Robins Books

LAND OF EAGLES - DVD

A one hour documentary film of the journey was made, with an introduction by Joanna Lumley.

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Hardback cover Modern Explorers

Paperback cover great journeys paperback book cover

THE MODERN EXPLORERS

Robin Hanbury-Tenison and Robert Twigger

Exploration has never been more popular and any idea that there is nowhere left to explore is instantly disproved by the contemporary explorers who are showcased here. Most of the accounts are written by the explorers themselves, and they all vividly describe challenging and extraordinary expeditions to some of the remotest parts of the world, in extremes of temperature and aridity, often alone and on the edge of danger.

The cast of contributors are drawn from all over the globe, including Australia, America, China, France, Britain, Norway and elsewhere, and both editors are well-known and experienced explorers. Their choice of men and women who have travelled from the frozen poles to the hottest deserts, mountain tops to the ocean depths, range from those who are very experienced and are already celebrated worldwide, such as RanulphFiennes, Pen Hadow, Chris Bonington, Tim Severin and Rebecca Stephensto those who are younger, and just starting to make their mark.

Their personal stories are thrilling accounts no one else could tell, providing a unique insight into what it is actually like to be on an expedition. Their adventures include being dragged through the rooftop of the rainforest canopy in an inflatable raft suspended by a balloon; walking across the fiercest, most inhospitable deserts with dwindling water supplies; inching up a sheer rock wall to conquer a summit no one has climbed before; standing on the edge of an erupting volcano, and pedalling a boat across the Pacific. All these men and women are driven by ambition, aspiration and passion, proving that the true spirit of exploration is alive and well.

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THE GREAT EXPLORERS

Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Robin Hanbury-Tenison, hailed by the Sunday Times as ‘the greatest explorer of the past twenty years’, leads an international team of distinguished writers who describe forty of the most interesting great explorers. These extraordinary men and women opened up our eyes to the amazing physical and natural wealth of our planet. Their biographies reveal not just the dogged ambition which drove them to go the extra distance, but also their other strengths and weaknesses, their greed, courage and individuality, and above all, their spirit of enquiry

Starting with the great era of oceanic exploration five hundred years ago, when Columbus reached the New World, the story moves to the land when the prospect of finding mythical cities of gold in America drew Cortes and Pizarro to commit many excesses there. Other explorers include complex characters like Richard Burton who was lionized for his achievements; David Livingstone who covered immense distances in Africa to convert the natives and to stop the slave trade; Wally Herbert arguably the greatest of all polar explorers; Gertrude Bell a fearless explorer who singlehandedly brought about the modern state of Iraq; and Yuri Gagarin, the first person to travel in space.

Expeditions are still important, because although the world is full of wonder and diversity, we are beginning to realise at the last dangerous moment, that there is still much we do not understand and so little time to get it right. As Robin Hanbury-Tenison claims, "the urgency to explore has never been greater"

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Hardback cover The SEVENTY GREAT JOURNEYS IN HISTORY Book cover

Paperback cover great journeys paperback book cover

THE SEVENTY GREAT JOURNEYS IN HISTORY

Robin Hanbury-Tenison

From the migrations out of Africa by our earliest ancestors to the latest voyages into space, an incredible team of historians, travellers and explorers brings to life seventy of humanity's most remarkable journeys.With hundreds of evocative photographs, paintings, illustrations and portraits, plus specially commissioned maps, this volume is for everyone who is fascinated by the stories and personalities of those who were there first, who explored the unexplored and who set out into the unknown, bringing alive the romance and sheer thrill of travel in a way no book has done before.

..takes the reader through the entire history of exploration: out of Africa to Mars, Jupiter and beyond ... this really is a fantastic book The Oldie
A lavish production ... what sets the book apart is the erudition and experience of it's fifty-two contributors The Times Literary Supplement
This latest, beautifully clear and well illustrated compilation of travel journeys is a credit to their editor and contributors ... learned, brave and inspiring Country Life
Astutely edited and richly illustrated The Daily Telegraph
The contributions to Robin Hanbury-Tenison's well-illustrated anthology are scholarly and well-chosen The Independent small>

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ECHOES OF A VANISHED WORLD

From the Introduction by Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat:

"…his images speak directly to us in a voice that is fresh and clear. There is nothing self-conscious or patronizing about his photographs, or his prose. Instead there is deep admiration, a sense of wonder, respect and a desire to share what he sees with a world that has grown increasingly out of touch with the things that really matter”. ”This stunning archive is not just a portal into a series of vanished places. It is not just a collection of stories, or even just a memoir of an era of exploration. It is a reminder of what we share, as human beings, with the rest of the world.”

Thanks to the genius of Graham Ovenden, some of my simple early photographs have been turned into works of art. For me, this has been a miracle, as I have never thought of myself primarily as a photographer. During my ridiculously extensive travels around the world, I have always concentrated on looking and learning and trying to understand. Indeed, in recent years I have often deliberately not taken a camera, since I found that the obsessive need to keep my eye glued to the viewfinder meant that I failed to observe what was happening, to listen to the sounds and absorb the atmosphere. The fact that I had a mass of images did not compensate me in retrospect for the loss of the experience. Nonetheless, back in those early days I often was in extraordinary places, which have now changed dramatically, and with people whose lives have been transformed, not always for the better, by modernity. I snapped away and I kept many of the negatives. Graham is kind enough to say that I have an eye for form and moment, but I want to make it crystal clear that 99% of any pleasure you may derive from these pictures comes from his extraordinary skill at making photographic silk purses out of amateur pig’s ears rather than from any small talent I may have exercised when, fortuitously, I was in the right place at the right moment

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BEAUTY FREELY GIVEN: A UNIVERSAL TRUTH

These objects were given to me on my many travels as gestures of friendship and simple generosity by remote tribal people during the 50s, 60s and 70s. The objects were made, worn, used by and, at times, precious to the giver. Having been given these beautiful things and enjoyed having them, I now want to give something back to those who made them. To this end they will be sold in aid of Survival International, so that the proceeds are used to support the descendants of the donors and help them retain their land and culture. This book has been published as a record and to document the objects.

I found the remote tribal people among whom I travelled in the fifties, sixties and seventies to be innately generous, so that they would insist on my accepting anything I admired. I would try to reciprocate with presents of my own, but that would often only result in even more beautiful objects being thrust upon me. These are mostly workaday goods, constructed for practical purposes but made with consummate skill so that they become artefacts of great beauty, even though they were usually expected to be discarded when their immediate use had passed. We, who are surrounded by essential consumer goods, can barely imagine life where everyone can make everything that is needed, and will make it beautiful at the same time. These are the skills which made us human beings, homo sapiens, wise people, cleverer than our ancestors or animals, and the wisdom lay in the beauty.

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THE OXFORD BOOK OF EXPLORATION

selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Selected by Robin Hanbury-Tenison this is a comprehensive anthology of the writings of explorers through the ages. These are the words of those who changed the world through their pioneering search for new lands, new peoples, and new experiences. The anthology does not aim to include every moment of discovery, but to give a flavour of the emotions and motives of those who took part in the major events of exploration. Divided into geographical sections, the book takes the reader: to Asia with Vasco da Gama, Edmund Hillary and Wilfrid Thesiger; to the Americas with Cortes, Frobisher and Cabot; to the Pacific with Drake, Banks, and Bougainville; to Africa with Burton, Livingstone and Stanley; and to the Poles with Peary, Amundsen and Scott.

The legendary explorers were those lucky and determined enough to discover something which changed the rest of the world's view of itself. Men like Marco Polo, Columbus, Magellan and Cook revealed previously unknown continents and cultures because they were prepared to go beyond what others saw as reasonable limits. All the explorers in this book share a fortitude and self-awareness which carried them through the severest hardships - cold, heat, illness, hunger or starvation. Their failures are often as illuminating as their successes, revealing what it was that drove them to go beyond the possible, and so merit the name - explorer.

Reviews
[An] enthralling archive. (The Times Summer Reading )
boasting a glorious cover this book offers thrills galore (The Independent )
Without doubt, this is still the best compendium of pioneer travellers' tales for any explorer's rucksack - and is likely to remain so for a long time to come. (TLS )

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MULU: THE RAIN FOREST

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

The Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Borneo, is one of the most remote and untouched regions of tropical rain forest left in the world. In 1977 Robin Hanbury-Tenison and a team of scientists began a study of this beautiful yet hazardous terrain - a dense virgin forest teeming with exotic new species and home to the nomadic Penan tribe. With its breathtaking network of caves, lush hidden valleys, and spectacular mountain range, Mulu proved to be one of the most valuable regions of natural beauty left in the world. Now the Mulu National Park remains virtually intact while the tragic destruction of the surrounding area stands as yet another example of the senseless exploitation of our planet. Mulu was the first popular book to bring to the world’s attention the significance of the rain forests to our fragile ecosystem. It is a timely reminder of our need to preserve them for the future. Named by the Sunday Times in 1982 as “the greatest explorer of the past 20 years”, Robin has been on over 24 expeditions, including as leader of the Royal Geographical Society’s largest expedition, taking 140 scientists to study the rainforests of Sarawak. He is a Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society and an International Fellow of the Explorers Club.

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WHITE HORSES OVER FRANCE

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

White Horses Over France tells the story of a magical journey – and how, in fulfilment of a personal dream, the first Camargue horses set foot on British soil in the late summer of 1984.

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FRAGILE EDEN

A Ride Through New Zealand

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Fragile Eden is the story of Robin and Louella Hanbury-Tenison’s exploration of New Zealand on horseback in 1988.

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CHINESE ADVENTURE

A Ride along the Great Wall

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison rode along the Great Wall of China with his wife. In the course of their journey they saw a China and its people that few foreigners have ever seen.

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SPANISH PILGRIMAGE

A Canter to St James

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Spanish Pilgrimage is the delightful story of Robin and Louella Hanbury-Tenison’s journey to Santiago de Compostela in 1989.

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WORLDS WITHIN

Reflections in the Sand

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

The author made the first land crossing of South America at its widest point, led twenty-four expeditions, lived with a host of exotic tribes and was awarded the Patron’s Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society. Hanbury-Tenison is one of the few remaining British explorers who know all the wild corners of the world. Yet something sets him apart from those who often label themselves explorers. When he wasn’t in a jungle, Robin Hanbury-Tenison was turning his hand to helping others. He helped found Survival International to support tribal people worldwide, then created the Countryside Alliance. Few men have lived such a life. Fewer still have written such a book. At an age when most men would be content to rest on their laurels, restless Robin set off to cross the Sahara Desert on a camel. Accompanied by the legendary Tuareg tribesmen, the author wanted to journey not just into the silence of the great desert, but back to the roots of his own soul. This book is full of the adventure you would expect from such a man of action. However, it is also filled with the type of rare knowledge that was revealed to other desert travellers like Lawrence, Doughty and Thesiger. For Robin’s journey across the lonely sands freed him to write like he never has before about his life, his loves, and his travels. The Times was right to describe Hanbury-Tenison as a great explorer. Join him now as he rides across the vast Sahara and travels within.

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WORLDS APART

An Explorer's Life

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

"To have followed a dream and seen it become a reality, to have achieved more than I knew I had in me has meant more to me than the comfort and security of a conventional life.” Robin Hanbury-Tenison’s life has been one of extremes. From the peace of his Cornish farm, he has ventured out again and again into some of the most remote and dangerous regions on earth. Recounted in his best-selling books, his adventures in the deserts and jungles of Africa, South America and the Far East are exciting, hair-raising and sometimes hilarious. But in addition to his intrepid adventures, Robin’s affinity with, and concern for, threatened tribal peoples led him to help found Survival International — and it is this intensifying battle to preserve the quality of life under threat from developers and machines that infuses his autobiography with a passion and conviction that makes it impossible to put down. Named by the Sunday Times in 1982 as “the greatest explorer of the past 20 years”, Robin has been on over 24 expeditions, including as leader of the Royal Geographical Society’s largest expedition, taking 140 scientists to study the rainforests of Sarawak. He is a Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society and an International Fellow of the Explorers Club.

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A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL

For the Indians of Brazil

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

This book describes the author’s visit to Brazil to check whether the recommendations by the International Red Cross for the improvement of the Amazonian Indians’ lot had been implemented by the Brazilian Government.

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A PATTERN OF PEOPLES

A Journey among the Tribes of the outer Indonesian Islands

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Although the world’s distances have shrunk before the speed of modern-day travel, there are still a surprising number of isolated people and places. Among these are the tribes of the Outer Islands of Indonesia—Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes…

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THE ROUGH AND THE SMOOTH

The story of two journeys across South America

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

This is the incredible story of two journeys in South America. Neither journey had been attempted before — both were considered impossible!

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JAKE'S ESCAPE

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

When a fishing trip goes wrong, twelve year old Jake finds himself alone and lost in the Amazon rainforest. Flesh-eating piranhas, infected wounds and attacks from vicious jungle creatures are the least of his worries - how is he going to escape?

COMING SOON

JAKE'S SAFARI

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Jake's on the adventure of a lifetime, under a blazing African sun. Jake's staying at a Samburu village when some of their cattle are stolen by rustlers. A chase ensues and they need to keep all their wits about them as they face the culprits, the elements and the animals of the wide-open African plains. Then, when Jake becomes separated from the rest of the tribe, he finds himself involved in a new, and even more frightening battle... for his own survival...

COMING SOON

JAKE'S TREASURE

written by Robin Hanbury-Tenison

Jake's on a mission. His granny has told him many stories of his grandad who was a plantation manager in India, during the way. He had risked his life to save a sacred treasure from the encroaching Japanese army. Now Jake finds himself in India, walking in his grandfather's footsteps and determined to right the wrongs of the past and return the lost treasure - no matter what the dangers that might lie in his path...

COMING SOON