This is a lot of fun. Mr Lyons presents a range of expeditions from throughout history and talks about how they achieved something that could not be achieved today: a journey into unknown lands. It’s a hoot. The explorers are presented as bold and visionary but Lyons also presents their shortcomings and how they were unprepared. He’s often sympathetic to his subjects - it’s only his footnotes that betray a modern sensibility - and describes their ambitions honestly, giving them credit where it is due but not pulling the rug out from under them unless they truly deserve it.