Tim Severin, explorer, traveler, author, filmmaker, and lecturer, made his first expedition while he was still a student at Oxford: following the route of Marco Polo on a motorcycle. He has also re-created the journeys of Ulysses, Jason and the Argonauts, Sinbad, and Hsu Fu (which required sailing across the Pacific on a bamboo raft). He lives in Ireland. Jon Krakauer is the author of Into Thin Air, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and Into the Wild. His work has appeared in many magazines, including Outside, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. He chose the books in the Modern Library Exploration series for their literary merit and historical significance--and because he found them such a pleasure to read.