Marco Polo, Ferdinand Magellan, David Livingstone, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong: these are some of the greatest travelers of all time. This book chronicles their stories and many more, describing epic journeys of discovery from the extraordinary migrations that began from Africa by our earliest ancestors to the latest space missions. In ancient times, we follow Alexander the Great to India and Hannibal crossing the Alps. During medieval times, we walk with Genghis Khan and Ibn Battuta. In the Renaissance, Columbus reaches America and the circumnavigation of the world is recorded. The following centuries saw gaps in world maps filled by Tasman, Bering, and Cook, while journeys with scientific purposes were made, most famously by von Humboldt and Darwin. In modern times, the last inaccessible edges of the earth were explored – including both poles and the highest peak in the world – and new territories conquered. With extraordinary photographs, paintings, and portraits, The Great Travel Stories in History reveals the stories of the pioneers who explored the unknown, bringing to life the romance and transformative joy of travel.