A history of the compass describes its pivotal role in early shipping, relating how its development over the course of hundreds of years was marked by thousands of shipwrecks and the disastrous fates of sailors who misused it.
Profiles three explorers, U.S. Navy officer Charles Wilkes, French explorer Dumont d'Urville, and Royal Navy captain James Clark Ross, and discusses how their expeditions to the Antarctic helped pave the way for future explorers.
