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In Pursuit of Longitude: Magellan and the Antimeridian.
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About In Pursuit Of Longitude: Magellan And The
Product Description Ferdinand Magellan is widely known and studied, yet his common image can be misleading. Magellan was not the first Circumnavigator. In fact, neither his mission nor even his intent was to sail around the world. In his captivating book "In Pursuit of Longitude: Magellan and the Antimeridian", marine geologist and explorer André Rossfelder reminds us that the Portuguese navigator's strict instructions were only to lay a Spanish claim to the fabled Spice Islands, the Moluccas. Charles of Spain had endorsed his proposal to find the seaway rumored to exist through the New World, and then to cross the unexplored face of Earth and confirm that these treasure islands were on Spain's side of the Antimeridian, the Line separating the Portuguese and Spanish domains. This meant ascertaining their position within two degrees of longitude by sole means of dead-reckoning after sailing across some 200 meridians of uncharted waters -- an extraordinaty feat. Magellan's credibility was supported by years of combats and voyages through Portuguese India, but while possession was the king's goal, the navigator harbored his own aims: to search for and claim governorship of the gold-rich Luçoes, now the Philippines. Close to success, he died in a vain combat. His victory was elsewhere. At the heart of this book is the study of genius, and how one man navigated with amazing confidence and precision to the far side of the world through storms, intrigues and mutinies, and forever changed maritime history. Survivors' accounts of the Pacific crossing, an in-depth analysis of this course as logged by Magellan's pilot Francisco Albo, an extensive bibliography and an index complete the book. Tim Joyner (Magellan, 1992, McGraw-Hill), foremost expert on the great navigator, wrote the Foreword. About the Author André Rossfelder, an award-winning writer and retired marine geologist, served in the French Resistance and was a paratrooper cadet in WWII. He was awarded the French Military Medal and the War Cross. He earned a Master and a Doctorate in Sciences (Geology) and has explored North Africa and the Mediterranean. After moving to California, he pursued marine research for thirty years, first on the deep ocean and then in the subtropical Pacific where he led exploration surveys of more than sixty atolls and islands. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and a member emeritus of the Marine Technology Society. In addition to a number of scientific and technical papers and several patents, he has published in French four novels, an essay, a geological treatise, and a volume of recollections. The Academy Goncourt awarded him France's most prestigious literary prize in the Historical Novel category. "In Pursuit of Longitude, Magellan and the Antimeridian" is his first book in English. The author resides with his wife Marjorie in California.
