Sir Walter Raleigh Author:John Buchan Sir Walter Raleigh is the most boyish hero in history. Till his head fell on the block he never lost his eager, generous interest in life. He was planning great adventures when other men are dull and middle-aged. So wrote John Buchan in his introduction to this life of Sir Walter Raleigh, told in eleven stories. Born in 1552, Raleigh was a ma... more »n who took risks. Buchan admires this and covers his career as a brilliant courtier, soldier, sailor, great discoverer, statesman and scholar. He follows Raleigh's progress from favourite of Elizabeth I to his fall from grace under James I. His three expeditions to America and his failed expedition to the Orinoco in search of a goldmine that led to his execution in 1618.« less