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Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
from: HarperAudio
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Binding: Audio Cassette
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.92
Edition: Abridged
Format: Bargain Price
Label: HarperAudio
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
Number Of Items: 4
Publication Date: November 01, 2003
Publisher: HarperAudio
Studio: HarperAudio
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Editorial Review:
A majestic tale of discovery thatchanged many long-held views about the world
In 1519 Magellan and his fleet of five ships set sail from Seville, Spain, to discover a water route to the fabled Spice Islands in Indonesia, where the most sought-after commodities -- cloves, pepper, and nutmeg -- flourished. Three years later, a handful of survivors returned with an abundance of spices from their intended destination, but with just one ship carrying eighteen emaciated men. During their remarkable voyage around the world the crew endured starvation, disease, mutiny, and torture. Many men died, including Magellan, who was violently killed in a fierce battle.
This is the first full account in nearly half a century of this voyage into history: a tour of the world emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance; a startling anthropological account of tribes, languages, and customs unknown to Europeans; and a chronicle of a desperate grab for commercial and political power.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Spectacular Journey
As an Audiobook consumer, Over the Edge of the World left me breathless. The recounting of the history, journey, and culture of our world in circa 1500 was superb. Perhaps many text-based consumers missed out on the imaginary aspects that present in audio form. Since I had no visual cues, I had to find maps online, and followed the journey in that fashion. I had the pleasure of "hearing" the Portuguese names pronounced by the narrator, rather than plodding through foreign language in text. I now ... Read More
Rating: - Utterly readable, I was held in thrall....
I was afraid this book would lack detail since it depicted events 500 years ago, but there was a passenger who, fortunately, became a primary source, and kept the narrative interesting. The opening scene of the book, with the ghostly ship arriving back in Spain, grabs the reader's attention, then there is a long discussion of Magellan's efforts to get the expedition funded and underway. After wading through this moderately interesting segment, the story really picks up once the armada sails. From ... Read More
Rating:  - Discovering the world, kings fighting, men surviving, women chattel
A truly terrifying and detailed eyewitness account of Magellan's voyage westward around the world by sea. It is not hard to get sucked in by Magellan's political persistence, and his entire crew's efforts at survival as they stepped off land they knew to a waterworld larger, deeper, and yet more inhabited than anyone knew. No modern reader can understand what it meant in the 16th century to board a ship to a world where entire continents and oceans were unknown, and longitude was uncalculatable. It ... Read More
Rating: - fascinating history
This is a fascinating read, full of details (politics of the time, how ships operate, torture, sexual mores of various tribes around the world, etc.). The story of the first voyage around the world is so amazingly dramatic one would say "too far fetched" if it were fiction. Every page is so rich with detail that you want to just slow down as you read. The only slight flaw is that the characters do not come quite as alive as I would have liked. But everything else about this book is so good, it's well ... Read More
Rating: - very exciting - couldn't put it down
this is one of the most exciting adventure/discovery books i've ever read. it was a page-turner from beginning to end.
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