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A sure bet for fans of Caroline Alexander's The Endurance, this captivating survey of England's exploration during the 19th century illuminates a host of forgotten personalities, principal among them John Barrow, Britain's Second Secretary of the Admiralty from 1816 to 1848. Though Barrow never achieved the historical fame of subordinates William Parry and James Ross, he was one of the most influential organizers behind the massive program of globe-trotting that allowed these men to make their names. When he suggested the conversion of idle naval ships into vessels for exploration, Barrow had two driving obsessions: to discover the fabled Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean and to chart the course of Africa's Niger River. Barrow was certain that the Northwest Passage existed and that the Niger eventually joined the Nile; if so, their mappings would have profound commercial ramifications. With the air of a dictator, Barrow dispatched officers and crews to the extremes of the world in order to prove the notions he thought to be true, becoming more irritated if the explorers reported evidence contrary to his liking than if they died in his service. Alongside tales of grueling endurance, gross incompetence, cannibalism, jealousy and dirty politics, the explorers themselves are wonderfully reconstructed through quotes from journals and correspondence. They include the stalwart John Franklin (more popularly known as the "Man Who Ate His Boots"), Gordon Laing ("The Madman of Timbuctoo") and a bilious captain named Belcher. Though many perished and Barrow was ultimately wrong about both of his assumptions, readers will enjoy Fergus's (a former writer and editor at Time-Life Books) clever chronicle of their exploits. 40,000 first printing. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

With no enemy to fight after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the British Navy was drastically reduced. Ships were laid up and crews discharged; thousands of officers lingered on the beach on half pay with nothing to do. John Barrow, second secretary of the Royal Navy, was also an enthusiastic supporter of travel and exploration and a writer for the geographical press. He had the brilliant idea of using some of the idle ships and men to explore the world, which in the early 19th century had not been adequately mapped. What was at the North Pole? Was there a Northwest Passage? What lay at the heart of Africa? From 1816 to 1857, Barrow organized 30 expeditions; many were unsuccessful, but they did fill in some blank areas of the globe. In his extensively researched effort, Fleming follows each exploring party. The result will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in true adventure; Fleming has saved John Barrow from undeserved neglect. For all public and academic libraries.Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

The literature of exploration flowered after the Napoleonic Wars as such British captains as Parry, Ross, and Franklin published their journals. Fleming has not only reshaped the material but also given it fine coherence by revolving the story of British exploration from 1815 to 1850 around the bureaucrat who directed it. For most of those years, John Barrow was in harness as second secretary of the Admiralty, deciding where expeditions would go and who would lead them. Fleming's fields of narrative are the Arctic, Antarctic, and Niger River, blank areas of the map to which Barrow sent a variety of outsize and often eccentric characters. Many of them merit a book (as has Franklin and his 1845 expedition's disappearance, in Iceblink by Scott Cookman ), so Fleming excels by fitting so much material into a vibrant volume that never flags. As to Barrow, Fleming rates him intelligent but churlish, more apt to question expenses than to praise discoveries. This well-conceived rendering of exploration epics will surely ride the high tide of interest in adventure. (Reviewed April 1, 2000)0871138042Gilbert Taylor From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.