The years 1800-1940 were the heyday of the independent explorer—free-spirited, mostly European adventurers who took incredible risks in pursuit of discovery and fame.

Some lit out for the mysterious city of Timbuktu, others the source of the Nile River, or the elusive Northwest Passage over Canada, or the fabled lost cities of Latin America, or the North or South Poles—quests that obsessed nineteenth-century explorers and hardly matter today. They were a special breed of traveller: courageous and determined, gluttons for punishment, frequently self-financed, and often horrendously misinformed and ill-prepared. While a lucky few returned home in glory, far more starved or froze or succumbed to cannibalism or died of malaria or dysentery or at the hands of angry locals or wild beasts or were simply never heard from again.

In equal parts eye-opening, shocking, and hilarious, Out There is a totally original account of their extraordinary exploits.

Peter Rowe is a Canadian filmmaker and author specializing in themes of history and exploration. He is the producer of the 49-part television series Angry Planet, which airs on streaming and television networks around the world. His book, Music vs The Man was published in 2020.

Peter Rowe's profile page

"An adventurer in his own right, Rowe catalogues a few excursions similar to those of his predecessors. That overland trail through the Sahara that took the Brit Hugh Clapperton to Lake Chad? Rowe traversed it. Charles Francis Hall’s dogsled trip across Baffin Island in search of the Northwest Passage? Rowe mushed it. Ultimately, bona fide and armchair exploration enthusiasts alike will enjoy this balanced and zippy account of adventure and discovery." —David Venn, Literary Review of Canada

“It was a time when fame and fortune could be quickly won or lost, a time of heavy competition, scrambling to be first to the far reaches of almost anywhere, a time of jealousy and accusation, a time of lunacy and lies where life took second place to conquest; to having your name on a passage, a lost city, a mountain, or a river. These are compelling episodes of arrogance, ignorance, courage, and passion. There is treachery, tragedy and desperation, incredible endurance, self-sacrifice, and very rarely—triumph! Peter Rowe tells his stories with clarity and humour. See if you can put this book down.” - Keith Ross Leckie, author of Coppermine

“If you're looking for a book that will have you snorting out your coffee, Out There is for you. Honestly, I don't know if I should be impressed or terrified by what these explorers accomplished.” - Richard Wiese, president emeritus of The Explorers Club and host of Born to Explore

"Who better to write about the batshit antics of explorers than one whose own batshittery includes climbing twenty-two volcanoes? This Rowe mentions in one of many asides from his own adventurous life. His ability to get inside his subjects and present them as they really were is fascinating. I couldn’t put it down. - Jason Schoonover,Adventurous Dreams, Adventurous Lives.

"From Timbuktu to Mary Shelley, from India and Africa to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne, Peter Rowe has served up a page-turning delight. Each story is infused with his wit and humor. I loved it!” - Christopher Heard, author of The Suite Life

“The epic explorations in this book are outrageously colorful, bizarrely improbable, and terrifyingly, shockingly real. And who knew there were women—more than one might think— who set out to explore the unexplored? Out There is crazy interesting. Peter Rowe is authentic. You will love this book. - Phillippa Baran,Toller Cranston: The Ice, the Paint, and the Passion

“For anyone who grew up reading about the textbook versions of the world’s great—invariably male and British—explorers, Peter Rowe’s riveting Out There: The Batshit Antics of the World’s Great Explorers is a jaw-dropping revelation. The word “great” seldom shows up. “Crazy” and “disastrous” are most commonly used to describe the madness—and uselessness—of the expeditions that set out to discover everything and anything from the existence of Timbuktu (it does) to the source of the Nile River (usually wrong) to the search for the Northwest Passage (never really found) to the quest for the North and South Poles (hardly ever achieved). A rip-roaring yarn.” - Ron Base, Death at the Savoy, The Sanibel Sunset Detective Mysteries