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A review by uhambe_nami
Magellan. Der Mann und seine Tat by Stefan Zweig
4.0
Was die Weisesten vermuteten seit tausenden Jahren, was die Gelehrten träumten, nun ist es durch den Mut eines einzelnen Gewißheit geworden: rund ist die Erde. Denn siehe, ein Mensch hat sie umrundet.
Having enjoyed Zweig's [b:Schachnovelle|59151|Chess Story|Stefan Zweig|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347600220s/59151.jpg|57593] last year, I was glad to find his biography on Fernão de Magalhães - better known as Magellan - and the historic circumnavigation of the globe. The first half of the book - in which Zweig describes Magellan's earlier travels to the East and to Morocco, his choice to turn his back on Portugal, to go and serve the Spanish Crown - takes a bit of persistence to get through but is necessary to understand the historical context, I think.
Zweig writes repeatedly that it was Magellan's dream, his Lebensziel, to circumnavigate the globe. But was it? I went through [b:Antonio Pigafetta's account|12696850|Magellan's Voyage Around the World ...|James Alexander Robertson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347558883s/12696850.jpg|17827532] and found no evidence of it. Magellan wanted to find a passage through the Americas to reach the ocean on the other side, a way to reach the Spice Islands by sailing westwards. But to continue from there in western direction to sail back to Spain? I doubt that that was ever the plan. Still, this is a compelling account of the incredible hardships the sailors went through: the desperate search for the passage through cold and gloomy Tierra del Fuego, the seemingly endless crossing of the Pacific Ocean during which they suffered from scurvy and starvation, Magellan's death just when they had reached their goal, the dangerous route through Portuguese territory - the Indian Ocean and around Africa, and finally, the miserable homecoming of eighteen hungry, weak survivors on a leaking ship. A remarkable true story, and Zweig did an excellent job telling it.
Having enjoyed Zweig's [b:Schachnovelle|59151|Chess Story|Stefan Zweig|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347600220s/59151.jpg|57593] last year, I was glad to find his biography on Fernão de Magalhães - better known as Magellan - and the historic circumnavigation of the globe. The first half of the book - in which Zweig describes Magellan's earlier travels to the East and to Morocco, his choice to turn his back on Portugal, to go and serve the Spanish Crown - takes a bit of persistence to get through but is necessary to understand the historical context, I think.
Zweig writes repeatedly that it was Magellan's dream, his Lebensziel, to circumnavigate the globe. But was it? I went through [b:Antonio Pigafetta's account|12696850|Magellan's Voyage Around the World ...|James Alexander Robertson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347558883s/12696850.jpg|17827532] and found no evidence of it. Magellan wanted to find a passage through the Americas to reach the ocean on the other side, a way to reach the Spice Islands by sailing westwards. But to continue from there in western direction to sail back to Spain? I doubt that that was ever the plan. Still, this is a compelling account of the incredible hardships the sailors went through: the desperate search for the passage through cold and gloomy Tierra del Fuego, the seemingly endless crossing of the Pacific Ocean during which they suffered from scurvy and starvation, Magellan's death just when they had reached their goal, the dangerous route through Portuguese territory - the Indian Ocean and around Africa, and finally, the miserable homecoming of eighteen hungry, weak survivors on a leaking ship. A remarkable true story, and Zweig did an excellent job telling it.