This is a 'logbook' of first contact moments drawn from 500 years of human exploration, produced by the author of Great Rivals In History, The War Chronicles and History's Greatest Hits.
Decorated with antique-style illustrations and maps, First Encounters describes 25 events that have become steeped in controversy, myth and legend. For easy reference, it is divided into six sections, including:
• Fabled Encounters In The Old World
• Frontier Encounters In America
• Fateful Encounters In The Heart Of Africa
• First Contact In The Twentieth Century.
Some stories are comical. For instance, when Hanno of Carthage sailed down the African coast, he encountered gorillas he believed were "hairy men".

Excerpt:
"The lands of Mexico, Central America and South America were unknown to Europeans before Columbus's discovery in 1492, but they may not have been unknown to the Chinese of past centuries. The Chavin culture, which dominated what is now Peru from about 850 to 200 BC, produced exotic, mysterious and sometimes frightening religious art that closely echoes that of the Shang Dynasty in China ..." – Extract from First Encounters