Book Review

Georgina Hunter-Jones

Joanna Vesty is herself an explorer, although she doesn't dwell upon it in her book, and has, amongst other things, flown from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in a Robinson R44, on her honeymoon. However this is a book about fifty other explorers and is, as she says herself, an eclectic and personal choice; some are household names, others less well known and some probably are getting their first taste of publicity in her book.

Amongst these fifty, many are polar explorers, some discover the secrets of the sea or other parts of the earth, including Everest and the rainforest, or the meaning of life and eight are pilots, exploring the air. These eight cross the spectrum of the craft. We have Svetlana Savitskaya, Buzz Aldin and F. Story Musgrave going into space, Bertrand Piccard, Steve Fossett and Sir Richard Branson as balloonists (clearly many of these people have other talents but here she is concentrating on their exploration) Mary Ellis delivering aircraft in the Second World War and Steve Brookes, Joanna's husband, flying a helicopter to both poles.

Mary Ellis, we discover, is the antithesis of the modern day celebrity seeker, a quiet gentle woman who simply loved flying...