The reader of my "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan," may remember that the researches of Mr. Catherwood and myself in the last-mentioned country were abruptly terminated by the illness of the former. During our short sojourn in Yucatan, we received vague, but, at the same time, reliable intelligence of the existence of numerous and extensive cities, desolate and in ruins which induced us to believe that the country presented a greater field for antiquarian resea...

On the evening of the —— February, 1835, by a bright starlight, after a short ramble among the Ionian Islands, I sailed from Zante in a beautiful cutter of about forty tons for Padras. My companions were Doctor W., an old and valued friend from New-York, who was going to Greece merely to visit the Episcopal missionary school at Athens, and a young Scotchman, who had travelled with me through Italy, and was going farther, like myself, he knew not exactly why. There was hardly a breath of ai...

In 1839, President Martin Van Buren sent John Lloyd Stephens as Special Ambassador to Central America.What he found was a state of civil war, but what he found on the ground would change our view of Central American civilization forever.Although his political mission was doomed from the beginning, Stephens spent the next two years exploring the wild jungles and wilderness of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, visiting and recording ancient Mayan sites.Many of these Maya...

The year is 1838. The scene is the dense Honduran forest along the Copán River. Two men, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, are about to rediscover Mayan civilization. Their guide, slashing through the rampant growth with his machete, leads them to a structure with steps up the side, shaped like a pyramid. Next they see a stone column, fourteen feet high, sculptured on the front with a portrait of a man, “solemn, stern and well fitted to excite terror,” covered on the sides with...

Innocents Abroad presents itself as an ordinary travel book. It is based on an actual event, in a retired Civil War ship (the USS Quaker City). The excursion upon which the book is based was billed as a Holy Land expedition, with numerous stops along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as a train excursion from Marseilles, France to Paris for the 1867 Paris Exhibition, and a side trip through the Black Sea to Odessa, all before the ultimate pilgrimage to the Holy Land.Twain ...

In "Alexander the Great," Jacob Abbott deftly chronicles the life and conquests of one of history's most renowned military leaders. With a narrative that is both accessible and engaging, Abbott employs a vivid literary style that combines meticulous historical detail with storytelling flair. Set against the backdrop of ancient Macedonia and the Persian Empire, this biographical account captures not only the epic battles and strategic brilliance of Alexander but also delves into his complex...

Of all the beautiful women of history, none has left us such convincing proofs of her charms as Cleopatra, for the tide of Rome's destiny, and, therefore, that of the world, turned aside because of her beauty. Julius Caesar, whose legions trampled the conquered world from Canopus to the Thames, capitulated to her, and Mark Antony threw a fleet, an empire and his own honor to the winds to follow her to his destruction.

The frank and revealing memoirs of James Lowry, a young surgeon in Nelson's Mediterranean fleet 1797 to 1804.This is his hand-written journal, never intended for publication, describing his rugged life afloat and fascinating (often erotic) adventures ashore.As one reviewer wrote, it is a "fantastic primary [historical] source and is full of firsthand accounts of several conflicts in His Majesty's Navy." While he describes "details of battles hitherto unknow...

The whole contents of the book are in all respects new. That is to say, there is nothing in it that we were acquainted with before. What we here read of Friso, Adel, and Askar differs entirely from what is related by our own chroniclers, or rather presents it in quite another light. For instance, they all relate that Friso came from India, and that thus the Frisians were of Indian descent; and yet they add that Friso was a German, and belonged to a Persian race which Herodotus called Germa...

This file includes: The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, Astoria, Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, Old Christmas, and Oliver Goldsmith. According to Wikipedia: "Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 November 28, 1859) was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works i...