In 2003 I had my only interview with the historian Laurence Bergreen. His book "Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe" had just been published that day. Five years ago, the book was reissued in a new expanded edition. Twenty-one years later this remains one of those timeless interviews that remains as fresh today as it was back in 2003.
The story of Ferdinand Magellan's bold adventure is incredible, fantastic, unbelievable, stunning, ridiculous, absurd, crazy, shocking, and beyond cool. This book kept knocking me out of my reading chair. We did a long interview that day and when I was editing the original recording down to fit into this shorter time slot I had to leave some amazing material on the cutting room floor. Here's an example: as Magellan was attempting to navigate through the straits near Antartica which now bear his name he kept dipping up water samples to see what the water was like. If it was clear, or muddy, or salty, or not salty; these facts would tell him something about where they were and he would use this information to decide which direction to head next. He would also send sailors ashore to climb up on to the rocks to try to see what lay ahead. The man was a brilliant navigator and that's the only way they made it through those straits. I had to cut those parts out. Read the book, you won't regret it.
This book has been optioned for a film, and I hope some day it gets made. I rarely go out to see movies. I would definitely go watch that one!
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
