Explains how the voyages of Columbus, Cabot, Ponce De Leon, and other European explorers to the American continents were the result of mistakes, accidents, and misses and discusses the explorers' cruel treatment of native peoples.

"An irresistible blend of history, myth, and misadventure, A Voyage Long and Strange captures the wonder and drama of first contact. Vikings, conquistadors, French voyageurs--these and many others roamed an unknown continent in quest of grapes, gold, converts, even a cure for syphilis. Though most failed, their remarkable exploits left an enduring mark on the land and people encountered by late-arriving English settlers."--From publisher description....

Alaska is a land of extremes: the biggest, coldest, windiest, and wildest. Its climate and land forms are shaped by two oceans, the moving Earth, and frozen polar air. Through it flows the Yukon River, perhaps the last untamed river in North America. Beautiful photography modified with computer images show how populations and natural forces have changed the land. Intimate portraits show the spirit of the people native to Alaska, and those who came...

Combining in-depth research with an adventurer's spirit to present a radical rethinking and new revelations relating to the Beringia theory of how humans discovered, explored, and settled the American continent.

Renowned paleontologist Kirk Johnson embarks on an epic adventure through time at the polar extremes of the planet. Following a trail of fossils found in all the wrong places - beech trees in Antarctica, redwoods and hippo-like mammals in the Arctic - NOVA uncovers the bizarre history of the poles, from miles-thick ice sheets to warm polar forests teeming with life.

Discusses the sixteenth-century exploration of California's coast, including the adventures of such Spanish explorers as Cortes, Juan Rodri?guez Cabrillo, and Sebastia?n Vizcai?no, as well as Englishman Sir Francis Drake.