{"product_id":"2026100012052-secondhand-burke-wills-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-australias-most-famous-explorers-signed","title":"Burke \u0026 Wills: The Triumph And Tragedy Of Australia's Most Famous Explorers (SIGNED)","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdition: 1st ed., 1st pr.,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Very good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Very good\u003cbr\u003ePages: Yellowed\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Signed,Previous owner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the sunburned heart of 19th-century Australia, two men dared to do what no European had done before — cross the vast, unforgiving continent from south to north — and paid the ultimate price. Burke \u0026amp; Wills chronicles the audacious 1860–61 Victorian Exploring Expedition led by the charismatic but reckless Robert O'Hara Burke and the meticulous navigator William John Wills, tracing their journey from the cheering crowds of Melbourne into the merciless silence of the outback, where ambition, poor planning, and cruel fate conspired to seal their doom. Peter FitzSimons reconstructs the expedition with the propulsive energy of a thriller, drawing on diaries, dispatches, and historical records to place the reader alongside the men as they push beyond the edges of the known world.\n\nFitzSimons, one of Australia's most celebrated popular historians, brings his signature narrative drive to this landmark story of colonial-era courage and catastrophe, illuminating the broader themes of hubris, leadership failure, and the terrifying indifference of the natural world. The book stands as both a gripping adventure and a meditation on the human cost of glory-seeking, cementing Burke and Wills as tragic icons of the Australian national consciousness. Meticulously researched yet written with a journalist's flair for drama, this account raises a haunting question: when ambition outstrips wisdom, who truly bears the blame?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51070622597339,"sku":"2026100012052-SECONDHAND","price":90.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/510756c0-3331-423d-8cf3-83e5062cceaf.png?v=1794188126","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100012052-secondhand-burke-wills-the-triumph-and-tragedy-of-australias-most-famous-explorers-signed","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}