FERDINAND MAGELLAN, CIRCUMNAVIGATOR

First Edition Second Printing.No DJ-Other than a name on inside cover this is an unmarked copy- illustrated-" A biography of Ferdinand Magellan. New title for the second edition of So Noble a Captain.-"Enlightening, harrowing and inspiring- This is an excellently researched and written history and biography. While some might feel it is a little too well-researched and that the author included biographies of too many people only peripherally involved in Magellan's life, I found that he's such a good writer that my attention was gripped throughout. And I was delighted to be introduced to Philippa of Lancaster, who became the queen of Portugal and seems at least as impressive as her fellow countrywoman, Elizabeth the Great. Why wasn't I introduced to her in school?-It was also fascinating to get to know Magellan better as the amazing--if misfortune dogged--adventurer and explorer that he was. His loyalty to those close to him was outstanding and sheds a different light on a man who is often vaguely depicted as a well-meaning incompetent who couldn't quite get the job done. The book does a good job of neutrally revealing how enemies shaped his reputation after his death, mainly to disguise their own incompetence and corruption. (If you like getting the real story on posthumous bad reputations of famous men, I can recommend POTEMKIN by Sebastien Seabag Montefiore.) The account of the actual circumnavigation is towards the end of the book and quite harrowing. Magellan's determination and belief in a passage to the Pacific is either sublime or insane, depending on your point of view. (His men, understandably, tended toward the latter view.)"-Bayport Books