition in search of the North-West Passage. In 1824 Lyon was instructed to return to Repulse Bay and to explore the mainland. Unfavourable weather conditions forced Lyon …