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Feb 24, 2008

Brian rated it:

A great adventure by the daring men who first circumnavigated the globe. Interesting lessons that some parties ought to have paid attention to. For example, torture was commonly used for discipline on board ships in the early 16th century--one of the techniques used was adopted from the Spanish Inquisition--it involved pouring water into a man's nose and mouth to make him think he's drowning--sound familiar?

I had long known Magellan didn't complete the voyage--he was killed in the Ph More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 06, 2011

K.D. rated it:

This is a must read book for all Filipinos. In elementary school, we are taught to memorize some facts about Ferdinand Magellan and I can still recall having to memorize the date when Magellan landed in Limasawa (Samar) and the 5 ships that were part of his expedition: Trinidad, Victoria, San Antonio, Concepcion and Santiago. Before reading this book, I could hardly recall the differenting facts that happened with each of them. This book described all those together with who Magellan was and the More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2011

Zac added it

i was really impressed by this book. i'm not one for history, but again, i'd run out of books and a friend spoke highly of it and lent it to me. not being into history, i just knew that magellan was the guy who first sailed around the world, but this book delves deeper into the political, religious, and financial nuances that the captain general had to deal with, not only to get the voyage funded and underway, but to survive when dealing with "indians" on their own land. The book i More...

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Mar 09, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

History that reads like fiction -- I got a little bogged down in the beginning with all the Spanish and Portuguese names, but from the launching of Magellans' fleet, his three year odyssey is a fascinating, grim, and vivid portrayal of life at sea, discovery of strange lands and people, and the courage, vision, determination, and fallibility of the expedition leaders. Wonderful source materials (journals) provide amazingly detailed accounts of the dangers and adventures. My daughter gave me this More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2009

Al rated it:

A very readable description of the historic circumnavigation of the globe by Magellan and his crew, 1519-1522. Well, some of them made it, anyway. In writing this book, the author benefited from the fact that there are numerous contemporaneous accounts of the voyage, at least one of which was quite detailed, so he doesn't have to imagine what happened. His writing style is lively, and he adds much helpful side information to help the reader understand the context of the times. He bog More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Clif rated it:

I enjoy accounts from the Age of Discovery. The encounter of Western Europeans with natives in other parts of the world is a meeting of aliens more interesting than encountering something found on another planet because of the similarities in the body even as what is considered normal in one culture is completely baffling to another. Just enough similarity exists for there to be expectations of the other - ah! but let's just see what happens.

Will that person who looks so strange and More...

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Jan 01, 2010

Gerald rated it:

How 260 men set out from Seville in September 1519 to find a new route to the Spice Islands, and how a mere 18 returned having completed the first circumnavigation of the globe after nearly 60,000 miles and three years is an epic story that has found a worthy author. Laurence Berggreen rewards the reader by marrying scholarly research with eloquent, readable prose.

There is no attempt to portray the achievement as heroic, astounding though it was. This is an account of hardship, dise More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 23, 2009

Gary rated it:

The title of this book conveys the danger and sense of adventure that Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe entailed. Bergreen gives a detailed description of the adventure by utilizing first hand accounts from among the eighteen (of 260) mariners who accompanied the bold Portuguese captain who sailed under the flag of Spain. The principal source of information comes from Magellan’s hand-picked scribe, Pigafetta, who was charged to record the entire voyage for his captain general. P More...

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Mar 30, 2010

Steve rated it:

Really enjoyed the European historical stage that was set for Magellan's voyage. There was also a good diversion about Zeng He, the great Chinese mariner/explorer.

In that time, spice was King! Tantamount to the oil trade today. Magellan set out to find a shorter spice route.

Magellan was incredibly brave and was a good navigator. His iron will allowed the voyage to continue. But, his own stupidity, pig-headedness, and warped desire to submit a tribe to Spanish/Christian ru More...

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May 02, 2011

Richard rated it:

I cannot imagine how in September, 1519 with five small ships and about 260 people Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain to travel through the Atlantic Ocean, around Brazil, across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippine and Spice Islands and then back around the Cape of Good Hope at the bottom of Africa back around to Spain where they left from.

Three years later the Armada returned with only one of the smaller ships and 21 people; 18 sailors and 3 captives alive. The other ships were lost More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Bobbi rated it:

What a fantastic story! I never knew much about Ferdinand Magellan except that he was the first to circumnavigate the glove. I'm not giving anything away here by telling you about the story because it's all in the prologue.

Magellan, originally from Portugal, cannot convince King Manuel to finance his trip to find a water route to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. Spices were worth more than gold in those days (although I must admit, I do like cloves and nutmeg!) Spain and Portugal w More...

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Jan 13, 2012

Paul rated it:

Over the Edge of the World tells the story of Magellan's attempt to be the first recorded explorer to circumnavigate the globe. Ultimately, a small minority of the initial crew he set out with did complete the task he did not personally see the completion of the journey (losing his life in a conflict he provoked with a native island tribe in the Philippines.)

I knew basically nothing about the details of the story and it is fascinating to think of what these men were able to accompli More...

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Dec 19, 2008

rati rated it:

Over the Edge of the World adalah kisah tentang keberanian, kepemimpinan dan kekerasan hati Magellan dalam usaha mencari rute baru ke pulau rempah-rempah, atau Maluku, yang berakhir cukup tragis bagi para awak kapalnya, namun membuka sejarah baru bagi dunia.
Magellan adalah perwira Portugis yang semula sangat loyal pada raja, namun karena merasa tidak dihargai dengan semestinya, ia kemudian mengabdi raja Spanyol, dan menawarkan ekspedisi mencari pulau rempah untuk berdagang dan mendapatk More...

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Jan 05, 2009

Troy rated it:

My one-phrase rundown: a gripping tale that you may think you already know.

When I started Over the Edge of the World, I thought it would be intellectually hip of me to get some more detailed insights in the historic round-the-world voyage of Magellan. Obviously, the tale of Magellan is exactly the kind of Eurocentric story which has been in recent years the object of often angry re-interpretation (Columbus, Lewis and Clark). While those interpretations are sometimes purposefully inf More...

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Aug 13, 2008

Mark rated it:

If you liked "Devil in the White City", "In Cold Blood", or any other non-fiction novel, then you'll probably really like this one. I have a fascination with times past, so this one had my interest before I even read page one. A great read about a very interesting subject, character, and time.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2010

Nathan rated it:

Lots of fascinating historical information. That is not organized very well.

A few gems:

"Magellan seized on the illness to demonstrate the healing power of Christian faith. Burn your idols he commanded, believe in Christ, and only Christ, and if the sick man is baptized, "he would quickly recover." Magellan was so adamant that if the sick man failed to recover, he would allow Humabon to "behead him, then and there." ... Magellan was convinced that More...

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Apr 01, 2011

Myles rated it:

Popular history at its best, Over the Edge of the World makes good use of the rich primary source material for Magellon's expedition and Bergreen doesn't stint on any adventurous detail.

It's a tricky feat to put out a readable history book that stands up under academic scrutiny. There's a lot of temptation to describe motives and recreate scenes that were never recorded, but Bergreen avoids this - for the most part. There were a few scenes that come off as fanciful; Cartagena and the p More...

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Mar 31, 2009

Mike rated it:

Engaging history of Magellan's circumnavigation. Exploration history of this sort seems to be a favorite of mine. Magellan's experiences in his homeland Portugal and Spain in the years leading up to the journey serve as an excellent context for everything that develops later. The perilous voyage of the fleet is related very well, and clearly by an author who researched his topic. The narrative loses its punch a bit upon Magellan's personal demise, as the central figure's unwavering charge is More...

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Sep 26, 2010

Bonnie rated it:

More water! Every third-grader knows about Magellan, but this non-fiction read will introduce you to amazing incidents that have been carefully picked from diaries and journals of those on board. Coping with multiple mutinous acts, stormy seas, incompetent maps, terrible food and long, long days with only water as your friend, it is a wonder that anyone would sign up to be a sailor. A great book to bring history alive again and highlight the political struggles and intrigues of any good voyag More...

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Aug 18, 2011

Tony rated it:

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreenis a wonderful journey during the Age of Discovery. This historical period is similar to the 20th Century's Space Race where nations expend limited resources in the quest for strategic domination of travel and trade.

Laurence Bergreen writing style allows the reader to easily comprehend the events of the period, as well as, take you on an exciting journey, perils and rewards, around th More...

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Apr 05, 2009

Moses rated it:

(If you don't know the story of Magellan, there are spoilers here.)

Where to begin? This book was terrible. The story of Magellan is interesting, but this author completely ruined it, in my opinion.

First, the author skips around in time so often that I found myself having to stop reading in the middle of a chapter just so I would forget the jarring transitions from being on the ships to loading them with swine before leaving port to suddenly being 1000 miles further alon More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 07, 2011

Linda rated it:

The amount of research that went into writing this book is astounding. I am glad that I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it. Usually, with audiobooks, I wish that I were reading, but I loved the way the actor pronounced foreign names and words. When he read from journals and letters, he read them with a thick accent. It was much better than my imagination would have conjured. This book reads like fiction. If this were fiction, I would fault it for being unbelievable. If you ar More...

2 comments like

Jan 11, 2009

Ben rated it:

A well-written account of the first circumnavigation of the globe pulled from the original journals and logs of the surviving sailors. Of the five ships and 250 men who set out from Spain, only 1 ship and 18 men where to return. The voyage spans 4 years and includes Western "discovery" of what was to be known as the Straight of Megellan, the first (3 month) crossing of the Pacific, the landing and trading in the islands to become known as the Philipines, and subsequent return to Spain More...

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Mar 26, 2011

Adrian added it

The incredible story of Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the world. I was totally unaware of the politics and rivalry that plagued this expedition from its outset. It's astonishing that anyone made it home alive too. Much of Bergreen's history comes from the diaries kept by Antonio Pigafetta who we can be all glad survived so this history could be written. Magellan remains one of my heroes but not without qualifications. This book is an improvement I think on SE Morison's account which I More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 03, 2010

Bob rated it:

I had no idea what went into Magellan’s trip. I didn't even know that he didn't make it all the way around! This book explains exhaustingly about the trip itself and the circumstances surrounding it. Political intrigue, famine, scurvy, mutinies (multiple), a beheading, torture, sex (and some strange stuff at that), storms, sinking ships, burning ships, native warriors, kings, popes, unbelievable perseverance and bravery, and hubris and are included. If you would like to know seemingly everyth More...

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Mar 18, 2010

Alex rated it:

Really a nicely done bio. I read this during a phase where I was obsessed with explorers. If you're interested, I also enjoyed Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before and A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier. I didn't like Bergreen's Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu as much as this. This is a great, fun-to-read, interesting biography. More...

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Feb 01, 2011

Michael rated it:

When I was about eight I became obsessed with Magellan. I have no idea why as I was an uncurious kid other than my interest in WWII (all the Dads in town were vets including mine) and late-model cars, of which I had an idiot savant's ability to identify by the smallest detail (my sisters would actually try to stump me by cutting out a taillight section or fin from a magazine ad, but I would promptly respond, "62 Rambler Classic in the special trim edition. Obviously").

My M More...

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Nov 20, 2009

Thomas rated it:

A quick and pleasant listen. The reader's voice doesn't really qualify him to work at SportTalk 101, but I thought he did a good job anyway.

I thought I knew this story, and in some ways I did. The book (probably the abridged version) contains many details not included in the usual narrative. I especially enjoyed hearing about the pre-voyage politics.

Near the end, the author declares that Magellan's voyage had a great influence on the world to come. Yet he gives no convi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 03, 2011

Sandra rated it:

Entertaining, informative, well researched account of Magellan's voyage (though he didn't actually complete it) around the world from Spain west to the Americas, through the Straits named for him, suffering all kinds of perils and conflicts, finally arriving at the expedition's destination, the Spice Islands, then more perils on the journey back to Spain. The drama, the many conflicts between participants, the fight with Magellan's native Portugal, the battles between native peoples (both with More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Greg rated it:

It's fascinating how the explorers I learned about in elementary school were insanely courageous and were so thoroughly righteous in their beliefs that European and Christian beliefs were the only ones that mattered; all others were heathen cultures. Change the country and religious belief and for some, nothing has changed in 500 years. Magellan seen as hero or tyrant ~ Point of view. Overall, I'd go with tyrant who fit the times. I suppose might does make right ...spoiler alert ...
More...

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