Wandering Women

My Journey to Lhasa by Alexandra David-Neel

An exemplary travelogue of danger and achievement by the Frenchwoman Madame Alexandra David - Neel of her 1923 expedition to Tibet, the fifth in her series of Asian travels, and her personal recounting of her journey to Lhasa, Tibet's forbidden city. In order to penetrate Tibet and reach Lhasa, she used her fluency of Tibetan dialects and culture, disguised herself as a beggar with...

The Fun Of It by Amelia Earhart

The first woman to solo across the Atlantic recalls her youth, early encounters with flying, career as a pilot, and feminine pioneers in aviation.

The Lycian Shore by Freya Stark

Lycia, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, is an ancient land steeped in mystery, myth, and legend. Figured prominently throughout history and literature, Lycia is known as home to the fiery chimera; heartland of worship for the goddess Leto; old ally of Troy; lure to conquering Cyrus and Alexander; and irresistible destination for centuries of travelers, artists, and writers. Part...

The Desert and the Sown by Gertrude Bell

Current events in the Middle East have revived interest in the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Bell, "the female Lawrence of Arabia." A skilled archeologist, historian, and linguist, Bell wrote captivating, perceptive accounts of her Eastern travels.

The Cruelest Journey by Kira Salak

Salak is a young woman with a history of seeking impossible challenges. She grew up relishing the exploits of the great Scottish explorer Mungo Park and set herself the daunting goal of retracing his fatal journey down West Africa's Niger river for 600 miles to Timbuktu. In so doing she became the first person to travel alone from Mali's Old Segou to "the golden city of the Middle...

Turkish Embassy Letters by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Montagu was described by a contemporary as "one of the most extraordinary shining characters in the world." Her letters, collected here, tell of her travels through Europe to Turkey in 1716, where her husband had been appointed Ambassador. Her liveliness makes them delightfully readable, and her singular intelligence provides us with insights that were exceptional for their time. Her...

Find Where The Wind Goes by Mae Jemison

As a young girl, Jemison knew she wanted to travel to space‹and she refused to be discouraged. Through a lifelong dedication to her dream, she eventually made history when she blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. Smart, and full of life, her anecdotal account is inspiring and entertaining.

Congo and the Cameroons by Mary Kingsley

Paddling through mangrove swamps, fending off crocodiles, climbing Mount Cameroon, Kingsley is both admirable and funny. "Great Journeys" allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries - but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with...

The Woman Who Mapped Labrador by Mina Hubbard

In 1905 Mina Benson Hubbard became the first white woman to cross Labrador, completing the expedition that had led to her husband's death. The Woman Who Mapped Labrador makes available for the first time the unguarded and personal diary that was the basis for her famous book, A Woman's Way Through Unknown Labrador. Three specialists have combined their expertise to enhance the...

Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

Bly's journal of being institutionalized for 10 days. An expose of how the "insane" were treated.