HistorianNigel Cliff delivers a sweeping; radical reinterpretation of Vasco da Gama’spioneering voyages; revealing their significance as a decisive turning point inthe struggle between Christianity and Islam—a series of events which foreveraltered the relationship between East and West. Perfect for readers of Endurance:Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage; Galileo’sDaughter; and Atlantic; this first-ever completeaccount of da Gama’s voyages includes new information from the recentlydiscovered diaries of his sailors and an extraordinary series of lettersbetween da Gama and the Zamorin; a king of modern-dayKerala; India. Cliff; the author of The Shakespeare Riots; draws uponhis own travels in da Gama’s footsteps to add detail; authenticity; and acontemporary perspective to this riveting; one-of-a-kind historical epic.
#869758 in Books Harper Perennial 2013-06-25 2013-06-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.03 x 6.00l; 1.41 #File Name: 0061672467640 pages
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. CHEW ON THISBy Juliet WaldronThe subtitle is: “Nature and Human Nature in the Old World and the New†which comes close to a summing up; for this is history—roughly; from 15;000 BC to 1500 AD--as seen through a compound eye composed of studies in archeology; anthropology; geology; meteorology; climatology and mythology. It’s a massive (and often unwieldy) synthesis; with ideas and theories drawn from many disciplines; used to support a thesis about why the cultures of the New World evolved differently to the cultures of Asia; Africa and Europe; and; further; why the “discovery†of the 15th Century caused the great western civilizations to so speedily collapse. The wandering; highly speculative subject matter might drive a scientific specialist crazy; but as a writer and an avid reader of popular works by Jared Diamond; Barry Cunliffe; Brian Fagan; Spencer Wells; Bryan Sykes; J.P. Mallory et al; I couldn’t stop turning pages. There were points at which I was off the bus; but the “No Way!†moments didn’t; in the end; detract from my overall enjoyment. Copious notes and reference material are provided for further research. There is plenty here to provoke; educate and entertain. (Originally reviewed for the Historical Novel Society.)28 of 30 people found the following review helpful. Beautifully written; a delight for the mainstream readerBy Anne RiceBooks like this have to be beautifully written. If they weren't; I doubt anyone would read them. What the book offers is an interpretative overview of history that is well documented and makes for compelling reading. There is a wealth of material here and great bibliography. A book like this prompts us to put in coherent form what we know about thousands and thousands of years of history. And I think our minds long for this coherence; long to make sense of the tons of data we have accumulated in modern times about our past; and the wilderness of specialized studies published every day that are too numerous for any one reader to ever fully examine. --- I found this highly readable and entertaining; an excellent book for the scholar and a delight for the mainstream reader who loves history and has wondered about many mysterious cultural developments and whether they are at all related. Quite an achievement. Quite a find. Highly recommended.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. OutstandingBy jan wintersIf you are a big picture person; this book is for you. Like Watson's History of Human Thought and Intellectual History of the Twenty Century; this book is meant to provoke you to think through some serious questions. Why would the people of the two hemispheres who share common ancestors develop so differently? I suspect most of us don't take the time to keep up with current research in different fields and most academics would be too cautious to make sweeping generalizations. Mr. Watson has attempted again to connect the dots from new research and to try to identify possible explanations - that have a rational basis - to age old questions. He is excellent at synthesizing and finding patterns.A highly readable; thought provoking and an important contribution.
