Ah, an enthralling book.

I was reading it along the way to upper Agnes a few years back and distinctively remember sitting in camp one day, buffetted by wind, and thinking: "Men back then were braver than I could ever hope to be."

It's one of the most compelling historical accounts I've read. Though overflowing with detail and fact, and though Bergreen tackles a wide variety of controversial ideas and topics, it does not get bogged down.

This is no dry textbook.

Bergreen writes concisely yet richly, tends to understate rather than lean on ridiculous superlatives to tell his tale.

His treatment of the passage through the Strait (of Magellan) is magical.

Frankly, I felt humble after reading this book. Did I learn so little in school? How could I not have known some of this stuff?

-- kypaddler

Anybody know of a good book about China's "Treasure Fleet" (27 THOUSAND men)? Bergreen gives it passing treatment, but it's appears that if palace intrigue hadn't caused it to be moth-balled, the world might all be speaking Chinese now.

Over the edge of the world
Magellans Terrifying circumnavigation of the globe
by Lawrence Bergreen

Ky paddler turned me on to this book and I'm glad of it. Super! 15 times longer than Colombus trip it is quite the story. Thoroughly researched yet told in a brisk and engaging manner I found it hard to put down.

In Sept. 1519 5 ships and 260 men set sail under the Spanish flag. Almost exactly 3 years later one battered ship and 18 diseased men returned. Despite mutinies, drowning and starvation they were the first men to circle the globe. Fascinating and inspiring.