Great Discoveries Amazing Adventures

Great Discoveries & Amazing Adventures will inform, entertain, and absorb the whole family. Containing stunning illustrations and providing fascinating insights into amazing discoveries and their worldwide impact, it is a fresh take on a wide range of subjects-from the discovery of Machu Picchu, a hidden Inca city in the Andes mountains, to the unearthing of the remains of China's Terra-Cotta Army, long buried since the 200s B.C. The book is divided into four chapters: Nature's marvels (such as the coelacanth, a living fossil from the sea); Earth's riches (such as the diamond mines in Kimberley, South Africa); Lost wonders (such as the ancient cave paintings in Lascaux, France); and Hoaxes and frauds. This final chapter looks at the ways in which people's hunger for discovery can take an unusual twist, for example when experts are deceived by a hoax or when new research sheds surprising light on a familiar object. Great Discoveries & Amazing Adventures is introduced by a foreword from explorer and scientist Dr. Robert Ballard (National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence), and a feature spread is dedicated to some of his discoveries. Book jacket.