Book excerpt: First published in 1878, this is the story of Frederick Burnaby's harrowing thousand-mile winter journey from Constantinople to eastern Turkey. War between Turkey and Russia threatened, and Burnaby was on a mission to discover whether the Turks could resist a potential thrust toward Constantinople by the Russian Empire. This entertaining account, a bestseller of its time, will appeal to armchair travelers, military history buffs, and anyone interested in the history of this fascinating and tumultuous region. British soldier and writer FREDERICK BURNABY (1842-1885) was a member of the Royal Horse Guards, and in 1882, he became the first balloonist to cross the English Channel alone. Three years later, he died from a spear wound sustained in battle in the Sudan. He also wrote A Ride to Khiva (1876).