http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
in pursuit of an elusive Northwest Passage
The many attempts by navigators to find a Northwest Passage via its Pacific portal all ended in failure. However, their discoveries spurred expansionist developments that would forever alter the landscape of North America. In Discovering Nothing, David L. Nicandri maps a cast of geographic visionaries and practical explorers as they promoted or sought a workable commercial route linking the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. The discovery of the legendary northern passage proved elusive, but the equivalent land bridges that were built in the form of two transcontinental railroads changed the futures of Canada and the United States. Drawing from close readings of explorers' personal journals, Nicandri provides readers a detailed, engaging and multifaceted investigation into the many players and failed enterprises at the core of this search, beginning in the eighteenth century through to today and to the unexpected impact of climate change on this fabled passage.
Reinventing the Northwest Passage -- Dalrymple's Revenge? -- Mackenzie Solves Pond's Puzzle -- John Meares and the Nootka Aff air -- Correcting Cook? The True Origin of the Vancouver Expedition -- Vancouver's Maze -- Defining the Labyrinth, Cook's Legacy, and the Delusion of the Northwest Passage -- The American Response: The Lewis and Clark Expedition as Diplomatic History -- Following in the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark -- The Canadian Dream -- The Artic Quest Redux.
Includes bibliographical references and index.