Published by The Folio Society, London, 1983.
 
The book is in very good condition, with clean blue and white pictorial covers and with the endpapers outlining the journey's map. The book is within its blue slip cover which has some shelfwear and age related bumps. Edited and introduced by Mervyn Horder.
 
John Dundas Cochrane (1780 - 1825) joined the Royal Navy at the age of 10 and was at the Battle of San Domingo in 1806 and continued to strengthen his role within the Navy, being promoted to commander in 1814. With the coming peace in Europe, Cochrane volunteered to journey on foot into Africa to explore the source of the Niger but the Admiralty did not support this and instead Cochrane succeeded in getting them to give him two years' leave of absence on half pay to explore Russia on foot and understand the geography of the Bering Sea. He also desired to be the first European to walk from Russia to America.
 
Cochrane believed that one should travel as far as possible alone, as far as possible penniless and as far as possible without any advance planning. This belief was vindicated by his experience at every point of his journey.