Explorers’ Sketchbooks

The Art of Discovery & Adventure

Antarctic adventurer Ernest Shackleton believed “it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown,” and few of us with a pulse would disagree. But Shackleton was living at a time when satellite phones didn’t exist and search planes weren’t available to airdrop Chinese takeout if supplies ran low. Shackleton was fully prepared to die in Antarctica, and several of the world’s top explorers over the past four hundred years did die cruel deaths in the wilderness. But what they left behind—journals and sketchbooks—changed our understanding of the universe. This staggeringly beautiful project showcases photographs of sketches and notes from seventy prominent explorers, eleven of them women. The accompanying essays, by Kari Herbert and Huw Lewis-Jones, two of the UK’s top nature/exploration writers, slide the bar even further towards publishing perfection.

Reviewed by Matt Sutherland

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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