The bulk of this collection is devoted to the achievements of two pioneers, Joshua Slocum and Percy Fawcett. Captain Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone - between 1892 and 1895 in a converted oyster fishing boat, on his return chronicling his experiences in the book Sailing Alone Around the World. Colonel Fawcett was an Amazonian explorer, with an extensive knowledge of Indian languages, who believed that an as-yet undiscovered civilisation was to be found somewhere in the Brazilian rainforest. He, with two companions, disappeared in the jungle, and no trace of them has ever been found. Also, by an ironic twist of fate, fourteen years after his famous voyage Slocum disappeared in the Atlantic, and again no traces have been found - two mysteries surrounding two great explorers.