{"product_id":"straits-felipe-fernandez-armesto-9780520383364","title":"Straits: Beyond the Myth of Magellan","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn uncompromising study of the fictions, the failures, and the real man behind the myth of Magellan.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e With \u003ci\u003eStraits\u003c\/i\u003e, celebrated historian Felipe Fern疣dez-Armesto subjects the surviving sources to the most meticulous scrutiny ever, providing a timely and engrossing biography of the real Ferdinand Magellan. The truth that Fern疣dez-Armesto uncovers about Magellan's life, his character, and the events of his ill-fated voyage offers up a stranger, darker, and even more compelling narrative than the fictional version that has been celebrated for half a millennium. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMagellan did not attempt--much less accomplish--a journey around the globe. In his lifetime he was abhorred as a traitor, reviled as a tyrant, self-condemned to destruction, and dismissed as a failure. \u003ci\u003eStraits\u003c\/i\u003e untangles the myths that made Magellan a hero and discloses the reality of the man, probing the passions and tensions that drove him to adventure and drew him to disaster. We see the mutations of his character: pride that became arrogance, daring that became recklessness, determination that became ruthlessness, romanticism that became irresponsibility, and superficial piety that became, in adversity, irrational exaltation. As the real Magellan emerges, so do his real ambitions, focused less on circumnavigating the world or cornering the global spice market than on exploiting Filipino gold. \u003ci\u003eStraits\u003c\/i\u003e is a study in failure and the paradox of Magellan's career, showing that renown is not always a reflection of merit but often a gift and accident of circumstance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Felipe Fernandez-Armesto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0520383362\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780520383364\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/29\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 380\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/07\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2023","brand":"Felipe Fernandez-Armesto","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44045567000831,"sku":"9780520383364","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c01eafd1-6f06-4f21-ad3c-1e61d8d589e6.jpg?v=1684979485","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/straits-felipe-fernandez-armesto-9780520383364","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}