OVER THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

Explorer Ferdinand Magellan risked everything to find Indonesia's fabled Spice Islands and their abundance of cloves, pepper, and nutmeg. He left his native Portugal to lead a fleet of five ships under the banner of Spain, subjecting his family to mistreatment back home. He eventually lost his life and the lives of many of his crew members, but his belief in sailing west to find the East was vindicated. Laurence Bergreen's account of Magellan's historic journey reads with the excitement of a novel backed by painstaking detail. Bergreen's reading, which at times sounds like a college lecture, doesn't match the passion of his writing, but the story of Magellan's journey still makes this a compelling audiobook. J.A.S.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]