Magellan

Rating:
Summary: An highly readable, fully researched story on Magellan
Review: I read this book several times and marvel at its great accessibility. It represents probably the best research effort on the great navigator. Joyner's annotated bibliography is extremely helpful to the serious student of navigation history in general and Magellan in particular. No other work in the past 50 years compares with the scholarly excellence of this book. A scholar who is just starting to get familiar with the story of the circumnavigation will find this book a complete pathway to all that must lie ahead for a thorough understanding of the greatest adventure at sea. This is a must book for both layman and scholar!

Rating:
Summary: Other Opinions
Review: If you find this book interesting, then check out Gavin Menzies book:"1421:The year China discovered America". It may shed some different light on all of the Portguese and Spanish explorers. It seems the Chinese explored the whole world and mapped it while the Europeans were still thinking the world was flat and full of sea serpents. The Portguese were the first to receive maps from the Chinese(called the 1428 maps). The Chinese explored and mapped the "Straights of Magellan" nearly a century before Magellan.

Rating:
Summary: Other Opinions
Review: If you find this book interesting, then check out Gavin Menzies book:"1421:The year China discovered America". It may shed some different light on all of the Portguese and Spanish explorers. It seems the Chinese explored the whole world and mapped it while the Europeans were still thinking the world was flat and full of sea serpents. The Portguese were the first to receive maps from the Chinese(called the 1428 maps). The Chinese explored and mapped the "Straights of Magellan" nearly a century before Magellan.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Sailing Voyage Ever!
Review: It has been a few years since I read Joyner's Magellan. It is well researched and is a very good read. I have lent the book to several nautical buffs who also enjoyed the book very much.

Of the several Magellan biographies I have read, I enjoyed this one the most.

I don't think the Kirkus review folks (above) could find the Straits of Magellan on a chart!

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book, well-researched, easy-to-read
Review: The Kirkus Review above did not give Joyner's book justice. I've read many books on Magellan by authors such as Parr, Cameron, Hawthorne, Hildebrand, Zweig, and Silverberg, and Joyner's book provided the intricate detail that I was looking for. Joyner returned to the original sources to provide such details as the ships' rosters --- crewmembers' names, where from, job aboard, salary, etc. --- mini-biographies of key players, lists of supplies, weaponry, etc. It's far more than a biography! In reference to the book not conveying the full impact of Magellan's personality nor of the voyage, I didn't find that to be true. So many biographies of Magellan read almost as fiction, to such an extent that you can't separate fact from fiction, that it was refreshing to have a factual account, interesting, easily read and absorbed. Well done, Joyner.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book, well-researched, easy-to-read
Review: When I read this book I thought I could be reading a novel, not a historical account. It is fast paced and exciting history. Whether or not you are familiar with Magellan and his first ever global circumnavigation, this is a must read for anyone interested in nautical exploration.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a novel
Review: When I read this book I thought I could be reading a novel, not a historical account. It is fast paced and exciting history. Whether or not you are familiar with Magellan and his first ever global circumnavigation, this is a must read for anyone interested in nautical exploration.