The Wonder Book of Travelers' Tales by H. C. Adams, illustrated by Hendrik Willem Van Loon.
Written by H. C. Adams. Introduction and illustration by Hendrik Willem Van Loon. Black & Gold Edition, Sept 1942. Liveright Publishing Corp, New York.
The Wonder Book of Travelers' Tales is a compilation of classic stories of exploration and discovery, wondrous and frightening creatures, magic and mystery. Sinbad, Ulysses, and Marco Polo, dragons and krakens, El Dorado and Atlantis.
Why should we still read these old stories? Imagination! As illustrator Hendrik Willem Van Loon writes in the introduction, first published in the 1936 edition:
"I was born in the year in which this book was originally written. Within that short space of time, more things have been invented, explored, discovered, conceived, imagined and investigated than during all of the hundreds of thousands of previous years of man's residence upon this rather second-rate planet. Which is entirely as it should be. For invention is born out of doubt and it is doubt...rather than truth, that will set us free. For the truth, once we have achieved it...is apt to make us too dogmatic, too sure of ourselves, for any further usefulness."
CONTENTS
Ancient Travelers
Medieval Travelers
Strange Quests
Strange Lands
Modern Travelers
Strange Customs
Strange Men-Monsters
Strange Beasts
Strange Birds
Strange Fishes
Strange Reptiles
Strange Insects
Strange Plants
Hendrik Willem Van Loon (1882 - 1944) was a journalist, historian, and children's book author, and illustrated most of his own books. He won the first Newbery Medal, awarded in 1922 to The Story of Mankind. He is also well-remembered for Our Battle, Being One Man's Answer to "My Battle" by Adolf Hitler, which he wrote in 1938 after being banned from Germany and was well-regarded by President Roosevelt.
Condition*: Fine. Lacks dust jacket.
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