Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.)
by Laurence Bergreen
List Price:
Our Price: $4.00
You Save: $11.99 (75%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.24 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Laurence BergreenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-11-02
ISBN: 006093638X
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Product features:
- Paperback with ocean and sailing vessel scene. 458 pages
Book Reviews of Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.)
Book Review: For God, King and Glory -- and a fistful of cloves
Summary: 5 Stars
We all learned in grade school that Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the globe. If we are lucky, we learned that the feat occurred in beetween 1519 and 1522. We might also learn that Magellan has a strait named after him, as well as a couple of galactic clouds, visible only from the southern hemisphere.
But what the textbooks failed to mention was the high drama - political, personal and navigational -- that went into the trip. Author Laurence Bergreen does a wonderful job narrating the harrowing tale of Magellan's first (and last) attempt to reach the Spice Islands (now known as the the Maluku Islands) by sailing west. Bergreen sets up the drama by describing the fratricidal rivalry between Spain and Portugal, both sea powers hoping to cash in on the lucrative spice trade. Papal decree had given the eastern route to the Spice Islands to the Portuguese, so Spain hoped that a western route could be found. Magellan, a minor aristocrat attached to the Portuguese court is desperate to make his reputation and to bring glory to his king. But the king has other plans, and Magellan eventually defects to Spain, where he finds the financial backing he needs, but also intense jealousy from various well-connected Spaniards.
Bergreen does a wonderful and captivating job of describing the political machinations that put Magellan's sworn enemies as captains of the various ships in his "Armada of the Moluccas." He describes Magellan himself as haughty and high-strung, but also noble, loyal, daring and a skilled navigator. Drawn mostly from the journal of Magellan loyalist Antonio Pigafetta, Bergreen spins a tale of mutiny, cruelty, orgiastic excess, extreme deprivation and war. Viewed through modern eyes, Magellan is no liberal hero. He is alternately brutal and solicitous toward islanders he wishes to colonize and convert. The utter barbarism of the way he put down mutiny, in the age of the Spanish Inquisition, is both spellbinding and abhorrent. But Magellan's stubborn determination to fulfill his vision and to bring glory to himself and his adopted country epitomizes the explorer in the Age of Discovery.
Along the way, Bergreen explains the ranking structure of the Spanish navy, introduces us to the manner by which 16th century armadas (and kings) found financing, and expresses the nearly-intolerable tension between the pious European desire to Christianize the New World and a rapacious quest to exploit and dominate it. The only shortcoming in the book was in Bergreen's too-quick explanation of why the spice trade drove the economy of the day. As precious then as oil is today, the search for spices motivated the fantastically difficult voyages that were undertaken by many nations at enormous cost in lives and treasure -- a quest that deserved a couple of paragraphs at a minimum. But that quibble aside, "Over the Edge of the World" was an always-fascinating peek into the minds and lives of Magellan and the 270 men who undertook one of most harrowing voyages of their time -- a round-the-world trip in leaky wooden ships through some of the most treacherous seas on the planet.
All for a few pounds of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper -- articles that today can be had few a few dollars per pound and form a relatively insignificant part of our diet.
More Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.) reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Summary of Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.)
Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prize-winning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself.
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Alexander Hamiltonby Ron Chernow
Penguin Audio; Published: 2004-04-26; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $171.76
America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction (Penguin Classics)by John Steinbeck
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Sailing Alone around the World (Penguin Classics)by Joshua Slocum
Penguin Classics; Published: 1999-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sistersby Charlotte Mosley
Harper; Published: 2007-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.61
Price in other shops:
Profiles in Courage (slipcased edition): Decisive Moments in the Lives of Celebrated Americansby John F. Kennedy
Harper; Published: 2006-10-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Lost Years: A Memoir 1945 - 1951by Christopher Isherwood
HarperCollins; Published: 2000-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.14
Price in other shops:
Thomas Jefferson: A Lifeby Willard Sterne Randall
Harper Perennial; Published: 1994-06-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.19
Price in other shops:
The Professor and the Madmanby Simon Winchester
Harper; Published: 1998-08-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.74
Price in other shops:
Patton: A Genius for Warby Carlo D'Este, este, Carlo D'
Harpercollins; Published: 1995-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $49.94
Stonewall Jacksonby James Robertson
Macmillan Pub.; Published: 1997-02-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $47.66
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Ice Balloon: S. A. Andree and the Heroic Age of Arctic Explorationby Alec Wilkinson
Knopf; Published: 2012-01-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
Exploration Fawcett: Journey to the Lost City of Zby Percy Fawcett
Overlook TP; Published: 2010-05-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops:
We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Enduranceby David Howarth
Lyons Press; Published: 2007-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.01
Price in other shops:
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essexby Nathaniel Philbrick
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.93
Price in other shops:
Columbus: The Four Voyagesby Laurence Bergreen
Viking Adult; Published: 2011-09-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu (Vintage)by Laurence Bergreen
Vintage; Published: 2008-10-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstoneby Martin Dugard
Broadway; Published: 2004-04-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.69
Price in other shops:
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyageby Alfred Lansing
Basic Books; Published: 1999-03-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.51
Price in other shops:
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journeyby Candice Millard
Anchor; Published: 2006-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survivalby Dean King
Back Bay Books; Published: 2005-04-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: