Bücher der Reihe Cambridge Library Collection - North American History

Volume 1 of this 1846 work contains an account of the voyage to Newfoundland of Sir Richard Levinge (1811-84), army officer and sportsman, and his experiences on the eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States, conveying the dangers and attractions of the area for the traveller and hunter.

The American Romantic artist George Catlin (1796-1872) travelled widely during the 1830s, documenting the vanishing cultures of the Native Americans. In 1841 he published this two-volume account of his experiences, including over 300 drawings of people, artifacts, and animals. Volume 1 focuses on the Crow, Blackfeet and Mandan peoples.

James Silk Buckingham (1786-1855), traveller and writer, left for North America in 1837 and spent nearly four years there. He visited every state except Florida and Arkansas, recounting his experiences in this three-volume work, published in 1841. Volume 1 focuses on his time in New York, Washington and Baltimore.

The Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806 to the west coast of America was commissioned by President Jefferson to survey the newly acquired territory of Louisiana. Their mapping of the Missouri river and establishment of relations with native tribes were of vital importance to the westward settlement of America.

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was a British writer and scholar. In 1834 Martineau embarked on a two year tour of America. Written as a travel book, these volumes contain vivid descriptions of America with insights into the construction of American society. Volume 1 covers New York to Washington D.C.

Each of the 119 landscape engravings in this two-volume book is accompanied by a short essay. The authors' intention is to bring to the reader at home the sensations of travel which 'those whose lot is domestic and retired' would never be in a position to experience for themselves.

Conway's two-volume biography of revolutionary author Thomas Paine (1737-1809) did much to inspire a reassessment of Paine's importance in the 'age of revolutions'. Paine's political pamphlets influenced the American Declaration of Independence, and he was later a member of the French Convention, voting against the execution of Louis XVI.

First published in 1811, and here reissued in its 'corrected and improved' second edition (1814), John Lambert's Travels is packed with fascinating descriptions and lively anecdotes. Volume 1 describes Newfoundland and Quebec, the French, British and Native American communities, trade, religion, and exotic foods including maple sugar and 'stinking cheese'.

Captain Basil Hall (1788-1844) was a Scottish seaman and travel writer. These volumes, first published in 1829, contain his detailed and controversial account of his journey across America and Canada between 1827 and 1828, providing a fascinating description of contemporary social conditions and political tensions in North America.

Laudatory and disparaging, detailed and generalizing, describing political centers and societal margins, Grattan's 1859 work vividly illustrates nineteenth-century America. Sharing eyewitness accounts and moral reflections, Volume 1 describes his first impressions of the antebellum United States, life in New England, and issues ranging from political parties to domestic servants.

In 1834-5 the English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780-1866) travelled from the East Coast of the US to the Arkansas territory. Published in 1844, this two-volume travelogue vividly records the landscape, natural history and society of the southern slave states. Volume 1 covers Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a journalist before he became a novelist. His travel writings have all the energy and urgency of journalism, and these two controversial volumes, drawn from his experiences on a six-month tour of the United States between January and June 1842, are no exception.

Several years after his return from the Caribbean island of Nevis, the English clergyman William Smith wrote a series of letters to Charles Mason, the Woodwardian Professor of Fossils at Cambridge. Published in 1745, they discuss the island's flora and fauna as well as Smith's various other interests, including cryptography.

This work by Randolph B. Marcy (1812-87) is reissued here in the 1863 edition, edited with notes by the British explorer Richard Burton. Based on Marcy's own experiences, it covers the practical steps necessary to enable the emigrant to the American west to be self-reliant and to survive.

The writer Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-85) campaigned strongly for Native American rights. Her popular novel Ramona (1884) emerged out of her passionate seeking of justice for these persecuted peoples. This 1881 publication introduces seven major tribes, their land claims, and the history of broken treaties and massacres they had suffered.

This early study of Native American culture was first published in 1775. James Adair (fl.1735-75), a trader who worked for many years among the Catawba, Cherokee, Muscogee, Chickasaw and Choctaw, presents extensive ethnographic information on these peoples, along with accounts of his activity in trading, politics and warfare.

Conway's 1904 Autobiography is a fascinating account of the life and work of an American proponent of anti-slavery, free religion, social reform and women's suffrage. Depicting the age and its foremost thinkers, it features the author's friendships with such figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Carlyle.

Frances Trollope presents an engaging account of her visit to the United States during 1827-1831 in this two-volume travelogue. Published in 1832, it records her often outspoken views on many aspects of nineteenth-century American society. The immediacy of her impressions will arouse the curiosity of readers today.

Published in 1852, this chronicle of pioneer life in Canada is notable for its unsentimental and frank account. In contrast to similar works of the time, it emphasises not only the triumphs but also the tribulations as the author's family begin new lives as immigrants and farmers.

Naval officer Thomas Southey (1777-1838) was the younger brother of Robert Southey, Romantic poet and historian, to whom this three-volume work is dedicated. Published in 1827, it covers the period from Columbus to 1816, drawing on extensive reading as well as Southey's own experiences while stationed in the Caribbean.

In 1839 the British writer James Silk Buckingham travelled through the southern USA to investigate the practice of slavery. This two-volume work, published in 1842, describes his findings within the framework of a travel narrative. It covers a wide variety of industries as well as economic, social and political debates.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) is best known as an outstanding statesman and leader. First published in 1874, this three-volume work was compiled entirely from Franklin's own writings. Volume 1 contains Franklin's autobiography (to 1857), and also recounts his experiments with lightning conductors and his examination before the House of Commons.

Howard Stansbury (1806-63) was a major in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. This book, published in 1852, is his illustrated account of a two-year scientific and surveying expedition he led to Salt Lake City. He also describes his favourable impressions of the Mormons he encountered there.

Scottish-born journalist Alexander Mackay (1808-52) spent much of his career in North America. In 1846-7 he visited the United States again. This three-volume work, published in 1849, recounts his experiences and describes America's vibrant society and prosperous economy. Volume 1 focuses on New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the third United States President (1801-9) and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. First published in 1853, Volume 1 of a nine-volume edition of his writings includes his autobiography and letters written up to and during his 1784-9 mission to Europe.

Here reissued in its 1819 second edition, this 1818 book by the political reformer William Cobbett (1763-1835) describes a year he spent farming on Long Island after fleeing England. Analysing the climate, soil, crops and economics, Cobbett disputes claims that the mid-West is an ideal destination for British emigrants.

Published before the outcome of the conflict was known, this account of the American Revolution by the Abbe Raynal (1713-69) was first published in English in 1781. It is taken from the last volume of his influential Philosophy and Political History of the East and West Indies.

Finnish-Swedish botanist Peter Kalm (1716-79) forged important scientific links between his country and England and North America through his extensive travels in and notes about the latter, which were translated into English via German and published in three volumes in 1770-1.