Young Folk's Heroes of History

Author: George Makepeace Towle
Publisher: Lee and Shepard, Boston
Dates: 1906–1881

The Heroes of History series by George Makepeace Towle bears some similarities to Frederick Ober's Heroes of American Exploration Series. Both include volumes on Pizarro, Magellan, and Raleigh. Of the two series, Towle's is more slightly more accessible, but both series are excellent. Also, Towle does not limit himself to heroes of American Exploration. His books on Marco Polo and Vasco da Gama introduce the less well known European explorers of Asia.

Travels and Adventures of Marco Polo   by George Towle
This fascinating account of the life of Marco Polo follows him on his long journey to the east with his father and uncle and recounts all of his adventures at the court of Kublai Khan. Over 20 years after leaving Vienna, the Polo's returned home and at first were not recognized. Soon after his return home Polo was taken as a prisoner of war, and began writing his famous stories of the east while in prison. 79 credits


Voyages and Adventures of Vasco da Gama   by George Towle
Vasco da Gama was the first European to sail around the cape of Africa to establish direct trade routes. The story of his initial journey sees him overcome tremendous hardships, including mutiny, disease, and treacherous Moorish traders, jealous of his designs. His story is no less interesting or significant than that of Columbus, and in his own age, he was just as famous and more successful politically than Columbus.92 credits


Voyages and Adventures of Magellan   by George Towle
The story of Magellan's voyage around the world is one of almost uninterrupted adventure and peril. His men faced harrowing hardships, storms, mutiny, disease, starvation, sunstroke, shipwreck, cowardice and desertion, treachery, savage warfare, and vicious national jealousies. Yet at great cost they prevailed over all obstacles and after three year's one of Magellan's ships returned to Spain with only 18 of the 250 who set forth. This book follows one of the greatest adventure stories of all time and introduces dozens of fascinating indigenous peoples the Spanish encountered in their voyages. 85 credits


Drake: The Sea King of Devon   by George Towle
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Voyages and Adventures of Raleigh   by George Towle
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Adventures and Conquests of Pizarro   by George Towle
Francisco Pizarro is generally held to be one of the most villainous of the Spanish conquistadors, but the full story of the conquest of Peru is of great interest. This book follows his adventures from an impoverished swine-herd of Spain to the most powerful governor in the new world. Pizarro became obsessed with the idea of conquering the Peruvian empire as a soldier under Balboa, and for almost twenty years worked tirelessly explore the region and raise resources for his invasion. The story of his adventures and conquests is filled with terrible hardships, enormous obstacles, astonishing bravery, vile treachery, murderous revenge, and hair-raising battles. 102 credits