The Longest Voyage : Ohio University Press : 9780821411926 : 0821411926 : 01 Jul 1997 : From the intense and brooding Magellan and the glamorous and dashing Sir Francis Drake; to Thomas Cavendish, who set off to plunder Spain's American gold and the Dutch circumnavigators, whose numbers included pirates as well as explorers and merchants, ?Robert Silverberg ?captures the adventures and seafaring exploits of a bygone era. Over the course of a century, European circumnavigators in small ships charted the coast of the New World and explored the Pacific Ocean. Characterized by fierce nationalism, competitiveness, and bloodshed, The Longest Voyage: Circumnavigators in the Age of Discovery ?captures the drama, danger, and personalities in the colorful story of the first voyages around the world. These accounts begin with Magellan's unprecedented 1519?22 circumnavigation, providing an immediate, exciting, and intimate glimpse into that historic venture. The story includes frequent threats of