Peter Lauridsen's Vitus Bering: the Discoverer of Bering Strait is a concise yet authoritative historical study of the Danish navigator whose Russian-sponsored expeditions transformed European knowledge of the North Pacific. Combining biography, maritime history, and documentary reconstruction, the book traces Bering's movement from obscure naval officer to leader of the Kamchatka expeditions, situating his achievement within the age of imperial science, cartography, and Arctic exploration...

Russian Explorations, 1725-1743Vitus Bering: The Discoverer of Bering StraitThis edition features• illustrations• a linked Table of Contents, Footnotes, and IndexCONTENTSLieut. Schwatka's IntroductionTranslator's PrefaceAuthor's PrefacePART I.BERING'S FIRST EXPEDITION.Chapter I.Russia and England in the work of Arctic exploration.—Vitus Bering's rank as an explorerChapter II.Bering's nativit...