Something Lost Behind the Ranges: The Autobiography of John Blashford-Snell

by JohnBlashford-Snell (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1994

  $3.45

  John Blashford-Snell spent his World War II childhood experimenting with chemicals, discovering mines and leading a life of mischief. It was a natural progression to enter Sandhurst, where he learned the nuts and bolts of leadership - he already had the flair and personality. Three great expeditions - interspersed with stints in Northern Ireland and the MOD - were to dominate the next 15 years. In the first he led a team of scientists and servicemen down the Blue Nile through unmapped and unknown territory, encountering rapids, fierce natives and 15-foot crocodiles. The second was a race against time, in the face of vicious wildlife, to discover a route across the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia. The third adventure required giant inflatable boats - to course the Zaire River from the middle of Africa to the Atlantic, through war zones and tropical storms, seeking a cure for river blindness. In the wake of these expeditions Blashford-Snell launched Operation Drake, then Operation Raleigh, which is still exploring today. These memoirs enter a world of adventure and discovery.

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.45

  The intrepid adventures of a real-life Indiana Jones - explorer extraordinaire and founder of Operation Raleigh - are described in this book. The greater the challenge, the more eager Blashford-Snell is to attempt it. Having learned the nuts and bolts of leadership at Sandhurst, the next 15 years were dominated by three epic expeditions: a scientific exploration of the Blue Nile through unmapped and unknown territory, which involved being shot at by natives, beaten by rapids and terrified by crocodiles 15 feet long; the carving of a route across the inhospitable Darien Gap between Panama and Columbia in the face of vicious wildlife; and the coursing of the Zaire River from the middle of Africa to the Atlantic in giant inflatable boats in pursuit of a cure for the terrible disease known as river blindness . In the wake of these expeditions, John set up Operation Drake for young non-Army men and women. Endorsed by the Prince of Wales, it became Operation Raleigh, and is still exploring today. So is Blashford-Snell - his latest trip was the much publicized search for the giant elephants of Mongolia.