Round About the Earth

Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit

Joyce Chaplin

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Paperback

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English

Simon & Schuster
01 December 2013

History; Historical geography; Geographical discovery & exploration; Travel writing

For almost 500 years, human beings have been finding ways to circle the Earth - by sail, steam or liquid fuel; by cycling, driving, flying or going into orbit. The story begins with the first centuries of circumnavigation when few survived the attempt. Starting with Ferdinand Magellan's dangerous voyage, Joyce Chaplin takes us on a trip of our own as we travel with Francis Drake, William Dampier, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville and James Cook. As sea travel grew safer and passengers came on board, circumnavigation became a fad, as captured in Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Newspapers sponsored racing contests and people sought ways to distinguish themselves - by bicycling around the world, for instance, or by sailing solo. Finally humans took to the skies to circle the globe in airplanes. Not much later, Sputnik, Gagarin and Glenn pioneered a new kind of circumnavigation - in orbit. Through it all, the desire to take on the planet has tested the courage and capacity of generations of bold men and women. Their exploits show us why we think of the Earth as home. This is itself a thrilling adventure.

By: Joyce Chaplin
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 227mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 33mm
Weight: 694g
ISBN: 9781416596202
ISBN 10: 1416596208
Pages: 560
Publication Date: 01 December 2013
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Joyce E. Chaplin is the James Duncan Phillips Professor of History at Harvard University. She is the author of four previous books of nonfiction, including The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius (2006), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Science and Technology Category), and winner of the Annibel Jenkins Prize of American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

Reviews for Round About the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit

Joyce Chaplin is a great historian with a fresh eye and a sure touch. She is a story teller with keen insight, command of the material, a sense of whimsy, and a flair for portraying human drama. What a wonderful way to go around the world. --Evan Thomas, author of Ike's Bluff