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Books on the age of exploration


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Hi! :blush:

 

I guess this includes my introduction given that it's my first post here - I've long been searching for an active(ish) book forum to give me inspiration as I'm finding The Times and The Economist aren't quite as varied in their scope for recommendations as "normal" people. :lol:

 

I'm in the market for a good book on the age of exploration - Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci and the ilk. Does anyone have any recommendations?

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I think you can find Marco Polo's log in some form... or his own book.

For the middle east there is a particularily good book.... Argh I can't remember which!

Alberuni's India? Something of the sort... lol

 

And welcome to BCF. We supply fun, freedom of speech, idiotic modes of passing the time, justifications for being a book worm and apparently the mods are in charge of dishing out Jaffa cakes.

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Thank you for the very prompt response.

 

That's the second recommendation I've had for Marco Polo but I was hoping for something a little more all-encompassing. I read Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley and was hoping for something similar as that book surely ranks as one of my favourites owing to its ease-of-access in writing style and very dynamic story-telling means of narrating history.

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My boyfriend is a history major and is very interested in the explorers. Some interesting books he has are:

 

The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz (first-hand account)

Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America by Cabeza de Vaca (first-hand account)

A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Andres Resendez

 

He also has more books on his wishlist, mainly books about Spanish conquistadors, Christopher Columbus, Francis Drake, and Marco Polo.

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Longitude by Dava Sobel comes to mind. It was very interesting

 

The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward

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My boyfriend is a history major and is very interested in the explorers. Some interesting books he has are:

 

The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz (first-hand account)

Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America by Cabeza de Vaca (first-hand account)

A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Andres Resendez

 

He also has more books on his wishlist, mainly books about Spanish conquistadors, Christopher Columbus, Francis Drake, and Marco Polo.

 

I was just becoming disillusioned with my search having spent an hour in Waterstones reading the blurbs of various books only to find not one concerned the subject or period in which I was interested. Alas, returning to this forum seems to have given me my first rich pickings!

 

I will retrieve The Conquest of New Spain from my university library tomorrow and see how it shapes up, as I shall with "A Land So Strange". If you would be so kind as to name a couple more books that your other half is eyeing-up, it'd be most appreciated.

 

Readwine, I shall look into that book. It is an interesting tangent from the main field of my research but fascinating and appealing nonetheless. Thank you.

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Sure thing! Here are the others that he has on his wishlist:

 

The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake: 1577-1580 by R. Samuel Bawlf

The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, et. al (first-hand account)

Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolom

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I would think that Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and the various themes it delves into ties in nicely with the age of exploration.

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Well I ventured to my university library yesterday to grab one of Echo's recommendations and they all looked a little tatty. However, the section of the library provided a relative goldmine of books on the subject and so I've come away with "Empires of the Atlantic World" by J.H. Elliott, a book which details the period of British and Spanish conquests in the new America between 1492 and 1830.

 

So far it's an entertaining read - if a little academic - and seems to be the broad topic I was looking for! :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hi! :smile2:

 

I guess this includes my introduction given that it's my first post here - I've long been searching for an active(ish) book forum to give me inspiration as I'm finding The Times and The Economist aren't quite as varied in their scope for recommendations as "normal" people. :roll:

 

I'm in the market for a good book on the age of exploration - Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci and the ilk. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hi,

 

Just a couple of ideas you might enjoy;

Gavin Menzies' "1421 The Year China Discovered the World" - a chunky read, but then the world is a lot to discover;)

Also

Robert Hughes' "The Fatal Shore" about convicts sent to Australia in the 18th/19th century

Giles Milton's "Big Chief Elizabeth"

& I would also have said the Dava Sobel book that's already been mentioned.

 

Enjoy!

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