{"title":"Books by Laurence Bergreen","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780062875365","title":"In Search of a Kingdom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“FASCINATING . . . Dramatic and timely.” —\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review, \u003c\/em\u003eEditors' Choice\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn this grand and thrilling narrative, the author of the 200,000-copy paperback bestseller \u003cem\u003eOver the Edge of the World\u003c\/em\u003e reveals the singular adventures of Sir Francis Drake, whose mastery of the seas during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I changed the course of history.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Entrancing . . . Very good indeed.” —\u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore he was secretly dispatched by Queen Elizabeth to circumnavigate the globe, or was called upon to save England from the Spanish Armada, Francis Drake was perhaps the most wanted—and successful—pirate ever to sail. Nicknamed “El Draque” by the Spaniards who placed a bounty on his head, the notorious red-haired, hot-tempered Drake pillaged galleons laden with New World gold and silver, stealing a vast fortune for his queen—and himself. For Elizabeth, Drake made the impossible real, serving as a crucial and brilliantly adaptable instrument of her ambitions to transform England from a third-rate island kingdom into a global imperial power.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1580, sailing on Elizabeth’s covert orders, Drake became the first captain to circumnavigate the earth successfully. (Ferdinand Magellan had died in his attempt.) Part exploring expedition, part raiding mission, Drake’s audacious around-the-world journey in the \u003cem\u003eGolden Hind \u003c\/em\u003ereached Patagonia, the Pacific Coast of present-day California and Oregon, the Spice Islands, Java, and Africa. Almost a decade later, Elizabeth called upon Drake again. As the devil-may-care vice admiral of the English fleet, Drake dramatically defeated the once-invincible Spanish Armada, spurring the British Empire’s ascent and permanently wounding its greatest rival.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe relationship between Drake and Elizabeth is the missing link in our understanding of the rise of the British Empire, and its importance has not been fully described or appreciated. Framed around Drake’s key voyages as a window into this crucial moment in British history, \u003cem\u003eIn Search of a Kingdom \u003c\/em\u003eis a rousing adventure narrative entwining epic historical themes with intimate passions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56222417191285,"sku":"9780062875365","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780062875365_3641e166-e1ed-4bff-bb90-90a7e9abea6f.jpg?v=1786011223"},{"product_id":"9781847247674","title":"Marco Polo","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn September 1298, the rival Italian republics of Genoa and Venice fought a fierce sea battle at Curzola off the rocky coast of southern Dalmatia. Against the odds the Venetians, led by Admiral Andrea Dandolo, son of the Doge, were defeated. Among the thousands of Venetians captives was one Marco Polo, gentleman, merchant of Venice, and sometime traveller to East Asia. Incarcerated in a Ligurian fastness, he told his story to a fellow-prisoner, a writer of romances named Rustichello of Pisa. The account of his travels that Marco Polo dictated to Rustichello in captivity - Il Milione - would be exceptionally widely read and would stimulate European interest in the East and its riches.Marco Polo: from Venice to Xanadu is Laurence Bergreen's thrilling and masterly reconstruction of the life and wanderings of one the great adventurers of world history. Between 1271 and 1275 Marco Polo accompanied his father Niccolò and uncle Maffeo on a journey east from Acre into central Asia along the Silk Route, eventually reaching China and the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan. Entering the service of the Khan, he travelled extensively in the Mongol Empire. The three Venetians returned home by sea in 1292-5, calling at Sumatra and southern India before reaching Persia, and making the last part of their journey to Venice overland. Three years later came that fateful encounter with the Genoese fleet in the Adriatic…\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307905364341,"sku":"9781847247674","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847247674_ed66300e-1f42-43af-a6cc-c9bef4485574.jpg?v=1786029020"},{"product_id":"9780143122104","title":"Columbus","description":"He knew nothing of celestial navigation or of the existence of the Pacific Ocean. He was a self-promoting and ambitious entrepreneur. His maps were a hybrid of fantasy and delusion. When he did make land, he enslaved the populace he found, encouraged genocide, and polluted relations between peoples. He ended his career in near lunacy.  But Columbus had one asset that made all the difference, an inborn sense of the sea, of wind and weather, and of selecting the optimal course to get from A to B. Laurence Bergreen's energetic and bracing book gives the whole Columbus and most importantly, the whole of his career, not just the highlight of 1492. Columbus undertook three more voyages between 1494 and 1504, each designed to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. By their conclusion, Columbus was broken in body and spirit, a hero undone by the tragic flaw of pride. If the first voyage illustrates the rewards of exploration, this book shows how the subsequent voyages illustrate the costs - political, moral, and economic.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311578394997,"sku":"9780143122104","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780143122104_104e2cd6-eaa9-4000-84ad-c1517baaa84c.jpg?v=1786011660"},{"product_id":"jules-verne-and-the-invention-of-the-future","title":"Jules Verne and the Invention of the Future","description":"From the acclaimed biographer of explorers Magellan, Columbus, and Francis Drake comes a unique exploration of life and influence of Jules Verne, the novelist whose mind spun the greatest adventures ever told and whose daring and prescient imagination sparked a lasting transformation of modern society and technology, inspiring everyone from J.R.R. Tolkien to Kurt Vonnegut to Jeff Bezos. \"We are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne.” —Ray BradburyHis stories inspired the greatest literary minds—J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Ursula K. le Guin. He inspired real-world expeditions and discoveries, compelling undersea explorers, aviation pioneers, and astronauts to seek out the unknown. He’s one of the most widely translated authors in the world, outmatched only by Agatha Christie and Shakespeare. Jeff Bezos’s rocket factory includes a two-story replica of the spaceship from one of his novels.   Few writers have left such an enduring legacy on the world as Jules Verne. Widely considered the “father of science fiction,” Verne stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. His novels—including such revered classics as Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth—not only thrilled and entertained, but also predicted innovations and technological advancements that in time would become everyday realities. Brimming with intellect, science, adventure, and paradoxes, his work dared to imagine a world beyond the limits of what was thought possible and, in turn, inspired future generations to achieve the unthinkable.  From acclaimed biographer Laurence Bergreen, Jules Verne and the Invention of the Future is an engaging, vibrant, and richly researched account of a singular visionary who profoundly shaped our modern world.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57495386554741,"sku":"9780063320543","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780063320543.jpg?v=1786618064"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-laurence-bergreen.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}