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Over the Edge of the World Magellan Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe Laurence Bergreen Books

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Over the Edge of the World Magellan Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe Laurence Bergreen Books

This is one of two books about Magellan and his epic voyage. The other is Manchester's "A World Lit Only by Fire." Foir anyone with enough interest in the subject to read either book, I would recommend both.

This book deals almost exclusively with the voyage, which after considerable haggling to get financing, began with five very small (by today's standards) leaky, under-equipped, clumsy, floating torture chambers, into which 250 men and some provisions were packed; and ended with two of the ships seprately limping back to Spain with only 18 of the crew still alive,Magellan having been killed in the Philippines, probably because he at some point during the voyage fell captive to the illusion of immortaltiy, and involved his beleaguered crew in an impossible battle with a native army.

As one of the earlier reviewers observed, this book would have been improved by providing more information about the times.
There is, after all, only so much that can be said about trying to cross the Pacific Ocean without any maps and limited supplies of food, water, and, most important of all, no understanding of the need for Vitamin C.

At the same time, the Manchester book spends an enormous number of pages describing in great detail hat horrible conditions of Europe and the Papacy during this time. Despite several history courses that should have left me at least vaguely aware of how bad things were then, I was astonished at the picture he painted. At such length that by the time he got to Magellan's voyage, it seemed almost an afterthought.

Of the books, overall I enjoyed "Edge of the World" more, but I learned more of value from Manchester's book.


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Over the Edge of the World Magellan Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe Laurence Bergreen Books Reviews

Deceit, betrayal, danger, power struggles, murderous plots... And that's before Magellan even leaves dry land and sets out on his circumnavigation of the world. Bergreen's telling of the unparalleled journey of Magellan and his crew sucked me in immediately and never let go. The struggle between the European powers, particularly Spain and Portugal is fascinating. Magellan is a man of destiny wedged between the jaws of the two. Bergreen takes us through his early military exploits, introducing us to Magellan's bravery and foolheartedness simultaneously. In these aspects of Ferdinand Magellan's character lie the seeds of tragedy. We see him woo royalty and set sail over the edge of the world on a mission to establish a trade route and return with the lucrative spices which drive much of Europe's economy. Finding their own source of these spices will allow the European powers to wrest the spice monopoly from the Arabs and Muslim powers and win control of their destinies. The journey has no lack of obstacles. By land, Magellan and his men face hungry cannibals, native allies (or are they enemies, or both). By sea, the crews sail through the roughest seas on earth, battling storms which can last for weeks, enduring starvation and scurvy, all while navigating through the most difficult and unmapped rocky dangers of the globe. Magellan is both man and monster to his crew. With the Portuguese navy at his back always hunting and an unimagineably vast Pacific ocean before him, Magellan must contend with mutiny within his own fleet. Bergreen does a wonderful job of explaining the intrigue and major players at each league of the journey. Magellan reaches a confusing array of islands only to find that the natives' politics and power struggles mirror his own tumultuous Europe. Again he has no map and must navigate these strange corridors of power by his wits. Friend and foe are fluid. Magellan's crew becomes disillusioned. Is Magellan there for the riches and fame brought by the exotic spices or as a hammer of God against a pagan world? Tragedy strikes when Magellan allows his hubris to overcome his humility. The shifting leadership of the fleet is well examined here and the dire situation faced by the fleet made very clear. By the time the remains of Magellan's crew return to Spain, they have endured one of history's greatest stories of suvival. Bergreen's telling of this human drama is very well done. He relies on the expedition's main chronicler as well as a wide variety of other sources to bring the adventure to life. He makes the details of ocean navigation, sailing, and life aboard clear and vibrant. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. You shouldn't miss this adventure for the world.
Excellent! Well written, interesting and comprehensive. The author states that Magellan was and still is controversial, however, he does not seem controversial to me aside from his possibly ill-considered decision to engage in a fight with the natives in the Philippines which went awry and in which he was killed. This book is a fitting testimony to this man and the explorers of that time who ventured into the unknown in their tiny and frail wooden ships to extend knowledge of the world. Were they flawed? Of course. Aren't we all. What is important is that enterprising spirit which was and still is very important to the human quest for knowledge. Bergreen's book is a fitting reminder of this.
This is definitely not the story you were taught in school. Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen is a powerful page turner of the true story of what Magellan and his crew went through just to find nutmeg and cinnamon.

Many of the men brought back to life in Bergreens book are worthy of books just on their own stories.

The desperation and solitude, cut off for months at a time without seeing another single human being is enough to make the most dedicated introverts among us cringe. The men on Magellan's armada had no idea what they would come across. Boiling water at the equator? Magnetic islands that could pull nails from the ships if they got too close?

If you have a curiosity of how soft the comforts of our modern society has made us, look no further than this book. What these men endured and sacrificed for, the things that you can easily find on the grocery store shelves is mind boggling.
This is one of two books about Magellan and his epic voyage. The other is Manchester's "A World Lit Only by Fire." Foir anyone with enough interest in the subject to read either book, I would recommend both.

This book deals almost exclusively with the voyage, which after considerable haggling to get financing, began with five very small (by today's standards) leaky, under-equipped, clumsy, floating torture chambers, into which 250 men and some provisions were packed; and ended with two of the ships seprately limping back to Spain with only 18 of the crew still alive,Magellan having been killed in the Philippines, probably because he at some point during the voyage fell captive to the illusion of immortaltiy, and involved his beleaguered crew in an impossible battle with a native army.

As one of the earlier reviewers observed, this book would have been improved by providing more information about the times.
There is, after all, only so much that can be said about trying to cross the Pacific Ocean without any maps and limited supplies of food, water, and, most important of all, no understanding of the need for Vitamin C.

At the same time, the Manchester book spends an enormous number of pages describing in great detail hat horrible conditions of Europe and the Papacy during this time. Despite several history courses that should have left me at least vaguely aware of how bad things were then, I was astonished at the picture he painted. At such length that by the time he got to Magellan's voyage, it seemed almost an afterthought.

Of the books, overall I enjoyed "Edge of the World" more, but I learned more of value from Manchester's book.