Exploration of the unknown is a universally captivating subject, and young people are not immune to its appeal. Most of their experience of other lands, peoples and times must necessarily be vicarious. These books attempt to reach this audience.

I read and enjoyed Jesse Martin’s account of his solo circumnavigation, Lionheart (2001). In 1999 he became the youngest person to complete this feat. At the end of that book, he expressed his dream to outfit a boat, crew it with like-minded young people and sail around the globe, sharing the experience with others via video and the web. That was the start of the Kijana project, the first stage of which is chronicled in this jointly written account. The boat has been outfitted, the crew assembled and the equipment and means for the voyage secured through sponsorship. The dream has been harnessed to others’ bottom lines, and the necessary adjustments made by Jesse (or so he believes) from solo adventurer to team leader. Yet the crew of five has splinters and disintegrates by the time it reaches Cairns from Melbourne. Why?