Awards
Winner of King George's Fund for Sailors Best Book of the Sea Award.
Synopses & Reviews
Packed with astonishing exploits and peopled with brave, daring, and sometimes foolhardy men and women from many nations, this entertaining and enlightening history of circumnavigation offers a stirring saga of quest and discovery, of adventure and achievement. Illustrated with pictures, charts, and diagrams, its narrative unfolds in dramatic detail the story that began on April 27, 1521, when the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was speared to death on the island of Mactan in the Philippines and his second-in-command, Juan Sebastian Elcano, completed the first voyage around the world in a ship aptly named Victory. For the nearly five hundred years since, explorers and adventurers have continued to rise to the challenge of girdling the earth by sea, by air, or overland not simply to go around the world but to explore uncharted territory and discover more of the planet's wonders and mysteries. For the history of circumnavigation is also an exhilarating story of the human spiritof its boundless curiosity, its response to the challenge of the unknown, its noble failures and unimagined accomplishments.
Review
"A very readable introduction to what is still an adventure story" J. S. Cummins, Times Literary Supplement
Review
"A very readable book which gives a good idea of the dangers and uncertainties faced by all the voyagers." Geographical Journal
Synopsis
Beginning with the fateful day in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan was speared to death on Mactan and Juan de Elcano took up the challenge of bringing his surviving companions home, this wonderfully colourful tale spans four centries crammed with astonishing exploits by men and women of many nations. Going round the world is an idea that has excited people ever since it was realized the earth was a sphere.
Some names are still well-known today, others just as heroic are not. Some succeeded, many failed. They are linked by the challenge to girdle the earth and penetrate its secrets. Derek Wilson brings these extraordinary characters alive in this fast-flowing, award-winning book.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [313-331)and index.