When, in the year 1519, Ferdinand Magellan stood on the deck of his flagship, ready to set sail on one of the most daring and adventurous voyages the world has ever known, it was the moment he had dreamed of from the first day he went to sea. He believed that somewhere there must be a passageway—an unknown strait—connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the mysterious sea beyond, and he was determined to find it. He had been refused ships and men by his own King Manuel of Portugal, but the King of Spain had supplied them.

Only a few men had faith in the venture, and not even Magellan foresaw the difficulties that were in store for him. For, in addition to the perils of sailing unchartered seas, he found himself faced with villainous plots against his life instigated by the jealous King of Portugal, and intrigue and treachery at the hands of his own mutinous crew.

In Ferdinand Magellan Seymour Gates Pond brings to life the man who named the Pacific Ocean, discovered the strait which bears his name, and, in so doing, proved that the globe could be circumnavigated. It is as much an exciting adventure story as it is the biography of a man with a dream who became one of the world's most fearless and courageous explorers.

From the dust jacket