The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco Da Gama - Softcover

Cliff, Nigel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061735132 ISBN 13: 9780061735134

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2012

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review:

"Readers who enjoy a yeasty narrative by a skilled storyteller will mark this book as one of their favorites of the year."--Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Epic . . . a compelling adventure tale, told by Cliff with the right mix of sweep and detail."--BookPage

"Cliff tells an often thrilling tale of adventure . . . He effectively restores the luster of da Gama's achievement and provocatively reassesses the goals and significance of his expedition."--Booklist

"Lively and ambitious . . . Cliff has a novelist's gift for depicting character . . . he brings 16th century Portugal in all its splendor and squalor pungently to life."--Eric Ormsby, New York Times Book Review

"A story told with great flair and serious scholarship."--James Eckardt, The Nation

"A fresh take on the history of the age of discovery . . . Cliff opens new vistas on much-explored territory."--Publishers Weekly

"A stirringly epic book...a thrilling narrative...This is broad-brush history, but it is accurate, and enlivened by splendid spots of color."--Sunday Times (London)

"Nigel Cliff's Holy War is one of the most readable, engaging, and provoking books of the season, hands down . . . Cliff . . . writes with considerable energy, humor and narrative skill."--Kansas City Star

"A useful addition to a continuing lively discussion of Christianity and Islam, situated both in respect of religions and culture, as well as empires and trade."--Kirkus Reviews

Book Description:

The first accessible, authoritative and complete account of Vasco da Gama's historic and audacious attempt to seize the spice routes and re-conquer the Holy Land. The Last Crusade puts the reader on da Gama's ships in the midst of a perplexing, terrifying, yet exciting new world and in doing so traces the ancestry of antagonism between the world's two dominant faiths, Christianity and Islam.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0061735132
• ISBN 13: 9780061735134
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560