Over the Edge of the World

Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe

By: Laurence Bergreen

Narrated by: Laurence Bergreen

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1519 Magellan and his fleet of five ships set sail from Seville, Spain, to discover a water route to the fabled Spice Islands in Indonesia, where the most sought-after commodities (cloves, pepper, and nutmeg) flourished. Three years later, a handful of survivors returned with an abundance of spices from their intended destination, but with just one ship carrying 18 emaciated men. During their remarkable voyage around the world the crew endured starvation, disease, mutiny, and torture. Many men died, including Magellan, who was violently killed in a fierce battle.

This is the first full account in nearly half a century of this voyage into history: a tour of the world emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance; a startling anthropological account of tribes, languages, and customs unknown to Europeans; and a chronicle of a desperate grab for commercial and political power.

©2003 Laurence Bergreen (P)2003 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Journalist Bergreen] superbly recreates Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan's obsessive 16th-century quest....Bergreen writes this powerful tale of adventure with a strong presence and rich detail." (Publishers Weekly)

"Bergreen tells a well-rounded story of Magellan....He also puts the voyage into its historical context....Fascinating reading for history buffs, and a great story that rivals any seagoing adventure." (Booklist)

Excellent Book and Narration

After reading some of the reviews I was reluctant to purchase this book, but I’m very glad I did. I enjoyed both the story and the narration and would recommend this book to others.

A great adventure story

An amazing read . I learned a lot about what seafarers went thru in those days. These guys were either brave or crazy !

Bit of world defining history documented

Well researched, well-paced, well-written. one of the greatest adventures of ancient nautical history. interesting political environment at that time. tells you what there is when you have a totalitarian regime there is corruption

Unbelievably Brave

To go way way way beyond the world you know without knowing whether you would make it back alive or not is unbelievable.

AMAZING !!!!

Stunning, grueling, shocking what the first seamen of our unknown planet went through . Few have known let alone survived their unthinkable hardships and test of character . It hit all the highs and lows of both . Wow .

Horrible narrator

Excellent story that is ruined by a terrible narrator who sounds like this is his first book to read out loud. Do not waste your money on this one.

Captivating narrative

The use of journal excerpts provides a great insight to the experiences and emotion felt by the crew. This narrative accurately breathes more human qualities and personality into the legendary figure of history.

astonishing story narrated by author himself

astounding tale worth every minute including the bizarre 'audible kids' promotion at beginning and end of a story rife with orgies, brutality and intricacies of 16th century spanish-portuguese rivalries over spices, which were as hotly fought over and prized then as oil is now by our own modern day equivalents of those mad and greedy conquistadors of long ago. Such were the origins of globalisation! what a story!

Great story, but awful narration.

I love historical stories of endurance and this book hit those buttons for me. However as a narrated book it was tedious to listen to. The narrator has no control on his enunciation and he’s all over the place.. He ends a sentence and then immediately launches into the next.. He reads like someone who is reading a passage aloud and is not familiar with the book. He also struggles to pronounce cities and names. It’s too bad because otherwise the book is well written and the story itself engaging.. you should just read it though.

fascinating account of Magellan's voyage

Most know that Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe, but I'd no idea how interesting it would be... everything from Game of Thrones intrigue to mutiny, pig headed arrogance to courageous determination - Bergreen's book has more or less everything. As a history teacher I look forward to discussing this with my students!