The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions [Paperback]

A fascinating new work of narrative nonfiction, this history of America is told through the stories of a diverse cast of ten extraordinaryand often overlookedadventurers, from Sacagawea to Matthew Henson to Sally Ride, who pushed the boundaries of discovery and determined our national destiny.

Brilliantly imaginative, beautifully written. David Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of?Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

A considerable undertaking. & [Bellows's]?keen sense of story and her appreciation of her individual subjects tell us much that is new, and vividly. Wall Street Journal

The archetype of the American explorer, a rugged white man, has dominated our popular culture and the story of US history since the late eighteenth century, when Daniel Boones autobiography captivated readers with tales of treacherous journeys. But our commonly held ideas about the American frontier do not tell the whole storyfar from it.

The Explorers?rediscovers a diverse group of Americans central to the story of westward expansion who went to the frontier and beyond, traversing the farthest reaches of the globe and even penetrating outer space in their endeavor to find the unknown. This compelling collection of historical biographies reveals how many escaped from lives circumscribed by racism, sexism, poverty, and discrimination as they took on great risk in unfamiliar territory. Born into slavery, James Beckwourth found freedom as a mountain man and became one of the great entrepreneurs of Gold Rush California. In a powerful story from Black history, Matthew Henson, the son of African American sharecroppers, left rural Maryland behind to seek the North Pole. Women like Harriet Chalmers Adams ascended Peruvian mountains to gain geographic knowledge while pioneering women explorers like Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride shattered glass ceilings by pushing the limits of flight.

In?The Explorers,?readers will travel across the vast Great Plail£q