The Atlas of Great Journeys

Philip Steele is a leading writer of children's non-fiction books. He was born in Surrey, graduated from University College Durham and worked in London publishing houses. He then freelanced as a project manager, publishing consultant and author. He has written a wide range of books for Wayland, Watts, Dorling Kindersley, Kingfisher/Macmillan, Walker Books and many other publishers worldwide. History, biography, lands and peoples, the natural world, current affairs and social issues all feature prominently in his backlist. Philip has backpacked around Africa, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. For many years he has been settled very happily amidst the mountains, beaches and green fields of North Wales. His wife (as a teacher) and his teenage daughter (as a secondary school pupil) are ideally suited to cast a critical eye over his work!

• The Old World - Some of the bravest explorers forged routes from Europe to Asia, and from China to Africa. Read the stories of Marco Polo, Zheng He and Ibn Battutah.
• Into Africa - Follow the routes of Hatshepsut, Heinrich Barth and David Livingstone across Africa.
• Exploring Europe - Follow the voyages of the Ancient Phoenicians and St Paul of Tarsus, and explore the Grand Tour of Europe by William Beckford.
• The Arctic Circle - Read about the incredible bravery and hardship of polar explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Peary, and Wally Herbert.
• Atlantic Crossings - The dangerous sea-voyages across the Atlantic by Leif Eriksson and Christopher Columbus, and the first air flight by Alcock and Brown.
• The New World - How North and Central America were mapped and colonised by Hernando de Soto, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and Lewis and Clark with Sacagawea.
• Central and South America - The voyages of exploration to the vast continent of South America by Alexander von Humboldt, Francisco De Orellana, and Charles Darwin.
• Across Oceania - How Australia and New Zealand were explored by the Abel Tasman, Burke and Wills and James Cook.
• Challenge of the Antarctic - How the South Pole was explored by Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton.
• Global Explorers - The men and women who travelled around the world, including Magellan, Sir Francis Drake by sea and Wiley Post by air.